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Thai generals call upon `assassin' to tackle insurgency

Frustrated by their inability to pacify a Muslim insurgency and concerned about rising impatience toward their rule, Thai generals have named a former commando and self-described assassin as their top security adviser.

The appointment this month of Pallop Pinmanee, a retired general notorious for his harsh tactics but admired for his survival instincts, appeared to be a signal from the military-backed government that its conciliatory approach toward Muslim insurgents in southern Thailand will change.

repressive shift

Recent statements from Pallop and other government leaders herald a repressive turn toward dealing with political dissent as well.

"The way to solve the problem in the south is to get the people on your side," Pallop said in an interview last week.

But if the violence continues, the military should carry out "search and destroy" missions against the insurgents, he said.

"If we cannot make them surrender, then we have no choice -- we have to destroy them," he said.

He said that General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who led the September coup that overthrew prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and brought the junta to power, asked him to be an adviser during a round of golf in March. The men once served together in a special warfare unit.

Pallop, who turned 71 on Friday, speaks about his days as an army-appointed assassin in a casual, matter-of-fact tone and offers little to dispel his tough-guy reputation.

He was the leader of what he called the "killer team," a secret seven-man army unit in 1970 that carried out extrajudicial killings.

But he is perhaps best known for his decision to raid the Krue Se mosque in southern Thailand in 2004, a move that left 32 insurgents dead.

The raid helped reignite the centuries-old conflict between Thai Buddhists and ethnic Malay Muslims and the insurgency has led to about 2,000 deaths in the past three years.

`expertise'

"Diplomacy is not his strong point," Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said of Pallop. "His expertise is to kill people and deal with things by force."

It is too early to tell how influential Pallop will be in the government. But amid rumors of countercoups and maneuvering by Thaksin's allies, the generals seem to have calculated that they needed his skills.

Pallop has been involved in three military coups and is alleged to have once plotted to assassinate an army commander.

"When things get hairy, you get Pallop on your side," Thitinan said. "He knows how to fight back."
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