Massacre at Yala

Two days ago a van full of people were killed in the south. The van was acting as a bus and was chosen at random. The aggressors put a tree trunk across the road, as the van tried to U -turn the attackers came out with machine guns and killed them all bar one who escaped seriously injured.


The government did little except to confirm that it will continue its peaceful policy but will also impose a curfew in the area.

Something has snapped though. In several provinces, peaceful demonstrations against the attack took place with some demanding that the government take stronger action against these people. Patience is beginning to reach breaking point and this does not bode well.

Surayud's problem - apart from the aging and inept government surrounding him - is that like troops in Iraq, he is up against a cowardly enemy he can't see. How can he use peaceful means with an invisible opponent? I'm also predicting right here that villagers will grow antagonised by a curfew and quite possibly they will be manipulated to use this as a reason for further skirmishes with authorities.

I'm stepping things up in this area. Like most Thais, I'm tired of seeing innocents slaughtered every day. The greatest excuse apologists make for them is that they are a corrupted few or they are fighting for restoration of historical justice.

Both arguments are starting to display their hollowness. First, the latest Muslim militant tactic has been to send hundreds of woman and children to protest for the release of any captured militants. At least one hundred woman and children for each protest! The gang that beat poor teacher Juling Kamphongmoon into a coma numbered at least one hundred. (I repeatedly mention this assault because its sheer brutality and evilness sums up the situation in the south so accurately.) Nearly every activity in the south smacks of gangs that number well above "a corrupted few".

As for historical injustice, that may be so but somehow I don't see justice in the eyes of men who shoot teachers in class, behead rubber farmers, behead a man in front of his nineteen year old daughter, kill a man leaving a note that reads: "You arrest innocent people so we murder one in revenge" or walk out and kill a van load of people. Do you?

Unlike many, I'm choosing to educate myself. I've nearly finished my study of the Islamic scriptures and what I have learned has changed my perception of the world. I'm planning to visit local mosques and discuss the situation with scholars and ask for their insight into problems that affect the entire world.


I have several questions I will be looking to ask from connected and knowledgeable people. I believe I have answers to some of them already but I will ask again:
(Obviously I won't go charging in with aggressive and impolite questions, but these are the ultimate answers I'm searching for)

1. Why is there not clear and public condemnation of the attacks from prominent Thai Muslims?
2. Why are villagers not turning in or exposing Muslim militants?
3. What are the motives of the attackers? Do they have full knowledge of the history of the region? How often do they study and read Islamic scriptures?
4. Why are the victims of the attacks almost exclusively Buddhists? (Its a pop fact to point out that as many Muslims have died in the area. This fact misleads, since the area is about eighty percent Muslim and the victims of specific attacks are nearly always Buddhist)
5. Most importantly, how can we stop innocents dying?

I want to go into great depth here but I will wait until I have completed further studies. I will say this much: right now, I stand alarmed, shocked and scared about this situation. We seem to be competing with people whose rule book tells them to ruthlessly murder anyone who takes land they perceive to be their own. Morality, innocence and respect for life have no part to play for them.

Feel free to challenge, debate or question me on this.

Oh by the way, another man was shot in an unprovoked attack yesterday too. Guess that was just in case they hadn't made their point by removing enough woman and children from their husband and fathers yet.



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On lighter notes:
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Last week, I got the usual bus down a well known main road to return from one of my houses to the other. I noticed that the bus actually stopped well past the bus stop and forced me to run a bit. Nothing unusual there. As I tried to pull myself on, the bus tried to speed away and lose me. gain, nothing unusual there. Then as I sat down I noticed an unusual sign on the front of the bus "Lady Bus". I looked around , no I was OK, there were plenty of guys here! No, wait a minute..........they were girls dressed as guys. The bus I was on was a lesbian bus!!!!!!! They tried to lose me most likely because they didn't have the English to explain I couldn't get on and as my keen students will recall, no Thai expects any farang to understand Thai!!!

I'm not making this up. I got on a lesbian bus. If anyone else has experienced this please let me know.


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We had a great little break in Cha-Am this week. The town is changing. With Pattaya sinking further into decadence, Cha-am is becoming more popular with "family" farangs. During the week it's easy to find a good value place near the beach. The area is cheap and the beach is OK, be prepared to fight off vendors every ten seconds though they are not too pushy.

The weekend is still the regular time spot for the Thai-Chinese invasion though.
On the way back, we got lost. We drove through minute villages and black country roads looking for Bangkok signs to no avail. No less than four times we stopped and asked for directions. Three times we were given misinformation. Thais are always keen to help their countrymen (and shotgun farangs!) but like many other nationalities, they would soon as give you false directions rather than admit they don't know!

The trouble in southern Thailand.

There's been a problem, a huge problem loitering in Thailand for a long time. It's a problem far bigger than corruption , far more important than any airport and far more deserving of attention than Thaksin Shinawat.

That problem is the continuing violence and brutality in the deep south.

Part of the reason for not discussing this is that I don't know the background. I have a fair amount of knowledge on the topic but I've been unable to find an academic text to accompany my study. (Actually , I did find one but it was grossly overpriced).

