Thailand militants vow more attacks on school teachers

[Alan]

 
BANGKOK, Dec 14, 2012 (AFP) - Thailand pledged Friday to tighten security for teachers in its restive south as a leaflet campaign threatened further violence against educators amid widespread school closures over safety fears.
 
Two teachers were shot dead on Tuesday in the latest in a spate of attacks on educators. Lessons have been halted at around 1,200 schools this week in the Muslim-majority south, where nine years of unrest have cost thousands of lives.
 
Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana told reporters that "officials must intensify security measures" for teachers, often targeted by militants who see the education system as an effort by Bangkok to impose Buddhist culture.
 
Leaflets threatening further violence against educators, timed to coincide with a visit to the region on Thursday by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, have also raised the stakes, said Phongthep.
 
"We have to seriously beef up security for teachers," he said, adding that authorities hoped increased safety measures for some 20,000 teachers in the region would enable schools to reopen on Monday.
 
The leaflets, which were not signed by any group, read "The war is not yet over, don't count the teachers' corpses yet", said Sanguan Intarak of the local teachers' association.
 
He said they were believed to have been distributed in Songkhla province, which borders the restive region, because security is lighter in the area.
 
Near daily attacks -- including shootings, bombings and even beheadings -- mean violence is a part of life for many in Thailand's southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
 
More than 5,300 people, both Buddhist and Muslim, have been killed since the unrest reignited in 2004, according to Deep South Watch which monitors the unrest.
 
The violence has left 157 educators dead and the United Nations this week said it had claimed the lives of more than 50 children.
 
Tuesday's violence saw a headmistress and teacher shot dead at a school in Pattani, while a separate attack at a teashop in Narathiwat left five dead, including a baby girl.
 
Last week in Narathiwat a 32-year-old teacher was killed by gunmen as she left school on Monday and another teacher was shot and wounded the following day.
 
In the latest attack in the region, Narathiwat police said six soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in the province early Friday.
 

[Alan]

Hard to believe this is happening in Thailand and the deaths since 2004 is shocking. How do you resolve something like this or will it continue to spread?
There is no civilised punishment fit enough for the individuals responcible for these atrocities. 

[nookiebear]

The Government dont seem unduly concerned as this somehow seems to be kept out of the World Press

[Alan]

Buriram is far from the problems so we don't see whats going on down there. I know they have alot of troops deployed in a hope of dealing with it but with this latest tacktic how do you fight that. Very frightening for those concerned and a new low on terrorism.
I agree with you Nookie. Thai are never good at reporting events especially if those events are being handled inafectively. What I cannot understand is why the world media is not picking up on this. 5400 dead since 2004! Children and teachers in the line of fire and the freedom of education being threatend.
Today another American school gets hit by crazed gunman and it goes out world wide instantly by all the networks. Thailand, not a peep.
The world is infested with these nutters whom have no moral fibre and are protected by the fact that civilised people cannot harm them. I feel its time terror was met with terror. A death sentance with the knowledge that marterdom and vestil virgins do not await them due to a pork infested grave would be a good place to start with these bast@#ds.

And to pasify all the do gooders out their, I have no arguement with good moral living Muslims, which these vial bast@#ds are surely not.

[John the Traveller]

Alan I hear what you are saying.
My first reaction would be to advocate for your remedy. On reflection I feel I have a better way. May I respectfully offer my own antidote. To offer martyrdom is an error. To be buried with pig offal is indeed a huge offense but lowers us to the level of these people and gives them argumentative ammunition. My proposal is that they are tried and found innocent due to insanity! This is an insult that far out ways anything else. An insult that would enrage those that would follow the path of the martyr. In one fell swoop you deny access to the "mythical" land of milk and honey equipped with virgins etc. and you deride to the maximum the efforts of these simple fools. You are absolutely correct. They move amongst us because we are open, fair minded and tolerant something they are clearly not. By definition the people who dedicate their lives to Jihad against us "the people of the book" are breaking Koranic law. After all the Koran exhorts all Muslims to protect Christians as Jesus was a minor prophet.
I too share your tolerance toward moral Muslims of which there are many in the world. They must despair at the actions of these people who hide behind their twisted version of Islam.
I think Buddha would have had something worthy to say of all this.

With respect,
JT 

[Alan]