While Thailand's south and its majority Muslim citizens might have been marginalised over the decades by Bangkok, and insurgency has been an inevitability, the recent brutal murder of a 76-year old Buddhist monk (and 2 teenage boys) was hardly an act of political defiance or civil rights resistance.
It has been nothing more a criminal act of religious hatred. What has a 76-old monk done to disadvantage or brutalise the Thai Muslims? There is no more peaceful religious personality than a Buddhist monk. The religious creed of Buddhist monks have been the hallmark of peace, tranquility and compassion.
In this unjustified religious brutality, the higher objective of a fight for Muslim rights or autonomy or even soujtern secession has been lost to primitive criminal violence.
PM Thaksin has already put his name on the blame list if he can't pacify Thailand's south so we may expect an geometric escalation of Bangkok's military suppression, which will in turn increase cross-border strain between Thailand and its predominantly Muslim neighbour, Malaysia.
While the Federal government of Malaysia has been at pains to demonstrate its hands-off approach to Thailand's Muslim insurgent problem, there are parties in Malaysia that have a history of supporting, morally, financially and logistically, Thailand's Islamic insurgents. The situation worsens.
i dont agree your labelling "muslim" insurgent, these are acts are politically motivated and has nothing to do with Islam, as the Islam is a peace loving religion.
ReplyDeleteThe culprits are Muslim insurgents because no Buddhist Thais would ever dream of murdering a Buddhist monk. Let's call a spade a spade.
ReplyDeleteIt may be a politically motivated act but as my posting pointed out, the perpetrators have lost their political bearings and descended into the gutter of religious hatred.
However that does not mean that Islam the religion condones such acts, so your concerns or anxieties about my article condemnng Islam are unfounded.
In fact I have thegreatest respect for Islam the religion, though I don't think highly of some of its religious leaders - blokes like Bashir Ahmad of JI.
Anonymous, If you're a peace-loving Muslim, you should start by condemning these savage acts by these insurgents instead of worrying about how these insurgents being 'labled'. I'm sure you get the real point KTemoc is trying to put across.
ReplyDeletereligion and labels aside, what if these "insurgents" are not really insurgents nor muslims but merely prepertrators and pawns to destabilise Thaksin's govt?
ReplyDeleteinteresting theory but is there any grounds, even flimsy ones, for such a speculation? I would be interested to blog on it.
ReplyDeletebro i dunno maybe one or two weeks time... so the little bird says
ReplyDeletelet me know, sharizal - you have my email. cheers
ReplyDelete