So what follows is an embarrassingly brief summary of the tragic situation.

It's a situation so deep and tortuous I don't know where to begin. The deep south of Thailand was "taken" from Malaysia in the sixteenth century. Pattini was annexed at the start of the twentieth century. Resistance by and amongst the predominantly Muslim population has always existed. Surprise, surprise after 9/11 a small number of militants in the south suddenly decided that it was time for jihad. Violence slowly but surely escalated. Attacks on 'government' targets - including teachers - grew.

The problem has confounded many. During his tenure Thaksin actually said "There is no ideology, there are fighting politicians, gangsters and smugglers but no ideology". Thaksin was not to blame for the problem, but he may well have exacerbated it. Various schemes were set up including a scheme "to save the poor young boys coerced into committing these acts" and nothing changed.

Undoubtedly police and military in the south aggravated the locals, but the militants displayed an utterly cold blooded willingness to kill any targets including teachers and innocent shoppers.

In April 2004 , a group of insurgents being pursued by police retreated to a Mosque where they were all killed. Tragic as the deaths were, the fact was that this group had attacked ten police outposts and spent seven hours calling for martyrdom before the police opened fire.

Also in 2004 , a large group of locals gathered to protest against the arrest of young men who had stolen weapons from local authorities. They refused police requests to disperse and - allegedly on the orders of the PM himself - the military made a brutal crack down. Many people died. The envent was to go down in history as the "Tak Bai Incident".

Thaksin immediately attempted to alleviate the problem by doing what he did best - buying people off. He offered money to the families to visit Bangkok mosques because: "after all, they were born Thai" . The problem continued unabated and Thaksin barely controlled his anger and frustration.

One particularly nasty incident that ticks in my mind was the raid of a Buddhist temple where two young boys and a monk were slaughered and the temple desecrated. This was a typical example of the violence.

In another incident , a female teacher in her twenties was kidnapped and beaten by a group of one hundred villagers. She lapsed into a coma and died about two months ago. Her crime? None. She was taken as a random target in a retaliation for the death of a local villager.

After the coup, optimism that the Muslim general Sonthi could help was short lived. General Surayud tried a much requested tactic of peace , apologies and compromise. He made a heartfelt apology to the Muslim communities and released all suspects of the Tak Bai incident.

Still nothing changed. This week - Chinese New Year - saw the largest ever wave of co-ordinated bombings in the south. Karoke bars , shops and power stations suffered bomb blasts. The government , like its predecessor , had no plan B. No response has been made, and general Sonthi continues to spout nonsense about the patriotic duty of reclaiming satellites sold to Singapore.

This is a situation where nobody has the answers, and humanity is the ultimate loser. I'm sure many people share my sentiments that is a mix of disbelief at the violence dealt by mankind, grief at the loss of innocent life, and anger at the inability to respond.

It could be said that in some senses - though certainly not all - the situation in the south of Thailand reflects the terror war at large. The authorities are fighting cowards they cannot see. They are trying to negotiate with a group that have no interest in negotiation , and every interest in shedding blood.

Herein lies the root of my anger. The southern resistance is ostensibly based on a return to autonomy or Malaysian rule. I'm willing to bet few of the militants have true knowledge or interest in that. The type of people who beat an innocent woman into a coma and behead a pensioner on his far are not the sort who support diplomacy or a peaceful autonomous existence. While we all sit about talking about "understanding" and "oppression" hundreds more continue to lose their lives.

Last month, a man and his wife were killed at their rubber plantation. The man was beheaded , and a had a note left on his body saying "We will kill all Buddhists". Where is the "understanding and tolerence" in that message?

The other PC line of course is to tell us it's just " a brainwashed minority". That is at least partly true. There are many vilagers in the south who just want peace. However, the fact remains that in many cases, entire villages have been implicated in protests, often protecting militants or demanding their release. The kidnappers of the teacher beaten to a coma numbered over one hundred. One hundred people entered a school, took teachers hostage and beat a female teacher into a coma by using wooden sticks.

Yet another line of forgiveness - an important human quality - is that these actions are a cry for help from an impoverished, mistreated region of Thailand. Again, this contains some truth. The region is one of the country's poorest and suffers from gross mismanagement by police and authorities. However, the poorest region of Thailand is Isaan, which also houses the nation's friendliest and happiest people. All areas of Thailand suffer from police corruption. We should protest vigorously and peacefully. It is not an excuse to shoot a teacher dead in front of his students.

The sad truth is that a significant amount of people interpret the message of the ultra violent Qu'ran literally and use it as an excuse for endless violence. If you disagree with my previous statement that the Qu'ran is violent, or if you want to make the PC comment that all religious texts contain violence , then you have not studied Islam or the Qu'ran.



The simple fact, the bottom line truth , is that the beautiful south of Thailand harbours a group of people who live to kill, maim, and torture. My heart bleeds for their victims, and I see no way out.


I'm going to put my neck out here and suggest a website with interesting information and a very interesting list of books that shed some of the PC veil we see through.