January 20, 2005

EDITORIAL

Tools of terror are too available

    The police seizure of a handgun and more than 700 rounds of ammunition at

the southern bus terminal in Bangkok on Tuesday night was just a small news

item buried on the inside pages of most newspapers. The .38 calibre revolver

and ammunition of various calibre were destined for a man in Betong district

of Yala, one of three southern provinces at the centre of an Islamic

insurgency, by a courier who claimed he was paid 300 baht to pick up the

items from a gun shop on Unakan road and put them on the south-bound bus. A

policeman in Betong reportedly came forward to claim he was to be the

recipient of the consignment.

 The case clearly shows the ease with which anyone can get hold of a large

quantity of ammunition from a gun shop. All he needs is the money to pay for

the purchase. In this case, the courier did not even have a gun licence. He

has been charged initially with the illegal possession of a firearm and

ammunition.

 As there are no restrictions on the purchase of ammunition, anyone with a

gun licence can simply walk into a gun shop on Unakan road, home to all of

Bangkok's gun shops, and make a purchase. The shopowner will almost always

be ready to hand over the ammunition without asking any questions. Another

outlet where .38 calibre and 9mm cartridges can be purchased without any

problem is at a firing range. Again, no questions will be asked. All you

need to say is you want to fire off a few rounds and the ammunition will be

placed at your disposal. At firing ranges, you don't even need a gun

licence.

 Because of the ease with which ammunition can be acquired, it is not beyond

the realms of possibility that the Islamic insurgents waging their war of

terror in the deep South, with anyone unfortunate to be caught in their

sights as their target, have been using these very outlets for their

ammunition supplies. It is most improbable that the insurgents have obtained

their ammunition and explosives from Malaysia. The possession of illegal

firearms and ammunition there carries a mandatory death sentence. Thus, the

most convenient source of these instruments of terror is right here on

Bangkok's gun street.

 Tuesday's incident should serve as a rough wake-up call for the

authorities, the police in particular, to tighten the controls on the sale

of .38, 9mm and .357 calibre ammunition, the ammunition widely used by

Islamic insurgents in their indiscriminate attacks on government officials

and others in the deep South. Limits must be set on the amount of ammunition

a civilian can buy from a gun shop. Special permits must be obtained for

extra ammunition. Also, restrictions must be placed on firing ranges

requiring that all target shooters return all their empty shells so these

can be checked against the amount of live ammunition purchased.

 Strict ammunition controls may be unpopular with the owners of gun shops

and firearm enthusiasts. But given the continued violence in the South,

where the insurgents are apparently able to roam at will on their shooting

sprees with handguns using the same cartridges easily available on the open

market, any measure which can help reduce the violence is worth a try.

 The shooting attack on Tuesday afternoon by insurgents on a school bus in

Pattani in which two students were wounded by a shooter using a handgun from

the back of a motorcycle should drive home the urgent need to halt the legal

ammunition supply while there is the danger it will fall into the hands of

insurgents. This attack was another awful reminder that the insurgents will

go to any length in their terror campaign. Children, women, monks, anyone,

both Muslim and non-Muslim, are all seen as legitimate targets by these

people.

 Most importantly, the government must earn the trust and confidence of the

Muslim people in the South, especially the religious and community leaders,

if it intends to win the war against the insurgents. This cannot be possible

while the government continues to deny them the right of participation in

solving the crisis that bedevils their own region.