December
29, 2006: Two months after the coup that brought in a government that offered a
kinder and gentler approach to solving the Islamic terrorism in the south, that
terrorism has gotten worse. Before the coup, terrorists killed about 49 people
a month. Now it's up to 56 murders a month. There are now over twenty bombings
a month down there, and about seven school a month are being destroyed. The
terrorists continue to concentrate on suspected pro-government Moslems,
non-Moslems and government workers. Most of the mountainous back country
villages have been terrorized, and "cleansed" of infidels (non-Moslems)
to such an extent, that the terrorists can move about openly in daytime. The
terrorists are also getting nastier, as in today's attack, where two teachers
were shot, then burned to death on a road. Nearly sixty teachers have been
killed down south in the last two years. Some in the government believe the
increase in terror shows that the Islamic militants are desperate, because of
the increasing number of Moslem victims. But the government has not been able
to catch any of the terrorist leaders, and only a few of the low level
operatives.
December
25, 2006: The military has formed a special force of some loyal (to the junta)
14,000 troops, drawn from all the services, to quickly take care of any
resistance to the junta now running the country. The man the junta ousted,
Thaksin Shinawatra, is still popular in many parts of the country.
December
23, 2006: The government is assembling a new force of 3,000 troops for service
in the south. These reinforcements will be dedicated to protecting government
workers, especially teachers. These troops won't all be in place until
April.
December
19, 2006: Another female teacher was killed by Islamic terrorists in the
south, prompting the government to promise new security measures for teachers.
This has not stopped the exodus of teachers from the south, and the refusal of
many teachers from the north to replace them. The Islamic terrorists are
succeeding in their effort to destroy education in the south. The Islamic
terrorists want only religious schools, which concentrate on memorizing the
Koran, plus basic literacy and simple math.
