November 30, 2005
Pro-Democracy Activist’s House Arrest Extended
On the heels of moving their capital, Myanmar (aka Burma) has opted to extend the house arrest of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. For those unfamiliar with Aung San Suu Kyi, background information can be found here. Also, read… Posted by Jeff on 2005 11: Read more… | Comments (0)
November 08, 2005
Myanmar Moves Capital
This definitely qualifies for the most bizarre news story of the day: Myanmar’s information minister has announced that the government has begun moving various ministries to a new administrative capital hundreds of kilometers (miles) north of Yangon. Speaking at a… Posted by Jeff on 2005 11: Read more… | Comments (0)
September 28, 2005
Ambush in Southern Thailand
Coinciding with the threat of a wider war by a Thai Muslim leader, four Thai soldiers were ambushed in Southern Thailand: Four Thai soldiers and a teacher were killed by suspected militants in Thailand’s restive Muslim south where nearly 900… Posted by Jeff on 2005 09:Read more… | Comments (0)
September 19, 2005
Thailand Deathtoll Exceeds 1,000
With all the attention on Muslim inspired terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, the the bloodshed in Thailand has essentially been ignored. This is still the case even as the death toll now exceeds 1,000. The Chicago Sun Times, courtesy of… Posted by Jeff on 2005 09: Read more…| Comments (0)
September 02, 2005
Situation in Thailand Worsening
Violence perpetrated by Islamists in Southern Thailand continues unabated, and all signs suggest the situation is worsening rather than improving as the crisis begins to cross over into neighboring Malaysia: In the resort town of Sungai Kolok, on the Malaysian… Posted by Jeff on 2005 09: Read more… | Comments (2)
August 22, 2005
Bloody Weekend in Thailand
Thailand experienced a particularly bloody weekend as the Prime Minister visited the Southern provinces to help provide assurances to a population concerned with daily acts of Muslim-inspired violence: Two gunmen killed a former politician in Thailand’s volatile south on Sunday,… Posted by Jeff on 2005 08: Read more… | Comments (0)
July 28, 2005
Violence in Southern Thailand Continues
Two Dead, Three Hurt in Thailand’s Restive South Ongoing violence claimed lives of two people working for the authorities in Thailand’s insurgent south in the past two days, the local press reported on Thursday. A railway official was shot dead… Posted by Jeff on 2005 07:Read more… | Comments (0)
July 20, 2005
New Beheading Twist in Thailand
The first known beheading of a Muslim in Thailand was reported yesterday: A rubber farmer was beheaded in the first decapitation of a Muslim since unrest broke out in Thailand’s restive south 18 months ago. Sorma Jaehani, 50, was beheaded… Posted by Jeff on 2005 07: Read more… | Comments (0)
July 15, 2005
Thailand Approves Emergency Powers
One day after a large scale attack by Muslims in Thailand’s southern provinces, the government approved emergency powers aimed at trying to combat the escalating violence: The royal decree, issued only in emergency situations where the normal law-making process would… Posted by Jeff on 2005 07: Read more… | Comments (0)
July 14, 2005
New Violence in Thailand
Just days after the Thai government ordered a substantial increase in military spending to combat rising violence in Thailand’s Muslim provinces, the most brazen attack yet transpired. Information on the attack is still developing, but here is what is known… Posted by Jeff on 2005 07: Read more… | Comments (0)
July 13, 2005
Thailand to Fight “Guerilla War” in South
Thailand is set to upgrade their military capabilities to combat the rise of Islamic inspired violence in their restive south provinces: Thailand will buy seven US-made attack helicopters and more than 24,000 guns to fight a “guerrilla” war in its… Posted by Jeff on 2005 07: Read more… | Comments (0)
July 06, 2005
Thailand Policeman Beheaded
Muslim “insurgents” upped the anty Wednesday with the beheading of a Thai policeman: Suspected Islamic militants beheaded a policeman in Thailand’s restive Muslim south, officials said on Wednesday, the tenth decapitation in more than 18 months of unrest but the… Posted by Jeff on 2005 07: Read more… | Comments (0)
June 30, 2005
Thailand Casualty Count
News stories have reported conflicting information on the death count in the 18 month Islamic insurgency in Thailand, with statistics ranging from 600 to 800. But new statistics published today shed some light on the exact extent of the increasing… Posted by Jeff on 2005 06: Read more… | Comments (0)
June 29, 2005
Terrorism Forces School Closings in Thailand
Violence caused by terrorists forced the closure of six schools in Thailand yesterday: Six schools in Narathiwat’s Su-ngai Padee district have been closed because teachers are worried about their safety, following the murder of a female teacher last week and… Posted by Jeff on 2005 06: Read more… | Comments (0)
