Article 66

We're killing each other with no end in sight

At no time since Islamic militants declared war on the government with a daring attack on an army barracks in Narathiwat on Jan 4 has there been any sign that the violence in the three southernmost provinces would abate.

Four soldiers died in that raid and more than 400 M16 assault rifles were seized by the insurgents. The official death toll among police officers, military personnel, civil servants and ordinary citizens killed by the insurgents as of Aug 31 was 199. Another 285 had been injured.

Interestingly, it is ordinary people who account for the highest casualty rate. This clearly indicates that the insurgents have ordinary people going about their daily lives as a legitimate target in their campaign of terror aimed at setting up a fundamental Islamic state of Pattani.

The latest death was of a Pattani provincial court judge, Rapin Ruankaew. He was gunned down in broad daylight at a traffic intersection in Pattani's Muang district by three gunmen on two motorcycles. Eyewitnesses said the gunmen fired several shots into the judge's car, causing it to ram into the car in front, and they then followed up by firing more shots at the judge.

One of the suspects caught shortly afterwards by army troops had been a student at a ponoh school in Pattani. The teenager reportedly confessed to the shooting and told the authorities he had been taught by a religious teacher that killing government officials was necessary in order to realise their aspiration of an Islamic homeland.

This latest incident was a shock to those of us who thought that judges would never be targeted as they dispense justice in the name of His Majesty the King. Duangrapee Ruankaew, the wife of the slain judge, reportedly said she had thought the insurgents would spare good people. We were all wrong.

For the insurgents, anyone, be he/she a child, man or woman, official or ordinary person, Muslim or non-Muslim, who does not share their extremist ideology is regarded as an infidel and thus a legitimate target.

Since all officials of the state are legitimate targets of the insurgents, the question arises whether they should all be armed and able to protect themselves against attack.

But a handgun carried by an official will be of little real help against a surprise attack. All it will do is provide some comfort. A weapon could also be easily wrestled from its owner by a well-trained insurgent.

Police escorts should be provided to judges in the deep South. This should not present a problem as there are not that many.

Strangely, as the death toll mounts, especially among non-combatants, we have yet to see any sign of remorse from the ponoh administrators who vented their fury after a recent search of one of their schools by government troops. Throughout the search, which failed to uncover anything illegal, the troops were well aware of religious sensitivities and showed great tolerance. They reportedly took off their boots before entering the school buildings.

It is true that many southern Muslims harbour a deep distrust of the government and its officials as a result of mistreatment, prejudice and abuse at the hands of bad officials dating back several decades. This problem needs to be addressed and some effort needs to be put into winning back their trust and confidence. This will take time, perhaps many years.

But in light of the killings of non-military government officers and ordinary people, Muslim and non-Muslim, by the insurgents and the efforts by the government to stop this war of terror, the position of moderate Muslims and what role they can play in this intolerable situation needs to be made clear.

Pouring more troops into the troubled South will not help much to solve the problem unless there is solid cooperation from the local people, especially the moderate Muslims who must recognise that the brand of Islamic extremism currently being espoused by the militants is as much of a threat to themselves as it is to non-Muslims.

Veera Prateepchaikul is Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Post Publishing Co Ltd