Thai Paper Cranes
I had blogged
about this yesterday.
Today the UAE news service
Khaleej Times writes about the event:
bq.
Thai air force drops 97 million origami birds on southern Thailand
The Thai air force launched one of its biggest military operations in recent history on Sunday, dispatching 51 aircraft to drop 97 million origami paper cranes on Thailand’s troubled deep south to bring peace to the region.
bq. An armada of Hercules 130s, Nomads, BG-37 carriers, Cessna planes, AU-23 fighters, Bell helicopters and a handful of small civilian aircraft began lifting off, packed with paper birds, from Had Yai military airport at 9:09 a.m., deemed an auspicious time. The task force was bound for Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
bq. “This is a huge task for the air force,” said Royal Thai Air Force combat commander Air Chief Marshal Tharit Pukthasuk, director of the origami operation. “We will try to drop as many birds as possible.”
And the Muslim side of things? (Thaksin is the Thai Prime Minister)
bq. Thaksin apparently got the idea for flooding the south with paper cranes after being given an origami bird by Thai academics two weeks ago. They had met the prime minister to criticize his handling of the deep south, the only region in predominantly Buddhist Thailand with a Moslem majority.
bq. Moslem clerics in the south have greeted Thaskin’s origami campaign with some cynicism.
bq. “The paper cranes campaign shows good intentions, but they are likely to just end up as garbage,” Waedueramae Maminchi, chairman of the Islamic Council of Pattani province, said in an interview.
bq. Some Moslem leaders have shrugged off the gesture as meaningless unless it is followed by concrete policies aimed at deeper engagement with the southern communities to solve their problems with unequal education opportunities, exploitation by corrupt officials and acceptance of their historical, cultural and religious differences.
This is a hard call -- still, with 500 deaths per year, there needs to be something done. The Muslims have moved to Thailand (which is predominantly Buddhist) as a source of cheap labor. Still, when you move to a new country, a certain amount of assimilation is required. At least develop some tolerance and learn to live quietly.
I can't think of the last time a Buddhist suicide bomber killed anyone...
Posted by DaveH at December 4, 2004 11:07 PM