Word: pattani
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...sense reinforced by clumsy attempts to assimilate their Malay-speaking Islamic culture. Many Muslim youths are first groomed for rebellion at tadika, or private weekend schools, where they are taught that the invading Siamese (as Thais were then known) stifled their religion and enslaved their people, a version of Pattani history still banned by the state. History seemed to repeat itself when Thaksin sent thousands of troops south to quell the rebellion, culminating with Tak Bai, which radicalized Ma-ae's generation more than any other incident. Initiations take place at night. Each recruit swears allegiance to his cell...
...will these initiatives be enough to douse the southern fires, which have burned sporadically since Thailand annexed the independent Pattani sultanate a century ago? Ma-ae and Hassam suggest otherwise. In modern times, the insurgency has been driven by groups such as the Pattani United Liberation Organization (P.U.L.O.) and Barisan Revolusi Nasional (National Revolutionary Front, or B.R.N.), set up in the 1960s. The new militants are more ruthless and, while their youthful ranks overlap with P.U.L.O. and B.R.N., they refuse to publicly align themselves with any insurgent outfit. Their leaders are unknown. In the local Malay dialect, the new militants...
...would have no choice but to execute him." The new militants are "just killing for killing's sake," he says. "These youths are different from us," agrees an active B.R.N. commander in Narathiwat. "They don't understand how their brutality could undermine the work of other groups seeking Pattani's liberation." Hassam is scathing about B.R.N. and P.U.L.O. "They belong to the past," he says...
...July 22 two Muslim men were arrested on suspicion of shooting dead an Islamic teacher in Pattani more than seven months ago. But such arrests are conspicuously rare. Inadequate intelligence gathering is largely to blame. Angered by state repression and fearful of militant reprisals, Muslims are unwilling to volunteer information to military and civilian authorities, who in turn are reluctant to share it with one another. So far, no weapons caches or bomb factories have been found. "The intelligence record is dismal," says Abuza...
...Under the new decree, soldiers could theoretically escape such lawsuits in the future, claim rights activists. That alarms Awae, the nickname of a Muslim who lives in a multifaith community in the provincial capital Pattani. Last month three Muslims there were shot dead during evening prayers, possibly by security forces, the neighbors believe. A once peaceful community is now on edge. "If we see a stranger, we're careful about what we say," says Awae. "We live in fear...