SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SOUTH SIAM MOSLEMS TO COMMUNISM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002400550002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 1998
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 4, 1949
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized - ApproM-AK F ; e
COUNTRY Siam%ltalay'a
o114 0% LL I WAW
SUBJECT Susceptibility of South Siam Itosleees
to Communism
PLACE 25X1A6a
ACQUIRED -
DATE OF IN
25X1X6
I CD NO.
DATE DISTR. 4.. r 1949
NO. OF PAGES 1
NO. OF ENCCLS.
WPM sd,Ow)
t '~~-~ SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
I,, Siamese itosleme in the four southern of provinces are becoming increasing ?y
susceptible to Covznmist proaganda in the form of nationalistic exhorrts-
tions.. Some of this Arnpagarr4 is verbal, but it most frequently occurs
in pamphlets anct rapers which are believed to originate in Malaya.
Moslems, who comprise 90 peroent of the total 700,000 population of
Patti.ani, Satuni, Harathiicat, ert" Songkhla provinces,, believe that the
Siaamese gover maent has raa.led, and will fail, to keep its promises to
ve them honest local andsninie tration, educational aids, and the
recognition of rights of Is? a is religion, customs and culture,
The Moslems say that every- canvnission sent down from Bangkok to i,nvoesti-
ma a their grievances, falls prey to lavish entertaining by corrupt
local officials, who aru the :--richest provincial officials In Siam, They
say that Chinese middlemen. r ho exploit them, have bought off moult-be
aatabliahers of the goverment cooperative credit society. In addition,
they maintain that the government refuses to extend the national liter racy
campaign (involving the tea cnuig of ten million illiterate adults) to
oslem provinces in the form of lessons in Malay, which is the only
language most Siamese Moslems can speak.
hp For these reasons, the idoalern are inclining more and more to Communist
doctrines, which stress ties with their relatives in Malaya. They are
under the impression that thr r are adopting nationalism, but actually
they will find that they have adopted Communism.
25X1A6a
a, -WAt1w, C1
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP* O
P82 000