Thailand Excerpt, Country Reports on Terrorism, DoS, April 30 2007

Thailand
On December 31, a series of eight bomb attacks took place at six separate locations in Bangkok. The bombs killed three Thai citizens and injured dozens, including six foreign tourists. The locations targeted in the attacks were not specifically identified with foreign interests or tourists. The perpetrators of the attacks were not identified. Thailand's biggest domestic security challenge remained the ongoing separatist movement in the far southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, and Songkhla. This region, bordering Malaysia, has experienced episodic, separatist-related violence for decades among the predominantly ethnic Malay-Muslim population. Since January 2004, violence increased dramatically and continued on a near daily basis. Suspected separatist militants carried out shootings, beheadings, and several coordinated bombings using improvised explosive devices, including an August 31 attack on 22 bank branch offices in Yala province.

In an effort to address local grievances, the interim government made a series of conciliatory gestures towards southern ethnic-Malay Muslims, including a pledge to seek talks with separatist leaders. Additionally, on November 1, the government reconstituted the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC) and the Civilian, Military, and Police Command, two entities credited with effectively coordinating Thai government efforts in the region prior to their disbandment in 2002. The militants have not responded positively to these conciliatory gestures, and the violence continued.

The Government of Thailand maintained that the situation was a domestic issue. Elements of the government expressed concern, however, that militants involved in the violence may have received funding or training from outside Thailand. In November, interim Prime Minister Surayud said that militants were financing their activities in part through restaurants owned by Thai nationals living in Malaysia. Malaysian officials vehemently denied this allegation. Relations between Thailand and Malaysia remained strained as violence continued in Thai territory near their common border, but improved following visits to Kuala Lumpur by Surayud and other senior officials. The ongoing unrest received international attention and the concern of international Islamic organizations, including the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which expressed support for the reconciliation efforts made by the interim government.

Police forensics and ballistics work often failed to produce evidence that led to arrests following separatist attacks, and government prosecutors struggled to develop cases that could stand up in court. On November 18, three southern Thai Islamic teachers were convicted of criminal conspiracy charges related to their membership in the outlawed separatist group Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO) and were sentenced to ten years in prison. This was one of the few successful prosecutions of southern militants by the government since the dramatic escalation in violence that began in 2004. In August, the Thai Attorney General held the first ever conference of Thai police and prosecutors working in the South, in part to improve cooperation between police and prosecutors. The newly reinstated SBPAC will also, for the first time, incorporate a special Ministry of Justice component offering legal aid to local citizens as well as serving to enhance police and prosecutor work in the South.

Thai security forces cooperated with the U.S. and other countries to deny safe haven for terrorists within their territory. In the past, Thailand has served as a transit point for regional terrorists, as evidenced by the 2003 capture in Central Thailand of Nurjaman Riduan bin Isomuddin (a.k.a. Hambali), JI's operations chief and the architect behind the 2002 Bali bombing. Thai and U.S. officials were concerned that transnational terror groups could establish links with southern Thailand-based separatist groups. However, there were no indications that transnational terrorist groups were directly involved in the violence, and there was no evidence of direct operational links between southern Thai separatist groups and regional terror networks.

There were several militant domestic separatist groups implicated in the ongoing violence besides PULO, including the Pattani Islamic Mujahideen Movement (GMIP) and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Coordinate (BRN-C). Some Thai officials have publicly labeled the operational arm of the BRN-C as the Ruanda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK), which they blame for a significant number of attacks in the South. Some of these separatist groups may share elements of ideology and general rejection of Western influence held by international Islamic terrorists, but by all indications they remained primarily focused on seeking autonomy for the far southern provinces and historical grievances against the Thai state.

There was no evidence that foreign governments provided financial, military, or diplomatic support for militant separatist operations in the South of Thailand. However, Thai separatist groups such as PULO reportedly operated openly in Syria and a number of self-declared separatist leaders received asylum in Europe or were believed to be hiding in Malaysia. Officials in the Thai government expressed concern that money from Middle Eastern charities that supported religious or educational objectives could be diverted to support separatist activities, but there was no evidence of a direct link. Thai officials expressed concern that Thai students studying in madrassas in Pakistan and the Middle East might be exposed to extremist indoctrination. In November, Royal Thai Army Commander General Sonthi Boonyaratglin met with Thai students in Karachi, in part to address these concerns.

Since 2004, the militants appear to have limited their attacks to the geographic far South and have not specifically targeted U.S. persons or interests. On September 16, a U.S. citizen tourist was killed in Songkhla province by one of five coordinated bombs and on November 19, the local Ford and Chevrolet showrooms were among six car dealerships in Yala City targeted by bombers. No group claimed responsibility for these attacks.

Thai police and security officials participated in U.S. government training programs. The U.S. and Thai militaries conducted a number of joint exercises and training programs that supported counterterrorism. Bangkok's International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) began a series of training modules for Thai security officials and police that included post-blast and crime scene investigation courses. Under the auspices of the Container Security Initiative and the Megaport Initiative, Thailand engaged in a range of port security programs.

The Thai Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) acted as the center for interdicting terrorist finance. UN 1267 resolutions were quickly implemented by Thai banks under instructions from AMLO. Thailand has engaged with the G-8 Counterterrorism Action Group on increasing penalties for document fraud, which is an ongoing problem in Thailand.

The Government of Thailand participated actively in international counterterrorism efforts through ASEAN and other fora, but areas of concern remained. Thailand was party to only six of the 13 international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism. Thailand has not endorsed the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which negatively affects regional counter-proliferation cooperation given Thailand's regional leadership role and strategic location.