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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Burma cyclone: now aid workers warn of refugee crisis

2008-05-12

Do tell ... Teams of aid experts allowed into the cyclone-ravaged Irrawady delta have returned to Thailand with the bleakest of warnings: Burma is on the brink of a “devastating public health crisis” compounded by an emerging refugee disaster. But for the hundreds of aid workers who have flown into Bangkok from around the world, the chances of a sudden glut of the precious entry visas appeared slimmer by the hour. Rumours have begun circulating between international aid organisations that the Burmese regime is preparing to close its doors altogether: a decision, warned UN-affiliated aid workers, that will cost the lives of thousands. Although some medical and food supplies have begun to trickle into the country – a cargo plane chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross carrying 35 tons of aid was one of the latest to land – disaster experts said that the shipments fell far short of what was needed. Stephan Goetghebuer, a director of operations at Medecins Sans Frontieres said that while the Burmese authorities had allowed just enough leeway for a few aid shipments “it's no more than a drip-feed, really, given a serious response is more than required.” Dysentery, diarrhoea and other diseases would, said medical observers, tear through the storm’s survivors as they struggle to rebuild their lives. Warehouses full of unsent medical and food supplies are a rising source of fury among aid groups. But the lack of expertise on the ground is also significantly heightening the crisis – the junta’s stonewall tactics against foreign aid distributors means that many of the world’s foremost specialists in disasters are pacing around their offices in Bangkok just a few hundred miles from where they believe they should be. And the generals don't exactly have a track record of caring for their citizens, or allowing the citizens to care for themselves ... The frustrated aid workers are not the only ones waiting in Thailand with rising dread for the situation there and growing rage with the behaviour of the Burmese authorities. Khin, who works as a gardener in Bangkok, is one of the hundreds of thousands of Burmese living in Thailand with family back home – family that he has not heard from and now believes have been claimed by the cyclone. Over the weekend, large numbers of Burmese migrants protested outside their own embassy in Bangkok, demanding that the regime abandon its objection to foreign aid. Holding a page of newspaper bearing aerial photographs of the devastation, Khin weeps as he thinks of his sister and her family: “it is terrible not to know, but it is worst to think that they might have been saved if the foreign aid had been allowed in.” So far, only a few of the assessment teams that would normally be on the scene to establish the scale of the problem have been allowed into Burma to do their jobs. For the logisticians, doctors, water specialists and other aid workers, the teams now returning are expected to deliver an extremely grim picture of what is needed to ensure the survival of an estimated 1.5 million people affected by the cyclone. After three days probing the worst-affected parts of the country, returning assessment teams said that the Burmese junta’s de facto blockade on large-scale foreign assistance is now in danger of creating a separate refugee crisis. Tens of thousands of people left homeless by Cyclone Nargis have, until now, stayed put and held out in the desperate hope that food, shelter and medical supplies would come to them eventually. But because more than a week has now past and nothing has arrived, many have set off in search of salvation. One of the teams sent by the aid group WorldVision said it discovered 30,000 such refugees encamped around the village of Myaung mya. “These are desperate people who, after a week of waiting, are giving up on the aid response and heading off in search of food and shelter," said Chris Webster, one of dozens of WorldVision workers effectively trapped in Bangkok waiting for Burmese visas. Aid workers who have flown into Bangkok from around the world said that the weekend had been a crucible of frustration and anger with the Burmese regime. Emotions have swung wildly between hope and despair as the odd visa application has been processed, only for hundreds of others to sink without a trace. This morning optimism was triggered by news that the former prime minister of Thailand, Surayud Chulanont, was planning to lead a delegation to Naypyidaw in a last-ditch bid to persuade the junta to open its borders to large-scale foreign assistance. But by those hopes faded as the junta re-iterated its position that only the Burmese government would be allowed to distribute whatever aid was sent in.

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Southeast Asia

Little progress in Thailand's war on terror

2008-01-18

Thailand's military-backed government has made little progress in tackling Islamic insurgents in the country's restive south, officials have admitted. The generals who overthrew elected leader Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006 made tackling the separatism a priority. They took a more conciliatory approach - but last year about 800 people were killed, more than in any previous year. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says the government appears to be shaken by recent bold attacks by the militants. A group of Thai soldiers were attacked last week in an ambush that left eight dead - one of whom was beheaded. Initially Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont dismissed it as a routine attack. But officials now acknowledge the government's failure to win the co-operation of the mainly Malay population in the deep south, who are believed to give at least tacit support to the terrorists insurgents. "We made great progress on military operations last year, but our efforts with the people remained static," government spokesman Chaiya Yimwilai said. In an interview with the Krungthep Thurakit newspaper, Defence Minister Bunrot Somthat admitted that the insurgents were winning the intelligence battle. "In the past, we were always ahead of them when they lived in forests. Now, they live in towns and they have modern communications equipment," he said. "In short, we have information about them only up to a level. But they have our information up to details of our plans, operations and deployments of personnel. So they know every move of ours but we do not know their moves well enough." Little is known about the insurgent groups. They never make public statements about their aims - although they are believed to want an independent Islamic state in the south. The few people who have had contact with the militants say they have been influenced by jihadist ideology, and are not interested in negotiating an end to the violence, our correspondent says.

