Posted on 12/11/2004 3:01:46 AM CST by Racehorse
Editor's Note: Bombarding Thailand's Muslim-majority southern provinces with millions of origami paper birds -- a recent move by Thailand's leaders -- failed because of the government's longtime neglect and continuing abuse of its Muslim population.
Last April in Bangkok, I saw a man selling birds at a Buddhist temple's entrance. Worshippers, he told me, often buy and then release these birds as a way to garner good karma. When I asked the birdman whether he would catch these birds in the first place if there hadn't been such a market for them, he looked confused. No one had ever asked him this question.
A similar question could be asked of the Thai government in its dealing with its Muslim minority.
Prime Minister Shinawatra Thaksin, in his effort to pacify Thailand's restive southern provinces, recently bombarded the inhabitants with white paper origami in the shape of cranes by the millions -- a spectacle heavy on symbolism but light on substance. The question: If the Thai government had been fair and just in dealing with its Muslim minorities all along, would it have to resort to theatrics in search of elusive peace?
The efforts by and large did not work. Immediately after, two bombs went off, another was defused and the owner of a tea shop in Pattani province was slain by gunmen. Assailants also threw grenades at the homes of two policemen in the same province, while in Yala, arsonists set fire to a state school.
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The reality is that, paper birds notwithstanding, the rage of Thailand's Muslim minorities remains woefully unaddressed, and in fact the Thai government still treats them brutally.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.pacificnews.org ...
Yeah okay, but I don't see the brutalized Christian minorities in China, India and throughout S.E. Asia reacting violently to their treatment. What does that tell you about Islam?