Thailand: December 17, 2004

Archives

The government has arrested four Islamic teachers for promoting Islamic terrorism. The men were flown north, to the capital, Bangkok, to remove them from mobs of their young supporters. These young men, many with experience working for smugglers and criminal gangs, are thought to be planning many more attacks against government and Buddhist targets in the south. The Islamic radicals believe all infidels (non-Moslems) should be driven out of the southern provinces, and these areas should either join Moslem Malaysia, or become independent.  The southern provinces have a population of some 3.5 million. These Moslem areas were taken over by Buddhist Thailand about a century ago. There has always been tension, but the popularity of Islamic radicalism has made violence popular. Nearly 600 people have been killed by the violence in the south so far this year. 

 

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