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Southeast Asia

Thai official says that southern jihadis are funded by al-Qaeda

2008-01-18

then, immediately tries to take it back The Islamic insurgency in Thailand’s southern provinces is no longer a local separatist struggle but part of a broader jihadi movement, a government official claimed on Friday. Chaiya Yimvilai, a government spokesman, said fighting the local insurgency was now more difficult as the rebels were receiving money from al-Qaeda. “The situation has intensified recently because they received money from overseas, from the international terror organisation al-Qaeda,” he said at a media briefing. However, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont immediately played down the claim and stressed that there was no definitive information to support it. “They may share the same ideology. We don't know for sure if they are indeed connected,” he said. Bangkok has always rebuffed sporadic claims that Thai Islamic radicals could be linked to a larger Islamic terrorist organisation, and in particular to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Indonesia-based JI wants to unite countries across South-east Asia into a caliphate. It has been linked to some of the worst terrorist attacks in the region since 2000, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 and injured 200 others. Using leaflets, Thai Muslim rebels have routinely stated their goal of establishing an independent Islamic state (Pattani Darulislam) in southern Thailand but never stated a desire to create a larger association.

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Southeast Asia

Thailand says will not take action against Myanmar

2007-10-14

Thailand’s army-appointed government will take no action against Myanmar’s junta for its bloody crackdown on democracy protests as it lacks the moral authority, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said on Saturday. Surayud, a former army chief who was installed after last year’s military coup, said any action by an interim government in Bangkok could also create headaches for any successor that emerged after a Dec. 23 general election. “As a Buddhist country, we disagreed with the violence dealt out by the Myanmar government, especially against the monks,” Surayud said in a weekly television address. “But if we do anything that will cause bad feelings with our neighbour, that will be problematic for the new elected government,” he said. “My government, therefore, is very careful on this issue.”

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Southeast Asia

Four killed as Thai Muslims celebrate Eid

2007-10-13

Suspected Islamic terrorists rebels killed four people and wounded two others as celebrations for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr got underway in southern Thailand, police said Saturday. Three Muslims were killed late Friday after terrorists militants targeted their car in Yala, one of the jihad insurgency plagued provinces bordering Malaysia, police said. A 50-year-old Muslim man was seriously injured in the same attack, they added. In nearby Narathiwat province, a 47-year-old Buddhist man was gunned down in a drive-by shooting, while his 50-year-old brother was seriously injured, they added. Thailand's top security official, coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin, announced Friday that the government plans to extend emergency rule in the region for another three months. The decree -- up for formal renewal on October 19 -- gives security forces sweeping powers of search and seizure and broad immunity from prosecution. Suspects can be detained for up to 30 days without charge. Rights groups say emergency rule has created a climate of impunity in the region, which has also been under martial law since Sonthi led a coup last year. "The degree of violence in the attacks has decreased while the frequency of attacks has also lessened," army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Saturday in a weekly television interview. "However, the jihad insurgency will last years longer," he added.

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Southeast Asia

Burma: Thai PM condemns use of violence against protestors

2007-09-29

(AKI) - Thailand’s prime minister Surayud Chulanot has condemned the use of violence against protesters in neighbouring Burma (also known as Myanmar). The Thai leader told the United Nation's general assembly meeting in New York that democracy in Burma must be achieved in a peaceful manner. Burma has recently witnessed a wave of peaceful demonstrations, which began last month in protest against a surge in fuel prices and more recently have included many of the country’s monks. Official media reports said that at least nine people were killed on Thursday as troops fired tear gas and bullets to clear protesters off the streets of Rangoon (also known as Yangon). Like its neighbour, Thailand is predominantly Buddhist and shares “in the beliefs of non-violence and tolerance,” prime minister Surayud Chulanont told the assembly’s annual high-level debate. “Thailand therefore finds as unacceptable the commission of violence and bodily harm to Buddhist monks and other demonstrators” in the city of Rangoon. “We strongly urge Myanmar to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution and resume its efforts at national reconciliation with all parties concerned, and work towards a peaceful transition to democracy,” the Thai prime minister said, calling on the release of all political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi .

