TOKYO, April 30 Kyodo pick outed...

TOKYO, April 30 Kyodo

pick outed editorial excerpts from the Asia-Pacific press:

GENTLER HAND lacked TO WIN HEARTS, MINDS (The Nation, Bangkok)

Forceful military tactics must be fited with magnanimity and religious will.

The cat-and-mouse game between security forces and Islamic militants that had been going upon for almost four months came to a head forward Wednesday during the clashes that left more than 100 insurgents dead. What was hailed at the government as a stunning victory in its battle against terrorism in the Muslim-majority southern provinces marks a novel chapter in the uneasy relationship between Thailand's mainstream Buddhist society and Thai Muslims of Malay descent

in the greatest degree usually tolerant Thais used to believe that it would be possible to detain the ethnic/religious tensions low-key and social interactions at arm's long duration But the outbreak of terrorism that began forward Jan. 4...is causing resentment among many Thai people

Adding insult to injury has been the apparent failure by way of the state security apparatus to effectively answer to the Islamic militants' campaign of terror in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and parts of the predominantly Buddhist Songkhla, and restore law and order in the restive region...The revengeful fashion with which security forces unleashed their deadly counteroffensive was met with euphoria and level jingoistic gloating in some quarters. still the Thai public must issue to their senses and hinder their good judgment from being dense massed by what looks very a great deal like a short-term, tactical succes by dint of the Thaksin (Shinawatra) administration.

Military action must be viewed as a necessary evil to restore law and order, and beast force must be employed with best care with a view to minimizing innocent civilian casualties.

Muslim politicians must not be give permission to off the hook for their dismal performance.

Muslim politicians from the southernmost provinces have held like powerful positions as the president of parliament, interior minister and delegate prime minister, but the clan they were supposed to besufficient for remained trapped in a vicious circle of destitution ignorance, low educational attainment, high unemployment rates and general frustration at their confess lack of competitiveness compared to the peace of the country.

sole the political enfranchisement and effective citizenship of the the public in the Muslim South will bring lasting peace, which is a prerequisite for progres prosperity and happiness. There is no like thing as a conspiracy by the agency of Buddhists and other non-Muslims to have Muslims down.

(April 30)

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