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Seth
02-02-2006, 14:50
By SUTIN WANNABOVORN
Associated Press Writer

KATHONG, Thailand (AP) — Islamic militants in Thailand are
spreading a murderous message to would-be informants that
government collaborators face death, further hardening the battle
lines in a bloody insurgency.

Nowhere is that clearer than in this southern village, where
Sudeng Warebuesa’s empty bullet-riddled house stands as a haunting
reminder.

He, his wife, 8-month-old daughter and five other relatives were
slain in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 15 by a half-dozen gunmen who
stormed their house, firing a barrage of bullets as they slept.

Outside, other gunmen sprayed bullets into neighboring homes —
an apparent warning to keep away.

One of 300 so-called red-zone villages, Kathong is one of the
most dangerous places in the country’s increasingly restive
southernmost provinces. It is in the middle of an Islamic
insurgency that has killed more than 1,200 people in two years,
with almost daily bombings, beheadings and drive-by shootings.

One way to stay safe, villagers say, is to steer clear of the
path that Sudeng took — betraying the insurgents.

“Sudeng was a key member of the rebel movement. He turned his
back on it about four or five months ago and became an informant,”
said Col. Somkuan Saengpataraneth, spokesman for the regional army
headquarters. “He was terminated by the movement.”

Relatives and friends are incredulous, saying the man they knew
was a rubber tapper who made his livelihood at plantations around
Kathong, a village of 120 people in Narathiwat province, bordering
Malaysia.

“People said my uncle was a member of the rebel movement, but I
don’t believe it,” said Ha Salae, 25, who lives nearby and recalls
huddling with his family in a bedroom during the gunfire that
killed his uncle.

Security forces have blamed the slayings on insurgents, though,
as in every attack before and since, no one has claimed
responsibility.

More than 20,000 soldiers and police across the region are
hunting for an estimated 2,000 insurgents, but the true number
remains unknown.

The insurgency, rooted in the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani
and Yala — the only ones with Muslim majorities in predominantly
Buddhist Thailand — seeks a separate Islamic homeland.

Zachary Abuza, an expert on terrorism in Southeast Asia who
recently visited the region, said the militants are intent on
imposing a strict interpretation of Islam — and punishing Muslims
who don’t heed their vision.

About 10 percent of Thailand’s 65 million people are Muslims.
Most live in the three southernmost provinces, where they have long
complained of second-class treatment.

The violence has mostly targeted Muslims, who represent more
than half the victims, according to Abuza and other experts.
Official statistics do not provide breakdowns by religion.

“Since March 2005, most of the victims have been Muslims,”
Abuza said at a seminar in Bangkok. “They’re trying to impose
their hard-line vision on society.”

Others see the movement as nationalist rather than religious,
with Muslims targeted mainly if they work for the local government
and are seen to be siding with authorities.

“This is a way to scare the people who work for the government
— or take the government’s side,” said Srisompop Chitphiromsri, a
professor at the Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani.

Either way, fear among villagers has become pervasive — partly
because it has become difficult to tell if a father, son or
neighbor has joined the insurgency.

Mana Jehsani, 48, looked pale and shaken on a recent afternoon
as he sat in a military safehouse watching an army video in which
his son confessed to membership in the rebel movement.

“I was recruited into the black organization several years
ago,” his son, Masorey Jehsani, 25, said, staring into the camera.
“I had strict orders to keep the secret and tell no one — not even
my mother or father. Nobody was allowed to know about our mission
for God.”

Masorey was one of 16 people arrested in December during raids
in Pattani province. He is charged with the murder of a Buddhist
monk and the beheading of another man, as well as membership in the
rebel movement, and faces the death penalty.

The confession could yield a reduced sentence, but his father
was weighed down by additional concerns.

“I am frightened that my family will meet the same fate as the
family in Kathong,” he said.

Since the violence started in January 2004, the militants’ bombs
have grown larger and more sophisticated, lending weight to
speculation that they get help from abroad — though there remains
no hard evidence of outside involvement.

The government insists the insurgency is “homegrown,” and no
foreign terrorists are involved.

But authorities have been stumped about exactly who is leading
the movement. There have been few arrests of leaders and no clear
statement of purpose by the rebels.

Najmudeen Umar, a former lawmaker who was acquitted of
involvement in a raid by insurgents, said authorities need
intelligence few villagers are willing to provide.

“No one dares to tell the truth about what is happening here,”
he said, “because they fear for their lives.”

AP-WS-02-02-06 1430EST