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Southeast Asia

Security measures need not be stepped up in southern Thailand

2007-09-04

Public schools in several districts of Pattani which were closed temporarily following Sunday's killing of a chief education official, are expected to reopen Tuesday, but security measures need not be stepped up for the time being. Prasit Nookung, acting chief of Education Office Zone 3 in Pattani, said 30 out of a total of 71 schools in Sai Buri and Mai Kaen districts of the southernmost province would reopen Tuesday after the chief education official attached to Education Zone 3, identified as Chalong Aphakorn, was shot dead by terrorists insurgents, sending many teachers in panic regarding their own safety. A royal funeral for the remains of the slain education official is scheduled for Thursday at a local temple in Mai Kaen district. The manslaughter committed by terrorists insurgents in such a predominantly Buddhist area was considered an unprecedented event. The local police had obtained tips leading to the imminent arrest of the assailants. In a related report, another teacher was killed in a drive-by shooting in Pattani Monday afternoon. 35-year-old Suvit Wongsanit, a teacher at Pattani's Technical College, was shot dead by two gunmen on a motorcycle while he rode his motorbyke home in Nong Chik district. However, no additional security measures will be necessary, even during the Muslim Ramadan fasting season, according to government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp. Prime Minister Gen. Surayud Chulanont held a video conference with the authorities in the southernmost provinces, including the Fourth Army Region's Internal Security Operations Command, which is helping the military and police combat the terrorists insurgents. The prime minister urged government personnel to concentrate on the current project to lead a total of 368 terrorist insurgent suspects, who had earlier surrendered to the authorities, back into law-abiding citizenship and send them to skill development and vocational training programmes. In addition, villagers from the southernmost provinces will be led on a visit to their relatives who are currently practicing as nursing students in other regions of the country. The authorities and terrorists insurgents clashed four times last month, resulting in the deaths of 12 police officers and government officials and eight insurgents. A total of 201 terrorist insurgent suspects were arrested and 61 rifles as well as ammunition were seized. That's nothing. You should see how bad it has to get before additional security measures become necessary.

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Southeast Asia

Thai rebels snub peace talks offer

2007-08-30

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday said that terrorists separatists fighting in Muslim-majority provinces have refused to take up his offer to launch peace talks. "As of now, there has been no progress on starting negotiations, because that would require the agreement of both sides. So there are no talks for now," he told reporters. "My government is still adhering to a policy of non-violence, but cooperation from the people is crucial," he said. Human Rights Watch said in a report Tuesday that despite the peace gestures, Thailand still has no concrete strategy to end state-sanctioned abuses. But rest assured that HRW will immediately pounce upon and attack any strategy the Thai government develops. In fact the more "concrete" the strategy, the more they will howl, no doubt. The report warned that the conflict was degenerating into a brutal armed conflict in which 89 per cent of the fatalities have been civilians. Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram welcomed the report and said he believed it would help the international community understand why Thailand has struggled to find ways of reining in the shadowy jihad insurgency. "The international community will have a positive attitude toward Thailand. The report is fair and does us justice," he said. "We always regret the loss of life, regardless of who the victims are," he said. Meanwhile, Thailand yesterday blasted a request by the European Union to send observers to the nation's post-coup elections in December, saying the kingdom was "not a failed state". Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram said it was "unacceptable" that the EU had asked Thai electoral officials for permission to send up to 500 observers to the polls on December 23. "We, in Thailand, have a track record across history. We are not a failed state or on any watch list," he said. "We are mature. We can solve our own problems," he said. "I don't think we need anybody to teach us how to vote," he said.

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Southeast Asia

Bomb kills one, injures 11 in southern Thailand

2007-08-25

A bomb exploded as Buddhist monks collected alms in Thailand's restive south, killing a man and injuring 11 other people, including six soldiers who were guarding the monks, police said. A bomb hidden underneath a table in front of a grocery shop in Pattani's Muang district went off as two Buddhist monks climbed off a military vehicle to accept an offering of food from the shop's owner, said police Col. Somchit Nasomyon. The blast instantly killed the shop owner, Yaowaphan Thientham, Somchit said. It also injured six soldiers who were part of the patrol guarding the monks, three villagers and two monks known as novices because they are under 15 years, he said. Buddhist monks have been slain and dozens injured in bomb explosions. For three years, the military has provided escorts for Buddhist monks while they collect alms in the morning. During an official visit to Malaysia earlier this week, Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi discussed the ongoing construction of a bridge connecting the countries to facilitate the movement of people across the border. "Malaysia has no policy of supporting separatism (within southern Thailand). It wants to develop its northern region, and that cannot happen if the violence in southern Thailand continues," Surayud said in his weekly address Saturday during a visit to Narathiwat. Surayud and Abdullah also discussed establishing exchanges of students and Islamic teachers, as well as a program to allow Thais to cross the border to work and return home at night.

