January 4, 2005

Society shuns the violent few

This newspaper would like to report that every Thai agreed with the

sentiments of His Majesty the King expressed on New Year's Eve.

Unfortunately, we cannot. The king told the nation in this time of

sadness: ``Everybody has shown a strong intention to live together in

peace, and that when a country encounters a disaster, Thais won't desert

one another.'' Not long before, a tiny sliver of a minuscule minority of

Thais were planning to detonate a bomb in Yala province to maim and

injure as many people as possible, specifically including bystanders.

The Yala bomb was triggered by a cell phone call when the bomber

figured there were enough victims near the explosive. He had lured them

to the area by planting a second, suspicious box, knowing that military

and police bomb experts would come to investigate. When they did, and

when a curious crowd gathered nearby, the bomber set off the real,

hidden bomb in the crowd. Two policeman, a soldier and five bystanders

were wounded. There were other attacks during the worst week in recent

Thai history. Schools in Yala cannot re-open today because teachers are

terrorised.

The attacks exposed the extremists' true concern for the people of the

South. As the country focused all priority on helping survivors and

generally providing care for portions of the South slammed by the

greatest natural disaster in Thai living history, the tiny band of

violent insurgents continued their murderous business as usual. It has

been a year now since this small group burnt 20 schools and raided an

arms store. Their violence has led to close to 700 deaths and untold

suffering in the region.

Like all Thais and foreign visitors last week, the extremists in the

South had a choice _ to help or to hinder. As His Majesty said, all

people born on Thai soil, whether they be soldiers, police or civilians,

were united and had truly deep concern for one another. It is

unfortunate that just a few, twisted people have no such concern. Just

one or two provinces away from their almost daily attacks last week,

Thais and foreign guests struggled, volunteered, worked selflessly and

gave sweat and blood for others.

Nature spared no one with its huge ocean surge on the southwest coast

of Thailand and on a dozen other nation's coasts on Boxing Day. The

violent extremists of the South have spent a year attempting to spark a

conflict they maintain must separate the Muslims of Thailand from all

others. The tsunami killed Muslims and destroyed mosques, savaged

Buddhists and temples, split families of every ethnicity, nationality,

religion, colour and belief. And immediately those who responded cared

nothing of such tiny differences. For all Thais, as for foreign

visitors, the only race that mattered was to hospitals, blood banks and

survivors in the wreckage.

As work and the great national effort continues today and into the

future to dig out from this greatest disaster, we must not forget this

tiny group of murderous malcontents. At a time of the country's greatest

test, they did not only stand aloof and apart but worked to impede

search, rescue and focus on the great, human trouble of the nation, and

by violence. If this small sliver of the southern Thai population had

earned concern and contempt by its provocations and violence against

innocent people before, this perpetration of murderous intent at the

worst national moment confirms why.

Last Friday, Muslims from across the nation gathered in their mosques

for special prayers for the disaster relief efforts, and for the souls

of the thousands who were struck down. Imam and mullah appealed for aid

and volunteers, and Muslims answered in the thousands. And while those

prayers of the Islamic sabbath were taking place, a few ill-intentioned

extremists were rigging a bomb they hoped would kill and maim in Yala.

The contrast could not be greater. The massive majority of Thais have

already rejected the path of extremism. Authorities now should work as

quickly as possible to find, arrest and remove the few aberrant

exceptions from society.