The government is arming civilians

It’s rare that the government gives guns to civilians so they can defend themselves. But it’s apparently happening in Thailand:

At the local Buddhist temple at Trohgen village in Pattani province a class is being held for a group of mostly female community volunteers – but this is no religious ceremony.

“It’s getting more violent every day,” said Monthira Peng-Iad, a 40-year-old farmer.

“So many of my relatives have been shot and killed I feel bitter inside. I want to know how to shoot, so I can help people in the village.”


Monthira Peng-Iad

One human rights group says up to a hundred thousand civilian Buddhists and Muslims have been given guns to “protect” themselves in the three southern provinces of Thailand, but this is a figure the military denies.

This is a BBC report and it’s not surprising they put the word ‘protect’ in quotes. Would they do the same if they were talking about the police being given guns?


H/T to Ben K. for the link. Ben worked in Thailand for a while.

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2 thoughts on “The government is arming civilians

  1. It is worth mentioning that every time we talked to a local about heading down there, we were told just not to. Not even locals who didn’t have to went down there. We were never warned at all about any dangers in Bangkok or any other city, but Southern Thailand we were told was VERY off limits and it was a death wish to head down there.

    This was a huge contrast to the military base there in Chachoengsao where we lived. The guards at post had M16s at their sides, with the bottoms missing from the magazine. You could see right up the bottom all the way up to the bolt. There wasn’t police anywhere, and crime was nearly non existent.

  2. Again, the Left has to get their dig in;
    “…and now civilians appear to be encouraged to take the law into their own hands.”

    Self defense is not “taking the law into your own hands.” Actively hunting the jihadists would be taking the law into your own hands, and maybe that does need to start happening in some places.

    We all have to understand that what we’re up against is as much like a disease as a war. It can pop up anywhere, and it tends to spread unless steps are taken to eradicate it. So you have two ways to fight it, and they both need to be done. There is inoculation, or the cultural side of it. That would involve educating people of the danger and stupidity of radical Islam. The other side of course is treating the sickness once it’s taken hold somewhere. That’s where seek-and-destroy comes into play. Sitting around waiting for the next attack isn’t going to solve the problem.

    Religious freedom is a wonderful thing, until the religion becomes a religion of death. Jihad and socialism are but two examples of the latter.

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