[LivinLOS]

The southern situation is a little more complex than simply muslim issues.. Yala Pattini Narathiwat were not Thailand as recently as 100 years ago.. Thier history of being a seperate autonomous region (previously Malay) run up to 60's or 70's and there were heavy cioflict and fighting to be a independant state or state within a state back in the 70's..

Thailand administering from BKK tends to write those areas off.. Very little government support, infrastructure, terrible roads, no / poor hospitals etc.. And by creating a very economically poor region while combining a ethnic group who are not 'Thai' but have to pay the same costs as Thais for less benefits have succeeded in building resentment.

To categorize this as a 'muslim' issue is not really looking beyong the very surface.. But by doing so real fanatics are now going there to turn the issue into exactly that. Thus breeding the danger.

To be honest old square heads handling of this whole subject has been a D- at best.. Tak Bai was a gov massacre.. Machine gunning people who have teken refuge in a Mosque armed with nothing more than local farmers knives etc doesnt win hearts and minds.