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| Southeast Asia |
| Thai army chief rejects U.S. offer to help quell Islamic insurgency |
| 2007-04-19 |
| Thailand's powerful army chief on Thursday rejected an American offer to help quell an Islamic insurgency in the country's restive south, saying his forces can cope with the situation that has claimed more than 2,000 lives in three years. He said Thailand would nonetheless appreciate access to U.S. intelligence. "Thailand appreciates the offer but we regard the situation in the southern region as an internal affair," Army Commander Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin told The Associated Press, maintaining that no international terrorists operate in the area. "But we would appreciate it if the United States could provide assistance to us in the area of information since the United States has experience in the Middle East and Afghanistan," especially, he said, in how to track foreign financial contributions to the insurgents, he said. The army commander was responding to comments by the U.S. special operations commander for the Pacific who expressed concern about escalating violence in the region. Maj. Gen. David Fridovich said on Wednesday that U.S. troops could help to train Thai forces to quell the insurgency, if Thai authorities asked for assistance. No U.S. special operations troops would fight in southern Thailand, but they could teach Thai troops how to apply a "softer touch" in gaining the support of local people and in isolating the insurgents. "If there's an entree the Thai government gives us to help them with the southern issue, we'll gladly take it," Fridovich said on the sidelines of a special operations conference in Waikiki, Hawaii. But he said the U.S. was not attempting to impose a military agenda on Thailand. "It's for them to ask us, 'We think you might be able to help. What do you think you might be able to do for us?'" Fridovich said, adding that there had been no formal discussions between Thai and American military officials on the matter. The violence in Thailand's three southern Muslim-majority provinces — Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani — has escalated in recent months with drive-by shootings and bombings occurring almost daily. In response, the government has recruited an additional 3,000 paramilitary rangers to beef up security in the area. Human Rights Watch, however, warned against the use of paramilitary forces and government-backed village defense volunteers in fighting the insurgency. The "growing reliance on abusive militias" has placed civilians at greater risk, the New York based group said in a statement Wednesday. "These cases of deadly use of force show how dangerous it is for the government to arm and deploy poorly trained militia forces," Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said. The statement came after defense volunteers shot dead four Muslim youths on April 9. Thai army authorities said the volunteers acted in self-defense as they thought they were being attacked. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #4 Isn't the Thai Army Chief Muslim? I thought I had heard that. That would explain why the Thai Army has been so inadequate. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2007-04-19 13:58 |
| #3 Too bad they can't get Slobodan Milosevic to help them. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-04-19 13:33 |
| #2 'especially, he said, in how to track foreign financial contributions to the insurgents' Look no further than Saudi.I could them that!!! |
| Posted by: Ebbolump Glomotle9608 2007-04-19 12:32 |
| #1 He said Thailand would nonetheless appreciate access to U.S. intelligence. Oh, great, the CIA. There's help in blinding one self to the obvious. It's the muzzies and it's that simple. Notice the Ethiopian approach when the Islamic Courts in Mogadishu threatened? It worked. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-04-19 11:55 |