Threat of terrorist attacks is not limited to far South

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.