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October 30:
Charismatic former-Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who was recently released from custody on political charges re-entered political life upon arriving home after receiving medical treatment in Germany, reports
Reuters. Hundreds of supporters welcomed him with flowers while chanting the slogan "Reformasi", the cry of Anwar's political reform movement. Police attempted to prevent a rally from forming by putting up roadblocks and blocking supporters - watched by dozens of police with clubs - behind a barrier.
October 31:
Analysts warn that the recent inhumane treatment of over 1,000 arrested Muslim protesters in southern Thailand, which caused the death of 84, could strengthen an evolving alliance between younger Muslim radicals and older separatist groups, dormant in recent years, reports the
Washington Post. [Editor: The older separatist groups launched two decades of violent insurgency which subsided in the 1980s, when the King and Queen of Thailand implemented social, education and economic development programs in the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and
Yala.] Harsh tactics and discrimination, including alleged denial of employment and educational opportunities by the government are causing religious leaders and security experts to fear further violence from the Thai Muslim population. "So many innocent youths were killed." Said Nasae, a fish trader speaking of the most recent attacks. "It makes us angrier and angrier. It's going to be harder and harder to solve this problem."
November 1:
Anwar Ibrahim criticized Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's tactics in dealing with the increased violence in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south, which shares a border with Malaysia, reports
the Associated Press. "If (violence) is allowed to go on and you leave it purely to security forces to handle the situation, this is certainly going to be a base for extremism," Anwar stated. Some Malaysian leaders are worried that the violence could spill across the Thai-Malaysian border, as people on both sides share the same ethnicity and speak the same language. Anwar urged that if Thailand is committed to fighting Islamic extremism and terrorism, "then they should welcome" Malaysia's involvement, and not see it purely as an internal affair.
[Editor: Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala are part of a Malay Muslim sultanate that was subjugated and annexed into Thailand in
1902.]
A Washington Post editorial observes that two crises in Southeast Asia -- Thailand and Burma -- threaten the stability of the wider region that has been glaringly neglected in the United States electoral debate. In Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin is leading the nation backward by pressuring the media, intimidating opponents, and sanctioning extra-judicial killings of supposed drug dealers. President Bush has welcomed Mr. Thaksin as an ally in the war on terrorism even though Muslim separatism in southern Thailand is becoming more violent and aggressive, as a result of Thaksin's brutal methods. The other critical issue is the house arrest of Burma's Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, who lost a power struggle with stronger members of the violent junta, which oversees one of the most pervasive international havens for the illicit drug trade.
King Sihamoni of Cambodia marked the end of his three-day coronation on Saturday with a speech in front of 50,000 well-wishers, pledging to be a "faithful and loyal servant of the people", reports the
Associated Press. The monarch carries enormous cultural significance for the Cambodian people and has some influence over government decisions, though he is seldom involved in day-to-day politics. The young monarch emphasized that former King Sihanouk advised his son to avoid corruption which continues to be a problem throughout Cambodian society.
Australia Broadcasting Corporation reports that a day of violence in Indonesia's Aceh province has claimed 19 lives. The bloodshed continued ahead of a key review of military operations to crush a long-running separatist insurgency. An Aceh military spokesman says one soldier and 10 rebels were killed in separate clashes on October 31, while Indonesian troops killed eight suspected rebels in five encounters a day earlier. The latest deaths follow one of the bloodiest weeks for the Free Aceh Movement rebels since the May 2003 launch of a government offensive to end their 28-year fight. Clashes earlier in the week resulted in 17 deaths.
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