January1 4, 2007:
The violence in the Moslem south is running at about half
the level seen in Iraq. For a generally peaceful part of the world,
that's still pretty scary. The Islamic groups behind the violence refuse to
communicate, except via occasional calls for all non-Moslems (about 28 percent
of the population) to leave the south, and for the three southern provinces to
be granted independence (as an Islamic religious dictatorship, run by persons
unnamed). Local political groups in the south are also unsure who is behind the
violence, although the names of several local religious teachers, and some gang
leaders, keep coming up.
January
13, 2007:Another three people were murdered in the south by Islamic
terrorists.
January
11, 2007:In the south, two small bombs went off, while death squads
killed a Moslem government official, and two non-Moslem civilians.
January
10, 2007:There was a grenade explosion at a Malaysian border post on the
Thai border. It later turned out to be an accident, not an attack.
January
8, 2007:The police investigation of the New Years Eve bombings
indicate that all nine bombs were made by the same team, and were different
from the bombs used in the Moslem south. It is believed that the New
Years Eve bombs were part of a political plot to overthrow the current
government (which was formed by a military coup that overthrew an elected
government last October.)
January
5, 2007:Nine of the 40 people wounded by the New Years Eve bomb blasts
were foreigners. As a result, tourists are staying away, with tourism related
business down at least ten percent and still falling.