Threat of terrorist attacks is not limited to far South JP/7/NATION

Threat of terrorist attacks is not limited to far South

Pavin Chachavalpongpun The Nation Asia News Network/Bangkok

Right after my visit to London last year, I wrote an article that emphasized how the British government effectively instituted vigorous security measures on public transport to prevent the capital from possible terrorist attacks.

Here in Thailand, the terrorist attacks in London that have been dominating the airwaves and newspaper columns have so far failed to drive the government to implement any concrete security measures. Although the Thai government responded rather swiftly in the aftermath of the London tragedy by identifying potential targets of terrorist attacks in Bangkok, such as foreign embassies and government offices, it has refused to put highly visible armed security personnel on foot patrols in public places.

At first glance, the reasons behind the state's reluctance to put visibly armed troopers in public places rest on the conventional thinking that Bangkok is not a target for international terrorists and that such visible security forces would only cause panic among locals and scare away tourists. Therefore, Bangkok's subway and Skytrain, currently commuters' favorite means to move across the city, remain largely unchecked against possible terrorist attacks.

Public safety is taken for granted and increasingly put in peril as a result of the way in which the Thai state perceives national security -- referring to it repeatedly, but solely, in the context of Muslim insurgents in the South. In other words, Thai national security has been tightly bound with the localized war in the South, which is generally understood to be a limited conflict and free from the support of global terrorists.

But the tragic blasts in London show clearly that international terrorist networks constantly change their guises. Such changes make it more difficult to construct a profile of a typical terrorist because many of the new terrorist groups, such as the one behind the London bombings, whose members were reportedly "home-grown", operate on the basis of their own beliefs and practices, but also draw inspiration from al-Qaeda teachings.

Closer to home, the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), although it has suffered setbacks in recent years with core members currently behind bars, continues to pose a threat of resurfacing. As a many-headed collection of "sleeper cells", it is linked only by a common ideology -- much the same way that al-Qaeda affiliates work. Recent bombings in Poso and Tentena in Indonesia were the work of locals who adopted operational methods from the JI.

Hence, the Thai government's national security outlook in regard to the threat of terrorism, which strictly sets a specific war zone within the southernmost Muslim-majority provinces, is too naive in a changing world vulnerable to terrorists. Bangkok is not free from terrorists, whether home grown or international. And there is the possibility that Muslim extremists in Thailand might be willing to avenge their comrades in the South, taking their inspiration from the JI or al-Qaeda.

Will Thailand recognize the potential for copycat terrorists? The skeptical view has been that perhaps the Thai state is preoccupied with the need to maintain this moment of anxiety within society, be it in the South or the capital. Political leaders understand the benefit of using fear to control a society, to boost their own legitimacy and authority. Fear has become the dominant currency of Thai public life.

While the powerful feeling of fear is needed in order to justify the state's aggressive policies and actions, insurgents in the South have never been hesitant to fill this need through daily killings. Politicians once offered dreams of a better future -- now they offer to protect the public from fear.

In addressing the conflict in the South, Thai leaders created a sense of anxiety with a clear picture of an enemy -- local Muslim extremists. Fear is an emotion best assuaged by being shared. As one local said when greeting Prime Minister Thaksin during his recent visit to the area: "You make me feel safe."

Now, why are millions of perfectly sensible Thai citizens so susceptible to fear, yet ignorant about the lack of public safety? This is because Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, has grown so fast to become a densely populated metropolis, that peoples' lives are becoming isolated and fragmented.

Thai society has indeed reached an age of anxiety in which people are caught between the constructed fear and the reality of a possible terrorist attack. Until the state stops using public fear to distract the public from its own performance in areas such as accountability and good governance, Thai lives will continue to remain in jeopardy.

The writer is a Singapore-based Thai academic.