2007年VOA标准英语-Violence in Thailand's Muslim South Intensifies

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
06 June 2007

In Thailand's Muslim-dominated south, an increasingly violent insurgency¹ is breeding fear and mistrust among neighbors, and government efforts to bring peace have made little progress. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins recently traveled to the region and has this report.

Some call it a war; others describe the almost daily bombings, arson², beheadings, and drive-by-shootings in southern Thailand as an ethnic³ cleansing⁴.

salutes5 a soldier on patrol while heading back home along with friends in Thailand's insurgency-torn southern Narathiwat province, 06 June 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070609/0823500.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

A Thai Muslim girl (far L) salutes a soldier on patrol while heading back home along with friends in Thailand's insurgency-torn southern Narathiwat province, 06 June 2007

Whatever it is called, it does not change the fact that more than 2,000 people have died since a Muslim insurgency flared⁶ up in 2004 in Thailand's Muslim-majority southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat.

While the majority of Thailand's 65 million people are Buddhists⁸, around 1.3 million ethnic Malay Muslims live in the south.

Most identify more with Muslim Malaysia and the Melayu language than with Thai Buddhists.

Many have complained of discrimination and attempts at forced assimilation since Thailand annexed⁹ the region 100 years ago.

The shadowy insurgents¹⁰ have never identified themselves nor made any public demands. Officials and analysts¹² widely believe they want to establish a separate Islamic state.

Monsour Salleh, an activist¹³ and businessman from Pattani town, sums up the views of many Muslims in the south.

"We have struggled through us that Islam is our discipline and way of life," Monsour said. "Of course this is because of Islam we can protect our identity, we can develop our soul, and we can develop our lifestyle. So the outside should understand that Islam is the main role of religion here, not Buddhist⁷."

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, says that as the violence escalates¹⁴, the insurgents' goal becomes clearer.

"Now the idea of independence becoming clearer on the surface," Panitan said. "Now the idea of being a Melayu-based town, driving out other ethnic groups are being rising up on the surface."

The insurgents attack symbols of the government, including the armed forces, schools, businesses, workers in critical industries such as rubber, and places deemed un-Islamic, like bars that serve alcohol.

They also kill Muslims viewed as government collaborators.

The insurgents, however, primarily target Buddhists in what is believed to be an attempt to drive them from the region. Officials estimate tens of thousands have fled.

Many of the Buddhist temples here have closed and all are heavily guarded. 

Prosonthon Pariyawithan is the senior monk¹⁵ of a Buddhist temple in Pattani.

"There are many temples here with no monks¹⁶ in them. The problem in southern Thailand is the insurgents want to destroy the Buddhist religion and kill Buddhist monks."

Although Prosonthon says residents must find a way to work for peace, he fears that will not happen.

"And I think the point of the violence here is to run the Buddhists out of southern Thailand," Prosonthon said.

Many Buddhists agree. Prayoondej Kanannruck is a lawyer and a member of the local government. He lost everything when insurgents set fire to his rubber plantation¹⁷, and now, he says, he has lost faith in the government.

"The insurgents are destroying the region's economy and the government cannot control the violence or protect the people," Prayoondej said.

The government that took power in a military coup¹⁸ last September vowed¹⁹ to make peace in the south a priority, but has made little progress.
 
Francesca Lawe-Davies is an analyst¹¹ with the International Crisis Group and has worked extensively in southern Thailand. She says the rising violence shows the security forces have failed.

"I think it signifies that the security forces have proved incapable²⁰ of fighting this insurgency and that the rebels are increasingly confident and increasingly assertive," Lawe-Davies said.

The imam of the Central Mosque²¹ in Pattani, Yakob Hraimanee, says Buddhists and Muslims used to live in peace and must find a way to do so again.

"I believe the Buddhists think the Muslims are responsible for the violence and the Muslims do not know who is responsible for the violence. However, we must continue to try to bring peace to this land," Yakob said.

Kitipup Thongsin is a Buddhist and a teacher in Narathiwat. He says everyone, Buddhist and Muslim, is afraid.

"We cannot go out to work because we are afraid. Once night falls we never leave our homes," Kitipup said.

Many Buddhists and Muslims in southern Thailand say it is a tragedy that they, who once lived side by side in peace, now live in fear. Both sides worry now that trust and tolerance²² have broken down, this conflict could spiral out of control.

1 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

2 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

5 salutes   

n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• Poulengey salutes, and stands at the door awaiting orders. 波仑日行礼，站在门口听侯命令。 来自辞典例句
• A giant of the world salutes you. 一位世界的伟人向你敬礼呢。 来自辞典例句

6 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

7 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

8 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句

9 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

15 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

16 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

18 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

19 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

20 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

21 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

22 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。