Muslim Separatists Strengthen Forces in South

July 4, 2005

Source: The Jerusalem Post

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1120468319822&p=1078113566627

On July 4, 2005 The Jerusalem Post reported, "A former regional army commander said Monday that Thai Muslim insurgents have stockpiled more than 7,000 firearms and trained with Indonesian militants to wreak violence in southern Thailand.

Retired Army Gen. Kitti Rattanachaya, who was praised for maintaining the peace in the 1990s and has been a security adviser to the current administration, said the government's mishandling of the situation could cause it to deteriorate...

'The separatist movement has complete control of the people. Only the land belongs to us, but the people belong to the movement, 100 percent.'

A decades-old Muslim separatist movement in the deep south of Thailand died down in the late-1980s after the government granted an arms amnesty.

The violence surged again early last year, resulting in more than 880 deaths during the past 18 months."