Did anyone mention that the TWENTY Schools burnt were Islamic
Relgious Schools ? (See continuing development below).
These schools were set up by the Thai Government, and if they were
religious schools, they will probably teach State sanctioned
syllabus and curriculum - probably in response to the radical
syllabus and curriculum being taught in most un-monitored religious
schools beyond the reach of both the Governments of Thailand and
Malaysia.
The Thai-Malaysian border has been a sensitive area to both
countries - the Thais being concerned with the Muslim insurgencies
being given support by the Malaysian radical brothers in the
northern Peninsular Malaysian states controlled by PAS; while the
Malaysian side is concerned with the on-going 2-way smuggling of
Thai rice and agricultural products that threaten similar Malaysian
produce, and the smuggling of State subsidised Petronas fuel and
sugar back to Thailand.
Some of the secondary concerns from the Malaysian side were the
constant crossing of criminals, as well as the remnants of the
Malaysian Communist Party that operate along the border area prior
to their final declaration to give up their struggle in the early
1990s.
A concrete wall and barbed wired - chain linked electric fence was
constructed during the mid-1980s, across the length of the
Thai-Malaysian border - stretching from the West Coast to the East
Coast, from the Straits of Malacca to the South-China Sea.
Bombs
explode in Pattani
Disposal
experts die defusing explosive
Two bombs went off in Pattani
yesterday, killing two police bomb experts in the second day of
heightened violence rocking the deep South.
The first explosion occurred in Somdet Phra Srinakarin park.
Witnesses said a man on a motorcycle threw a plastic bag in a
rubbish bin about five metres from a police box.
Ten minutes later, the bin exploded and flying shrapnel wounded Pol
Sgt Prakong Khiri in the left ear. He was rushed to hospital.
Doctors said his condition was not serious.
The impact of the home-made bomb in the plastic bag also damaged a
nearby toilet and some shops.
Later in the afternoon, another bomb was discovered under the
pillion seat of a motorcycle parked outside Pithan Panich Co in
downtown Pattani.
The bomb went off as two bomb experts, Pol Sgt-Maj Boon-ek Petchsri
and Pol Sgt-Maj Sarit Kateb, were about to defuse it. The blast
killed both officers.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said it was unlikely the two
blasts were perpetrated by the same people who set fire to 20
schools and raided a military camp in neighbouring Narathiwat
province on Sunday morning.
Mr Thaksin has ordered a radical review of security and
intelligence standards and told the authorities to arrest the
culprits within seven days.
The simultanous torching of 20 schools and the looting of an army
camp in Narathiwat was most regrettable, he said.
Mr Thaksin said intelligence was flawed and under-utilised.
Security agencies were working out of sync. Local communities and
the state agencies were estranged due to distrust and stronger
community ties must be forged.
Stealing the weapons from the Narathiwat Ratchanakarin military
camp was the raiders' ultimate goal, he said.
Torching the schools was a diversionary ploy, Mr Thaksin said,
adding that demand for firearms was high among bandits. Earlier
reports said some of the stolen weapons were being sold to Aceh
rebels in Indonesia. He insisted the arsonists who burned down the
schools were not terrorists.
The attackers raided the camp minutes after their accomplices set
fire to the schools across 11 districts of Narathiwat. They stole
102 rifles from the camp.
In the past, state officials assisted in weapons robberies but the
arm of the law never reached them because inquiries fell short of
bringing them to account.
Mr Thaksin criticised agencies concerned for being soft on the
problem. They were not persistent or committed enough to press for
a permanent solution. "Those charged with this duty became slack
when I had other tasks on my hands," the prime minister said.
Mr Thaksin admitted the raiders were not common "bandits" and even
acknowledged they had executed their plan of destruction in a
well-coordinated manner.
But he said the bandits thrived on the authorities' weakness. The
security agencies refused to coordinate with one another and
intelligence warnings often went unheeded.
Mr Thaksin said revamping security would begin from the top. Deputy
Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who is in charge of national
security, must preside over a host of concerted entities made up of
various security agencies at all levels.
When asked why he was not transferring officials who had failed to
prevent the attacks, Mr Thaksin said time was running out for those
who were incompetent.
"Some loose screws need tightening. Those in disrepair will be
flushed out of the system," he said. The military should have known
the bandits were after their weapons, but instead had been
complacent in the face of threats.
"They had the whole stockpile [to guard] but still were not
careful. They had a barracks full of soldiers and still they were
not careful. They deserved to die," he said.
for pics and map of the incident, visit the following site:
http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/06Jan2004_news06.html
