Yala Bombings Leave Locals Demoralised

[waerth]

http://bangkokpost.com/news/local/404429/yala-bombings-leave-locals-demoralised

 

SPECIAL REPORT: Fed up with years of violence, residents and business owners consider abandoning region

• Published: 10 Apr 2014 at 23.54
  

Entrepreneurs and local residents have admitted that morale is low following a recent spate of bombings in downtown Yala.

Some are even contemplating moving out of the violence-plagued southern border province.

One person was killed and at least 28 others injured when a string of bomb blasts, including car and motorcycle bombs, rocked downtown Yala on Sunday and Monday.

 

In one of the attacks, a powerful bomb, weighing at least 100 kilogrammes and placed in a cooking gas cylinder, had been planted in a white Mazda BT 50 pickup truck parked in front of the Racha furniture shop on Siroros Road in Muang district on Sunday.

 

The bomb killed one person and injured at least 28 others.

Soon afterwards, a motorcycle bomb exploded in front of the Fasai shop on the same road, but caused no injuries.

Other blasts at 7-Eleven convenience stores and at the Sri Samai warehouse in Muang district on Monday caused damage estimated at more than 100 million baht.

The businesses of Uppatham Sirichai, owner of the Sri Samai warehouse and several convenience stores and a department store in the province, were hardest hit by the attacks.

 

"My eldest sister telephoned to tell me of the attack. I was speechless when I saw the ruins. Losses are enormous, greater than other incidents," said Mr Uppatham, who is also secretary-general of the Yala Chamber of Commerce.

He said his family's businesses have been hit by at least 40 violent incidents, averaging about five attacks a year.

 

"How can we live? I don't know what we will do tomorrow. On Sunday, I just spoke to my parents, that we survived and we were lucky. But I didn't think I would wake up the next morning to find we had been hit again," Mr Uppatham said.

Waraporn Sirichai, Mr Uppatham's mother, who also runs the family's business, said all the goods in the warehouse were destroyed or badly damaged in the fire that followed the explosion on Sunday.

Soon afterwards, a supplier they regularly used told her that if she could not pay up for the previous goods that were destroyed in the fire, it could not send them any new goods, Ms Waraporn said.

 

She said the incident has totally demoralised her family and they do not know what the future holds.

Ms Waraporn said the family's businesses have more than 1,000 employees in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, and the warehouse was a major outlet in the region for distribution of goods to those three provinces as well as Songkhla.

Sutha Sangkul, 60, had to flee her home as soon as she heard the sound of an explosion on Sunday.

She could not grab anything as she fled; all she could do was helplessly watch her lottery tickets shop go up in flames following the blast.

"My morale is now zero. I have nothing left. I want to move out of the area. I have experienced many incidents. I am now old," Ms Sutha said. 

[cavanami]

So...the terrorists have won?

 

Fark that...send the Thai Special Forces on some black ops down there!

[Flashermac]

The "insurgents" have stated that one of their aims is to drive all non-Muslims from the provinces and seize their propetry. Looks like they may be succeeding.

[huumlaar]

No that's not quite right, they want a return to some self rule they had before the boarders got redrawn in 1906,

 

Don't make this as a religious war, just as Northern Ireland wasn't about Catholic Vs Protestants, and Sri Lanka about Buddhist Vs Hindu, this isn't

 

It's about territory,

 

Now of course crazies from both sides take advantage of the cultural differences, and make them the highlight as it shifts the focus,

 

Ironically I was in a meeting about a number of the Southern Provinces today, great area but always mixed feelings when I have to work there

[Flashermac]

The borders were not redrawn in 1906. (You mean 1909.) The Thais conquered the Sultanate of Pattani in 1785 and have ruled it ever since. Pattani was divided into 3 provinces in the 19th century. All the Brits did in 1909 was confirm that Pattani was Thai and the Thais agreed that Kelantan belonged to the Brits.

 

p.s. An insurgent group called the Warriors of Islam has indeed called for expelling all non-Muslims. However, there are many different groups. Who knows who is behind the current bombings.

[Flashermac]

Notice that this 1885 map not only shows Pattani as Thai, but also includes Kelantan. (As well as Laos and several Cambodia provinces, which was then the case.)

 

[huumlaar]

Let me lend you a good book on the history of Patani, oddly I bought it in Bangkok, haven't seen it for sale since, but it's very good, bluntly they conquered Patani, but have had since stages of semi independence, depending on how much Siam needed it's help.

[Flashermac]

Same with Cambodia. When Siam was weak, Cambodia was independent. When Siam was strong, Cambodia was a tributary state. Once upon a time, the Cambodian king even had to be crowned in Bangkok.

 

I don't know why the Brits left Pattani with the Thais. Everyone now acknowledges the country is better off without the Cambodian provinces France forced them to surrender. You could say the same thing about Pattani. Nothing but problems as long as I've been here, though in the 1970s it was mostly just plain bandits robbing trains and such. (One of my Peace Corps buddies was robbed at gun point in one train robbery. The embarrassed Thai government repaid all of his losses.)