Bangkok (AsiaNews) People in Thailand are ever the more astonished by the daily violence occurring in the southern part of their country. In a country ruled according a Buddhist philosophy of tolerance, the deaths provoked by Islamic fundamentalism seem to be undermining the country's very national government.
According to testimony given by local priests, there are often reports of problems caused for Christians and there is an urgent need to educate the region's youth.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, a police force officer, Abdul Rahman Samanung (age 41), was beaten to death. He died in Slungai Padi, a district in the Muslim dominated southern province of Narathiwat.
On Friday, Feb. 6, two other public security officials were killed. On the same day, again in Slungai, two unidentified men on a scooter opened fire against Sergeant Panya Darahim (age 40). In the outskirts of the southern province of Pattani, the body of Sergeant Jetsada Thongampon was found, who was killed inside his own home.
A state employee and a police officer were killed two weeks earlier, while a Buddhist temple was set ablaze. Last month three Buddhist monks and two Muslim students were murdered.
The Thai government blames the attacks on Islamic militant separatist groups. According to the Bangkok Post, the attacks were organized by the Barisan Revolusi Nationale (BRN) group, which has bases hidden in nearby Malaysia. Islamic fundamentalist cells were already found in the 1990s, but were broken up by the government.
The recent series of killings will not allow the government to lift the Martial Law imposed on the country's southern provinces, as requested by regional Muslim leaders.
The country's southern provinces are mainly inhabited by Muslims, even if the country is mostly composed of Buddhists (94,8%) and Muslims represent only a small overall minority (4%). Christians form a tiny minority of 0.6%
Fr. Gustav Roosens is the Salesian parish priest of Yala and has lived among Muslims in the South for 13 years. He told AsiaNews that "there are no problems between Christians and Muslims" But he went on to say: "Here in Thailand there is now much talk about the southern economy and the poor image which Muslims have, but were there is very little talk about real problems that lspark violence."
"The real problem in the South is that 70% of the population lives in poverty. There is widespread unemployment and young people are uneducated. Most of them barely complete elementary school. There is no work and many of them become soldiers, but are always treated as second class citizens. They feel excluded and forgotten by Bangkok", he said.
This allows "hoodlums to draw near to young people, brainwashing them and offering to be their 'protectors' in exchange for a little money," said Fr. Roosens.
According to Fr. Roosens, what is needed is an efficient school system helping Muslim youth to find jobs. "I would like to open a trade school to help these young people," he said.
The diocese of Suratthan has had pastoral program underway for quite some time, dedicated to educating poor people.
The diocese extends to 15 southern provinces, 4 of which attract large amounts of tourism (Songkhla, Phanggna, Phuket and Krabi); while another 4 are largely inhabited by Muslims (Narathiwat, Pattani, Satun and Yala).
(WK)