Thai Muslims believe JI arrests are made to appease the US and that their community is being targeted. THE calm exterior of towns in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwath in southern Thailand masks a certain amount of trepidation and resentment. There is no overt tension in the region despite the sudden surfacing of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) factor, and no obtrusive security presence. Advertisement But most people in these towns believe the arrests of the alleged JI members were a gesture of appeasement to the United States, and that US President George W. Bush is bent on creating a climate of distrust of Muslims. And they fear a further crackdown. Narathiwath native Senator Fakhruddin Boto even says Singaporean Arifin bin Alimay has been an agent provocateur. ‘I don’t know you, maybe you are JI. If someone photographs us together, does that mean I am JI? Just knowing Arifin does not make them JI,’ he says in an interview with The Straits Times. Full Story
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