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Thai Defense Minister Calls for U.S. Explanation of Afghan Strikes
BANGKOK, Oct 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Thai Defense Minister Chavalit Younchaiyadh said Sunday the United States should make a statement to the world that clarifies its intentions in leading strikes against Afghanistan, as his country donated 3,000 tons of rice to a starving Afghan population, news agencies reported.
"The U.S. should clearly explain to the world about what the real rationale of the attacks is," Chavalit said, adding that people in democratic countries had the right to protest.
"The decision to strike could either be out of patriotism or responsibility as an international country," he said. "If the U.S. makes a clear statement, maybe the problem could be solved peacefully."
The Thai government has made efforts to consult Muslim leaders over its decision to back the U.S.-led alliance against terrorism, and has sent senior officials to the predominantly Muslim provinces to explain its position, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
But Thai Muslims have rejected the strikes against Afghanistan, holding a demonstration at the U.S. embassy in Bangkok last week and launching a boycott campaign aimed at U.S.- and allied-made products.
While religious leaders have urged Thai Muslims to refrain from violent protests, they have also warned that emotions could run high if there were heavy casualties among Afghan civilians.
Thus far a reported 400 civilians have died as a result of the raids on Afghanistan.
Fuelling the debate is the use of Thailand's U-Tapao naval airbase by U.S. aircraft, which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says are routine transport flights and not fighter-bombers on missions to Afghanistan, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that Muslims from across Thailand would convene next week to press the government for answers on whether a Thai airbase is being used for U.S.-led strikes against Afghanistan, organizers said Sunday.
Thai Muslims from at least 14 provinces are expected to gather on October 21st in Nakhon Si Thammarat province to call on the government to clarify its position on the use of U-tapao by U.S. warplanes.
"On October 21st ... all [Thai] Muslims will show up to ask [the] Thai government about its stance on U-tapao naval airbase," Nimu Makaje, vice chairman of the Yala province Muslim committee, told AFP.
"And we will pray for peace and the continued boycott of U.S. and British products," Nimu said, adding that he expected about 10,000 Muslims to attend the meeting called "Who is the real terrorist?"
The plan comes after representatives from two Thai Muslim groups - the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand and the Young Muslim Association of Thailand - met Sunday with Muslims in 14 southern provinces to discuss the current conflict strikes against Afghanistan.
Thailand and the United States are close allies with a long history of military cooperation dating back to the Vietnam War, when U.S. bombers flew sorties from airbases in northern Thailand.
Thai Muslims live mostly in five southern provinces bordering Malaysia - Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Satun and Songkla - and comprise about five percent of the country's 62 million predominantly Buddhist population.
Earlier Saturday, The Islamic Youth Association distributed a list of goods and services as well as brand names from the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel which it urged southern Thai Muslim consumers to boycott in retaliation for the U.S. strikes against Afghanistan, Thailand's
The Nation paper reported Sunday.
The list was drawn from one prepared by Muslim students at an Egyptian university, it added.
Among goods and services it said should be boycotted were petroleum products, cars, fast-food outlets, designer jeans, banking and Hollywood movies.
The Nation said the main objective is to convince the public that the American strike against Afghanistan and its foreign policy in general are unacceptable to the Muslim community, according to one of the association's leaders.
"The money paid by Muslim consumers for these goods and services is used to finance the attacks on Muslim people," said the spokesman.
The association's list of boycotted products and brand names includes Pepsi Cola, Coca Cola, Nestea, Nescafe, Milo, Coffeemate, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, KFC, Pampers, Pantene, Nike, American Express, Citibank, AIA, Monsanto, General Motors, Jeep and Ford.
Meanwhile, police in the southern city of Hat Yai have been ordered to step up security at important government and commercial buildings, including large retail and department stores.
Colonel Noppadol Peuksophon, deputy chief of Hat Yai police, said special arrangements would be made with operators of these stores, some of which are owned by multinational companies, the paper reported.
A popular Thai homepage www.muslimthai.com, which rented space on a U.S. server and claimed to attract over 2000 hits a day, has been closed down without any clear reason after four years of service, its webmaster, Somkid Leewan, said in Bangkok Saturday.
"I understand this sharp rise in cost was just a pretext to force me to give up the service. The real reason behind this move is because we are Muslims and this homepage provides information about the Islamic world," he said.
Before its closure, the site carried stories of tragedies among Muslims in various parts of the world, including Palestine and Afghanistan.
"'The American server wants to block information from the Muslim side,'' Somkid said.
Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said Sunday Thailand would donate 3,000 tons of rice to refugees fleeing the U.S.-led strikes against Afghanistan.
"The Thai government is sending rice to Afghanistan for humanitarian reasons," he said in a statement released by Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The World Food Program has said it needs to feed some 7.5 million people in Afghanistan, as the number of displaced people and refugees continues to grow since the United States began military strikes on Afghanistan last week in reprisal for the September 11th terrorist attacks.
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