A though it happened in the thick of the renewed wave of vicious assaults on Muslims in various parts of the world, yet even after two weeks, the killing of 108 Muslims in the Southern provinces of Thailand has not lost even a sliver of at¬tention in the world press. Neither the continuing atrocities in Iraq and the mas¬sacre of Muslims in Nigeria could sideline these killings. It could well be due to sud¬denness of the event for those who had not been following the events since Jan¬uary, in which victims were mostly the non-Muslim functionaries of the govern¬ment – including three Buddhist monks, one of them a young novice.
A second reason for attention is its occurrence along the string of anti-Muslim activities in various parts of the world and possibility of the Pattani episode being another incident of aggression against Muslims who hap¬pen to be a religious minority of Thailand.
A third cause for alarm could be the rude inversion of the image of Thailand as a haven of peace and tranquility and a place for good time which earns it almost seven billion US dollars a year through tourism. Killings on such a scale, of young people armed mostly with tools of trade like machetes and rubber tapping knives, in a reputedly peaceable land must have come as a shock to people around the world. The press has reflected this surprise by indicating a lack of reliable account of the past and present situation and the future course of events, especially due to the history of insurgency in the 1970s.
The matter has to be settled perma¬nently as it involves the life of more than six million Muslims of Thailand, besides reputation of the country and economic consequences of disturbed conditions. One has many claims to call Thailand al¬most a second home. One of them is an inside knowledge of the country over a stay of many years, besides extensive travel for a report written in the 1970s – the time when insurgency in the ‘South’ was virile. In spite of the passage of time, knowledge of the situation and characteristics of the country still remain a cher¬ished mental record of the geography, the people and circumstances on the ground. Affection for land and its people goaded one to follow developments in the country, including the progress made by the North Eastern and the Southern provinces. One as such could not ignore myriad newspaper comments made without knowing the place.
First conclusion that one has reached about the killings in Pattani is that in all probability, it was a local or regional incident and had nothing to do with the so called ‘War on Terror’. Since Thailand has a history of hosting pro-US military alliances and aligning with the US during action in the Far East, especially Vietnam, Muslims around the world would tend to link events in Southern Thailand with the worldwide anti-Muslim operations. However, a close look at events during the last four months, and their limited expanse do not suggest an internationally sponsored anti-government operation, or a large scale organized retribution from the side of the government. Even if, any of the adversaries indicate the possibility of outside support, it might not be more than an inspiration, rhetoric or some material help. What has been recovered from the 108 dead bodies on 28th April could not be called a contribution by foreign terrorist organizations. Nobody any longer fights with knives, machetes or sticks especially while confronting a well equipped and well trained regular army Heavier arms were probably those stolen from army camps raided earlier.
Another reason for one’s contention that the incidents should be of local or regional nature is that there had always been happening minor incidents aiming at degrading the Muslims and harming them economically and politically. One is aware of the existence of a lobby among the lower elite, traders and the press in Bangkok, which, irrespective of the policy of the government does not miss any opportunity to attack Muslim in¬terests. India is more popular among the Buddhist population due to elements of Hinduism lodged in religious rituals. The anti-Muslim lobbies take advantage of these factors and incite officials and community leaders to hurt or at least ignore the Muslims. The Central government cannot become a party to social attitudes un¬less they take an ugly turn. The local Muslim populations see this non-interference as negligence and an undeclared backing of offenders in Muslim-majority areas. The mechanism developed for creating an un¬derstanding among the communities is easily hijacked by a few personalities from both the sides, blocking the transmission of messages to grass roots. At best, these arrangements are as ineffective as in other countries of Asia having diverse ethnic and religious groups. They always, are artificial and imposed.
Historically, Muslim Community of the Southern provinces and the Thai majority of the kingdom have differences dating back to the time of the detachment of Muslim areas and the state of Pattani from the Muslim Malay country through an international agreement. The Muslim insurgency revolved around efforts to establish an independent Muslim state in and around Pattani. The uprising in Malaya after the World War II spewed insurgency in the Malay speaking areas of Thailand that mostly comprised Muslims of Malay or related origins. Thailand supressed the movement after many years of fighting. The outcome was an uneasy arrangement, which was disturbed in January 2004, leading to killings in Pattani – 32 killed by automatic fire in an historic mosque. Such incidents result from lack of effective communication and an absence of trust in each other. Lack of trust at the grass root and army leadership in the field can spaw ugly incidents, the type witnessed on 28th April.
Through contacts with both communities, I had the opportunity to know each other’s position at various levels. Most of the non-Muslim Thais that one met held strange misgivings about the religion and the ‘real culture’ of Muslims. Similar misconceptions were discovered to lie at the root of the chasm between Muslims and Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina ending up in unprecedented bloodshed in the 1990s: it is amazing how two ethnic communities get totally isolated from each other only due to the absence of communication among them, even if they are living in th same vicinity. Perhaps, the strictness of Muslims in the Southern provinces let them to amass an equal amount of misinformation about the Buddhists, Hindus of the ‘Chinese’.
Distances lead to social and economic backwardness of communities. The South did not accept suggestions of the Center suspecting intrusion in their freedom. They did not approve of schools teaching the language and the national syllabus. Instead, they preferred to send children to Madrissa’s rather than regular schools. These and such other factors, combined with the nature of resources left the Southern provinces poor and under-developed.
The Muslim population – rightly or wrongly – contends that the economic, commerce and administration of southern provinces are dominated by persons from the Central provinces. This has created an ambience in which there are no winners. The government and the Muslims have to sit and talk and find ways to solve the impasse created by rigidity and lack of communication. The world situation is so fluid and volatile that even slight misunderstandings can transform small issues into international disputes without any end.
People of the Third World better concentrate on social and economic developments rather than indulging in claims and counter-claims. Friends of Thailand and well-meaning members of the Umma will like to see prosperous Muslims in prosperous Thailand. The ugly episode of 28th April should be treated justly and compassionately to pave way for establishing a strong and lasting mechanism for development in the South and encourage people of the Southern provinces to enter the mainstream of national life, while protecting their values and cultural norms.
May 13/ 2004
Tags: Muslim Umma, Muslims in Thailand
