February 3, 2006
Dear Friends,
It began on what was remembered as a clear night during the long
New Year’s holiday. Police were concerned more with drunk
drivers and overzealous revelers than with other matters. The
army had moved troops to other places, and since the area had
been quiet for so long there was little regard for security. Shortly
after midnight June 4, 2004, simultaneous attacks were launched
on poorly guarded armories in the three provinces that border
Malaysia. Rifles, pistols, grenades, and M-16s were taken and
by morning it became clear that an Islamic separatist movement
thought to have ended years ago was not only reborn but now well
armed.
Several hundred years ago, Thailand’s southernmost provinces,
Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, were known as the sultanate of
Pattani (Pa-ta-nee). The people were—and still are—Muslims
of Malay ancestry and proud of their culture, language and heritage.
Since the sultanate was annexed by the Kingdom of Siam, uprisings
against Thai rule had happened regularly, most recently in the
1980s and early 1990s. These had been attacks on symbols of central
authority: schools, railroads, government offices. People had
never been targets and the cause, while militant, had never been
jihadist. The leaders grew old and economic growth began to trickle
into this neglected area. The separatists returned to their homes
or went into exile.
But economic growth came to an end. A new government with different
roots began to forget about the south. The old grievances came
back. The majority of people are Malay Muslim, but government
officials are Thai Buddhists. Most people speak Malay, but its
use is often suppressed, which affects the education and opportunity
of many. People resented being told how to act, speak, learn,
and be governed. They questioned why their rights were denied
despite laws guaranteeing equal and basic rights for all. Why
was the rest of the country growing while it was hard for young
Malay Muslim men to find jobs that would give them the dignity
to marry, have a home, and raise a family? How could local officials
abuse their power and authority over the people and go unpunished?
This kind of frustration and anger makes fertile ground for those
who would distort their religion for their own perverse purposes.
Some Thai Muslims who had fought with the Taliban against the
Soviets thought the ways they had learned could change things
here. Teachers came from Muslim countries to help teach Islam,
but a few taught something sinister and not of God. It is now
known how the new separatists came into being out of this mix
and recruited or coerced disaffected youth. Their tactics are
different from the old groups. Trained on the battlefields of
Afghanistan, they do not hesitate to kill. They can launch a frontal
assault or attack from shadows. They seek to drive a wedge between
Buddhists and Muslims who live as neighbors and friends by killing
monks, defacing temples, and decapitating villagers. They turn
to drug smugglers for money to buy weapons and become rich. And
they seek to drive fear into everyone, forcing Muslims to help
them and killing Muslims who collaborate with the government.
The government of Thailand met force with force and learned that
this only made matters worse. There have been and continue to
be abuses by the military. Serious violations of rights and liberties,
combined with attempts to hide the truth, have fueled resentment.
The government now admits its actions failed and gave more fuel
to the separatists. It has now turned to a mix of better law enforcement,
intelligence, and understanding of local culture, and it seeks
a peaceful resolution through the National Reconciliation Commission
(NRC). In a few days, the NRC will make its recommendations after
a year of listening.
The prayers of the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) are that
wisdom will prevail and people will understand that God loves
justice and truth, righteousness and peace, and our command is
to seek these and use them to govern our hearts and minds.
The church has no presence in these provinces, but that does
not prevent Christians from being a part of the process of reconciliation
based on truth, justice, and righteousness. Mark Thamtai, a Thai
Christian, is a part of this process. He has taught at Thailand’s
leading university and is now the director of the CCT’s
Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture. He is a member
of the of the NRC and of government’s new national security
commission for nonviolent tactics. His work and his writings are
helping people to understand that the only way to deal with the
separatists is to eliminate the things that allow them to grow.
That means we are to respond to distrust, hate, injustice, and
deception with truth, justice, righteousness, and the loving-kindness
God calls us to and which are the foundation of His kingdom. When
we act against God’s call we serve the ends of those bent
upon oppression, deception, and malice.
Whether our actions in this conflict prove to be right or wrong
will recede into the debate of history, and the truth as revealed
to us through God will be the answer we followed.
As you pray, please remember Mark Thamtai and others who work
for peace and reconciliation. Please pray for the grace of God’s
love to be upon the south of Thailand, that it may on both sides
soften hearts made hard and open minds shut by anger and lies.
Above all, please pray for peace for this small, troubled land
as well as for the other troubled lands in our world.
Peace be with you!
Scott and Khanita Satterfield
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 122
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