Stories tagged with insurgency
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Unrest in Thailand’s deep south continues
Although Thailand’s armed forces are still actively trying to suppress the almost daily militant attacks in its southern provinces, little headway has been made in solving the underlying grievances. The Thai government has found no way to reach a compromise with the Malay Muslims of the deep south, who are a minority in the region but also the source of the militant violence.
The International Crisis Group (ICG), based in Brussels, has reported that despite a small decrease in the number of attacks on local Thais, the Muslim insurgents are far from being defeated. In June 2007, a massive effort by the army was initiated to drive out the insurgents, but the "indiscriminate detention of thousands of suspected insurgents and sympathisers, and credible reports of torture of detainees” have only made things worse, according to the ICG.
Another Muslim died this week while in custody, reinforcing local beliefs that the Thai army is brutal in their handling of the situation. The ICG also feels the fact that the insurgents lack cohesive leadership or a unified platform is "a major obstacle in the search for a negotiated settlement."
The ICG report went on to suggest that “nonetheless, there is much that the government could do unilaterally to address Malay grievances in the realms of education, justice, language, history and economy. But this requires a rethinking on the part of the predominantly-Buddhist state, which needs to recognise the distinct ethnic identity of Malay Muslims and find ways of allowing them to be Thai citizens without having to compromise their cultural differences.”
Posted by: Andrew on 31 Aug 2008, 09:53