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India-Pakistan

Indian Army to help train Thai troops

2007-08-17

Thailand will be sending an army contingent to India take tips from the Indian Army on fighting jihadis insurgency and participate in counter-terrorism training, it was reported Friday. Nearly 100 troops from the Royal Thai Army - which is battling a violent terrorist separatist campaign in southern provinces - will participate in a defence exercise at an army base in India's eastern state of Jharkhand, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. The exercise, called "Maitree" - meaning "friendship" in both Hindi and Thai - is the first of its kind between the two armies and planned for early September under a bilateral treaty on security cooperation. In a joint statement issued during Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's visit to India in June, the two countries resolved to strengthen bilateral cooperation and combat terrorism. Both sides said terrorism constituted one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. Security analysts told the Hindustan Times that such military collaboration forms a crucial component of India's "Look East" policy under which it seeks to consolidate ties with its fast-growing eastern neighbours. "India is aggressively establishing its credentials in the military sphere with Asean countries," Uday Bhaskar, former director of Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses told the newspaper. "New Delhi is following a bilateral approach to expand defence ties - and not under the Asean Regional Forum banner - as these nations have a lot of internal sensitivities," he added. India has also established maritime cooperation with a number of Asean members including Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines. In the past few years, a number of countries including the United States have been conducting military exercises with India to pick up tips in fighting insurgency. US Marines are due to conduct joint exercises at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School in India's north-eastern state of Mizoram next month.

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Southeast Asia

Thai security forces accused of beating terror suspect to death

2007-07-29

Security forces beat to death a Muslim man suspected in the execution-style slaughter of eight Buddhists in Thailand's barbarian insurgency-plagued south, a human rights group claimed Saturday. The prime minister, meanwhile, said no human rights abuses have been committed in southern Thailand. On July 21, police and military officers raided a hut in Yala's Krong Pinang district to arrest five suspected members of a Muslim jihadi rebel terror commando unit believed to have carried out the execution-style shooting of eight Buddhists in a nearby district in March, according to the military and a human rights group. Pournpen Khongkachonkiet of the rights organization Working Group on Justice for Peace told The Associated Press that the officers severely beat Ashari Sama-ae, one of the suspects around his head and body while in custody. The 25-year-old employee of a motorcycle shop later died at a public hospital in Yala, Pournpen said. A National Human Rights Commission official, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the press, said the commission visited three of the four other suspects at a military base in Pattani where they were being detained on Thursday and that they all said they had been beaten. The military said the suspects had violently resisted arrest. "The injuries were the result of fighting while the security forces attempted to round up the five suspects who tried to run away," said Col. Shinnawat Maendaet, the military commander in Yala province. But Shinnawat said a committee would investigate the 15 army and police officials involved in the operation. He did not elaborate. "If they committed a wrongdoing, they will have to be prosecuted," he said. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said all all suspected insurgents are subject to due legal process. "We assure people that the authorities are strictly following the judicial process. There are no human rights violations and no beatings," Surayud said.

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Southeast Asia

Thailand affirms reconciliation will end unrest

2007-07-19

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Thursday the reconciliation approach will finally resolve the violence in the three southern border provinces. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a seminar on "The Role of Muslims in Proximity of Religions" hosted by the Iranian Embassy in Bangkok,the prime minister said that "Thailand is tolerant of every religion and Thais have the right to choose their own religion. There is no religious discrimination here. "There are 3,600 mosques in Thailand," the prime minister said. "The government also supports Muslim Thais to join the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia." The unrest in the three southern border provinces is not caused by religious conflict, Gen. Surayud said, but it affects both Buddhists and Muslims in the south. The government has adopted His Majesty the King's suggested principle of "Understanding, Access, and Development" to be the guideline in continuing reconciliation and peaceful approaches to end the unrest, he added. Islamic experts from Iran exchanged information, experience and academic opinions with Thai Islamic experts and other religious experts during the seminar. This is in line with the government's method to support and promote good relations between all religions, Gen. Surayud said. Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki Secretary-General of the Muslim World League visited Thailand last month and advised the Muslim community to adhere to true Islam which did not accept the use of violence.He praised the Thai government for its adoption of reconciliation measures aimed at solving the unrest.

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