Potential Hot Spots: April 28, 2003

Archives

The Islamic separatists in southern Thailand have suddenly become violent. Several dozen armed men attacked two military bases in southern Thailand. Four soldiers were killed and six wounded. The raiders stole 30 M-16 rifles and a grenade launcher. The gunmen were believed to be from the Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO). Most of Thailand's 4.4 million Moslems live in the south, on the border of (mostly) Moslem Malaysia. The PULO is believed to be funded by Saudi Arabian religious organizations. It is also believed that PULO made this attack to please their paymasters. The Saudi Arabian religious organizations encourage adherence to a strict form of Islam, and the establishment of Islamic Republics, and the use of religious (Sharia) law. Only a minority of Thailand's Moslems favor this approach to Islam, but the Islamic radicals feel justified in using force and terror to force other Moslems to see things their way. The Thai government has not used force to deal with the militants, but this has now changed. Last week, a riot by Islamic radicals left two policemen dead. The Thai army has a number of commando and elite infantry type units and these, plus police reinforcements, are now expected to show up in the south. The government has also tried to develop good relations with the Malaysian government, so PULO camps in Malaysia will not be tolerated. 




 

Article Archive

Potential Hot Spots: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close