June 23, 2005
East Asian Piracy
Brazen acts of piracy continue unabated in East Asia: Eight pirates armed with automatic weapons and knives fired warning shots at a Thai-flagged tanker in the Malacca strait early this month. Once on board, they kidnapped the master and bosun… Posted by Jeff on 2005 06:Read more… | Comments (1)
More Islamic Beheadings in Thailand
Yet another beheading of an innocent civlian by Muslims in Thailand: Suspected Muslim militants have beheaded a man in southern Thailand in front of customers in a teashop. Police said the man, a travelling salesman, was shot twice and then… Posted by Jeff on 2005 06: Read more… | Comments (0)
June 09, 2005
Violence in Thailand Continues
Outside of Iraq, arguably no other country has seen greater Islamic related violence than Thailand, where yet another bomb exploded today: A bomb explosion in Thailand’s southern, Muslim-majority province of Pattani wounded a police officer and three firefighters, police said…. Posted by Jeff on 2005 06: Read more… | Comments (0)
May 29, 2005
Indonesian Sentencing Discrepancy
Late last week, an Indonesian court sentenced an Australian women to 20 years in jail for allegedly smuggling nine (9) pounds of marijuana into Indonesia. The sentence was actually mild, as the normal penalty for drug offenses of this nature… Posted by Jeff on 2005 05: Read more… | Comments (1)
May 27, 2005
Toddler acquitted of ‘adultery’
It would be interesting to know if this story has anything to do with the growing use of Sharia law in Bangladesh: A court in the northern Bangladeshi city of Bogra has acquitted a two-year-old child accused of adultery and… Posted by Jeff on 2005 05: Read more… | Comments (0)
April 04, 2005
Indonesia and Australia to Increase Cooperation
With ties between Indonesia and Australia improving (a likely result of significant Australian humanitarian efforts after the Tsunami), the BBC reports the two countries are set to cooperate on a new security pact, and possibly forge new economic ties: Indonesian… Posted by GPR on 2005 04: Read more… | Comments (0)
January 08, 2005
Tsunami Conspiracy Theories
In what was probably an inevitable development, numerous and widely varying conspiracy theories were created in the aftermath of the deadly Southeast Asian tsunami. We already pointed out the absurd attempt to link the tsunami to global warming, which would… Posted by GPR on 2005 01: Read more…
December 04, 2004
Trying Something New
Having failed to quell an eleventh month Muslim insurgency in the south, Thailand has instituted a new tactic: peace bombs: Hundreds of Thai school children and air force recruits have loaded an estimated 100 million origami birds onto military transport… Posted by GPR on 2004 12: Read more…
November 16, 2004
Help Thy Neighbor
Thailand is comming under increased pressure to seek assistance from their neighbors in dealing with the internal conflict between the Budhist majority and Muslim minority. Although as we noted last week, outside “help” from the Middle East may already be… Posted by GPR on 2004 11: Read more…
November 11, 2004
Is the War On Terror Expanding to Thailand?
The International Hearld Tribune wrote an excellent piece today on the history and escalating trouble between Muslims and the Budhist majority in Thailand. There is even evidence that Thai Muslims are receiving assistance from fellow Muslims in the Middle East,… Posted by GPR on 2004 11: Read more…
November 06, 2004
More Violence in Thailand
Following up on a story we reported last week, Muslim separatists in Thailand have followed through with their threats of increased violence after the deaths of 85 Muslims in government custody: BANGKOK: Muslim separatists are intensifying violence in southern Thailand…Posted by GPR on 2004 11: Read more…
November 04, 2004
Remembering the Killing Fields
“I just want people to be aware of our history and our story — that there were other genocides other than the Holocaust and Rwanda.” – Thea Lim, daughter of a Khmer Rouge survivor. The first American memorial to the… Posted by GPR on 2004 11: Read more…
October 27, 2004
Muslim Deaths in Thailand
Tensions between the Thailand government and their sizable Muslim population in the south escalated yesterday: Six people were killed Monday during clashes with 1,000 police and troops outside a police station at Tak Bai in southern Narathiwat province, near the… Posted by GPR on 2004 10: Read more…
October 04, 2004
Justice 25 Years in the Making
Cambodia’s legislature on Monday approved a long-delayed agreement to put surviving Khmer Rouge leaders on trial for crimes committed during their communist reign from 1975 until 1979. The establishment of trials for these surviving regime members is an important step… Posted by GPR on 2004 10: Read more…
