 Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday said foreign Islamic extremists were helping separatists launch attacks in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south, but he denied international terrorist organizations were sponsoring the conflict. | "We grow our own terror masters right here in Thailand, thank you very much. None of that imported jihad for us." |
"The separatist movement is actively creating trouble, and they have Muslim extremists from foreign countries helping them," Thaksin told reporters. "The assistance is not in the form of a terrorist organization or at the governmental level, but as individual friends they met while studying abroad."| "Al Qaeda? Never heard of him. But have you heard about our Thai/Yemeni pen pal program? It's a smash hit with the kidz!" |
It was Thaksin's most direct statement yet about foreign involvement, although he has previously accused southern Thais of having ties with Malaysian militants. Thaksin said hundreds of Thai Muslims had traveled to Middle Eastern countries to further their education, and that Thai security agencies believed some of the students may have received terrorist and militia training abroad. He did not name any countries. Defense Minister Gen. Sumpun Boonyanun said hundreds of Islamic youths had received military training in Muslim countries, including some of Thailand's neighbors. Malaysia and Indonesia have Muslim majorities. "The intelligence sources show that the Muslim youths have gone for military training in several Muslim countries, but it is not appropriate for me to mention the countries by name because they asked me not to are our friendly nations," Sumpun said. Security officials in Southeast Asia say members of the regional extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah attended hardline religious schools in Pakistan, and that some joined al-Qaida recruits from the Middle East at terror training camps in Afghanistan prior to the U.S.-led war there. Thaksin said his security forces had "a clear picture" of the separatist movement.| "It's kind of shaped like an elephant, see, and it's sitting in my living room. But I'll deal with it later...shall we go grab a Singha?" |
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