Disir
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Another clause stipulated that “in areas where there is only a small number of temples or if the safety zones cannot be securely established, the lay-Buddhists will have to offer donations to the monks within the temples’ compounds.”
The document, signed by the Fourth Army’s chief General Prakarn Cholayuth, also called on local Buddhist associations to cooperate among themselves and with the authorities of ensure the safety of Buddhist monks and temples.
The calls came in the wake of a bombing that killed a soldier and a Buddhist monk Saturday morning when the clerics were gathering alms under police escort in Saiburi district of conflict-torn Pattani province. Another monk, two soldiers and three civilians sustained injuries in the incident.
Buddhist monks are often targeted by separatist insurgents who considered them as both symbols of the Thai state and a reminder of past attempts to convert Malay Muslims by force.
According to police statistics, 19 monks have been killed and 25 injured in insurgency-related violence since 2004.
Saturday’s attack came in the wake of a series of shootings and bombings over the last three weeks -- a rise in violence that occurs every year during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ended on July 17 in Thailand.
On Monday, two insurgents were killed in a clash with soldiers while a third suspect was captured.
The incidents seemed to confirm observations published by a think tank earlier this month that said the generals ruling Thailand since last year’s coup -- despite expressing interest in restarting a peace dialogue -- seemed to prioritize a military approach to solving the conflict.
Safety measures for Buddhist monks in Thai Muslim south Anadolu Agency
The coup has not been a good thing folks.
The document, signed by the Fourth Army’s chief General Prakarn Cholayuth, also called on local Buddhist associations to cooperate among themselves and with the authorities of ensure the safety of Buddhist monks and temples.
The calls came in the wake of a bombing that killed a soldier and a Buddhist monk Saturday morning when the clerics were gathering alms under police escort in Saiburi district of conflict-torn Pattani province. Another monk, two soldiers and three civilians sustained injuries in the incident.
Buddhist monks are often targeted by separatist insurgents who considered them as both symbols of the Thai state and a reminder of past attempts to convert Malay Muslims by force.
According to police statistics, 19 monks have been killed and 25 injured in insurgency-related violence since 2004.
Saturday’s attack came in the wake of a series of shootings and bombings over the last three weeks -- a rise in violence that occurs every year during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ended on July 17 in Thailand.
On Monday, two insurgents were killed in a clash with soldiers while a third suspect was captured.
The incidents seemed to confirm observations published by a think tank earlier this month that said the generals ruling Thailand since last year’s coup -- despite expressing interest in restarting a peace dialogue -- seemed to prioritize a military approach to solving the conflict.
Safety measures for Buddhist monks in Thai Muslim south Anadolu Agency
The coup has not been a good thing folks.
