[Paleopsych] Nation Multimedia (Thailand): 21 Islamic schools 'fostering militancy' face closure

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21 Islamic schools 'fostering militancy' face closure
Bangkok's Independent Newspaper
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.arcview.php3?clid=3&id=103138&usrsess=1

    Published on Jul 27, 2004

    Authorities yesterday threatened to shut down 21 Islamic boarding
    schools in the deep South and throw their owners in jail, after
    accusing them of being breeding grounds for militants.
    Intelligence information indicated that students and teachers from the
    21 schools, known locally as pondoks, have been involved in creating
    violence in the region, Deputy Education Minister Sutham Saengprathoom
    said.
    The Education Ministry will summon the schools' owners and teachers to
    ask for their cooperation in the detection of militant movements in
    their respective schools, he said. If the owners refuse to cooperate,
    they will be imprisoned for six months or fined Bt50,000 - or both, he
    said, adding that the schools will also be shut down.
    Of the 21 schools, five are in Yala while there are eight each in
    Pattani and Narathiwat.
    The government has clear information that teachers at two of the
    schools have indoctrinated their students with anti-government
    sentiment, Sutham said.
    He said staff at the two schools were indirectly involved in violence
    in the region.
    "Within a couple of days the ministry will summon owners and teachers
    of the two schools first, and the other 19 will be called later when
    we find clear information," he said.
    Sutham declined to name the two schools in question.
    A spate of violence has gripped the region since the beginning of the
    year, claiming more than 200 lives. Among the dead are the 108 Islamic
    militants gunned down by authorities during a series of attacks on
    several security outposts on April 28.
    Assassinations aimed mostly at security officers take place on a daily
    basis in the region. The government has blamed separatists and
    home-grown militants for the violence.
    Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula said yesterday he was scheduled to
    meet with Malaysian officials in Phuket next month to ask Kuala Lumpur
    to hunt down some 30 suspected separatists.
    The names of the suspected separatists were submitted to the Malaysian
    government during Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to the
    country in April.
    Kuala Lumpur is yet to take any action because it does not have clear
    information about the suspects, Sutham said, adding the government
    will submit more details of the suspects to concerned Malaysian
    ministries.
    In a related development yesterday, a leaflet critical of Thaksin and
    the Fourth Army Region Commander Pisan Wattawongkiri was distributed
    in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla.
    The leaflet portrays Thaksin pointing his right finger and a
    Thai-language caption saying, "I know. . . I see . . . I could reach
    out so I am the top commander."
    It also shows a picture of Pisan holding an M16 over the caption: "He
    acts like a babydoes everything to be a field marshal.''
    An official said authorities were attempting to find the source of the
    leaflet and the motivation behind its distribution.
    The leaflet is different from previous leaflets distributed in the
    region due to it being written in Thai and not Malay, Sutham said.
    He declined to offer an interpretation of the meaning of the leaflet
    or its significance.

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