Souther Thai Buddhists charge discrimination

Souther Thai Buddhists charge discrimination

Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters, Yala, Thailand

Buddhists in Thailand's Muslim-majority south say they are being
treated like "third- class citizens" as the government struggles
to end months of ethnic and religious unrest that has killed
nearly 500 people.

Fear has descended on the three southernmost provinces near
the Malaysian border, and Thai Buddhists, who make up just 20
percent of the mainly Malay-speaking region's 1.8 million
population, say their plight is being ignored.

Many of them are second or third generation Chinese Thais who
form the backbone of the local economy -- entrepreneurs running
everything from grocery shops to construction firms, furniture
factories and hotels.

But the almost daily bombings and shootings, which are being
blamed on a resurgent Muslim separatist movement, are taking
their toll on business, and support from the government in
Bangkok, 1,100 km away, is not forthcoming, they say.

"Muslim spiritual leaders say Muslims in the south have been
treated like second-class citizens, but I think Buddhists here
have been treated like third-class citizens," one furniture
factory owner told Reuters. He did not want to give his name for
fear of reprisals.

"The government sponsors 80 Muslims from the south to go to
Mecca, but it doesn't give similar sponsorships to monks to study
Buddhism in India," said the 60-year-old, who grew up in the
southern province of Yala.

The region has a history of armed opposition to the mainly
Buddhist administration in Bangkok, but never has he seen
violence like the last 10 months, the man added.

Underscoring the severity of the problem, the deputy governor
of Pattani province Sunthorn Rithipakdi was shot and wounded in
the back as he visited the scene of an earlier shootout between
suspected Muslim militants and two armed village volunteers.

However, following conflicting reports from PM Thaksin
Shinawatra and interior ministry officials, it was unclear if he
was shot by the same suspects or accidentally by one of his own
party.

Five schools -- a frequent target of militants along with
other symbols of the government -- were set on fire in three
separate districts of Pattani, police said.

Sawas Sumalyasak, the spiritual leader of Thailand's 6 million
Muslims, said last week that most Thais look on Muslims as
second-class citizens, an attitude that stirs resentment in the
deep south, where many see themselves as Malay, not Thai.

But Buddhists say they too get a raw deal from corrupt and
arrogant local officials and have suffered violence and crime at
the hands of bandits and gangs for decades.

"Twenty years ago people were afraid of being kidnapped or
threatened for protection money if bandits thought they were
rich," said another man who runs a road-building firm in Yala.

"Once you paid the ransom, you were safe for a while. But now
you don't know who these people are and everyone from the poor to
the rich have been living in fear."

Shops in Yala, which this year won a United Nations award as a
"city of peace", now shut as early as 6 p.m., and schools finish
an hour early to allow students to get home before sunset.

"Other cities are joining the government's energy saving
campaign, but in Yala and two other southern provinces we have to
use extra street lights to help the public feel more secure,"
said Yala Mayor Pongsak Yingchoncharoen.

His staff revealed the mayor usually wore a bullet-proof vest
under his shirt to public functions. Believing that the police
and army cannot protect them, many Buddhists are arming
themselves, or pulling up stakes and heading elsewhere.

The tourist industry, which is heavily reliant on Malaysians
in search of sand, sex and shopping, has been particularly hard
hit, leaving the region's pristine beaches and unspoilt mountain
parks virtually empty.

Repeated requests from businessmen for state help have gone
unanswered, as Thaksin concentrates his efforts on a peace
initiative involving the "bombing" of the south with millions of
paper doves on Dec. 5, the King's birthday.

"Sending paper birds is a good abstract gesture, but please
also give us some concrete help," said one construction
contractor.