Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 - Thailand

Counterterrorism cooperation with the Government of Thailand remained strong despite considerable internal political turmoil and the Thai government's concern with domestic political issues. Thai and USG officials have long expressed concern that transnational terrorist groups could establish links with southern Thailand-based separatist groups. However, there were no indications that transnational terrorist groups were directly involved in the violence in the south, and there was no evidence of direct operational links between southern Thai separatist groups and regional terroristnetworks.

The ethno-nationalist separatist insurgency in Thailand's extreme southern provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala continued through 2008. Some 3400 people have been killed in the conflict since the violence escalated in 2004 in assassinations, beheadings, and coordinated bombings using improvised explosive devices. This region has experienced episodic, separatist-related violence for decades between the predominantly ethnic Malay-Muslim population and the Thai government. Thai press reports and security forces attributed nearly all the attacks in the South to militant separatists; it is unclear, however, how much of the violence was also attributable to crime and political disputes.

The porous nature of Thailand's southern border with Malaysia remained an issue of concern because of the difficulty both Thailand and Malaysia have in controlling it. In a March meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, then Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej agreed to continue cooperation on measures to improve security in the border area through discussions on issues of dual nationality, sharing information, and joint patrols by Thai and Malaysian security forces. In September, Thailand agreed to conduct joint sea and air patrols of the Malacca Strait with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Thailand joined the Malacca Strait Patrols agreement which includes Eyes in the Sky and intelligence exchange programs.

Legal mechanisms to counter the Southern Thai insurgency lagged behind security efforts. Government prosecutors struggled to develop cases that could stand up in court and relied chiefly on confessions to bring prosecutions. Police forensics and ballistics work often failed to produce evidence that led to arrests following separatist attacks. Because of the difficulties in bringing cases to court, security forces engaging in operations to arrest militants relied instead on their powers under martial law and the 2005 Emergency Decree to detain suspects, who can be held for 37 days without being charged with a crime.

Thai security forces cooperated with the United States and with other countries to deny safe haven to terrorists within their borders. In the past, Thailand has served as a transit point for regional terrorists, as evidenced by the 2003 capture in central Thailand of Nurjaman Riduan bin Isomuddin (a.k.a. Hambali), JI's operations chief and the architect behind the 2002 Bali bombings.

Thai police and security officials participated in a series of U.S. training programs sponsored through the Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program, the Force Protection Detachment (FPD), and the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok. Training modules included post-blast and crime scene investigation courses, and the Antiterrorism Executive Forum. U.S. and Thai militaries cooperated in a series of training events designed to build counterterrorism capacity to respond to terrorist acts. These events culminated around the Cobra Gold 2008 Joint-Combined Military Training Exercises, in which peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief were for the first time combined to respond to the changing nature of the security environment in Southeast Asia.

Thailand has been an active and cooperative partner in combating WMD terrorism, and is a participant in the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the Megaports Initiative. Working through the Embassy's Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program, Thailand participated in port and border security programs, and programs to strengthen Thailand's controls on the export of munitions, dual use goods, and related technologies. The Thai government participated in EXBS assistance assessments at the ports of Laem Chabang, Bangkok, and Chiang Saen; a border crossing assessment at Mae Sai; and a Seaport Interdiction Training at Laem Chabang. Thai officials participated in workshops on Strategic Trade Controls and attended a conference on international transshipment issues held in Tangier, Morocco. he Thai government, led by the Ministry of Commerce, stood up an Export Control Working Group in March and began examining better ways to automate its strategic trade licensing system.

The Thai Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) was the center for interdicting terrorist finance, and is Thailand's official Financial Intelligence Unit. Thailand has been a member of the Financial Action Task Force's Egmont Group since June 2001. AMLO, the Bank of Thailand (the central bank), and the Securities and Exchange Commission, are empowered to supervise and examine financial institutions for compliance with anti-money laundering/counterterrorist financial laws and regulations.

In October 2007, the Ministry of Finance issued new regulations governing cross border cash carrying, bringing Thailand into line with the Financial Action Task Force Special Recommendation on Terrorist Financing. In January 2008, it issued a regulation stipulating that persons traveling in and out of the country carrying more than USD 20,000 must declare the amount to Thai customs. In August, the Bank of Thailand reissued instructions to financial institutions (Thai and foreign commercial banks, finance companies, and asset management companies) to adopt "know your customer and customer due diligence" procedures in order to comply with FATF recommendations on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism.

The Thai government cooperated on the extradition of international arms dealer Victor Bout, who is under federal indictment in New York for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Bout was arrested in Bangkok in March, and his extradition proceedings remained ongoing. U.S. and Thai authorities have cooperated extensively throughout the investigation and extradition proceedings.

Thailand participated actively in international counterterrorism efforts through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and other fora. In January 2007, Thailand became a signatory to the ASEAN Convention on Counterterrorism; the Thai Cabinet approved the convention's ratification, and it was ratified by the Foreign Minister in February 2008. The ethno-nationalist separatist insurgency in Thailand's extreme southern provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala continued through 2008. Some 3400 people have been killed in the conflict since the violence escalated in 2004 in assassinations, beheadings, and coordinated bombings using improvised explosive devices. This region has experienced episodic, separatist-related violence for decades between the predominantly ethnic Malay-Muslim population and the Thai government. Thai press reports and security forces attributed nearly all the attacks in the South to militant separatists; it is unclear, however, how much of the violence was also attributable to crime and political disputes.