Juling would not have suffered excruciating torture in the first place if the Fourth Army had acted decisively and sent in a rescue team to forcibly free her from people who meant her harm. If the Thai public had put enough pressure on the armed forces to perform their duty and live up to the highest standards of professionalism, Juling would have continued to lead a happy, albeit obscure, existence doing her best to help children learn to read and write. About 20 men and women suspected of participating in the beating of Juling and the other hostage are being tried in the courts. Those found guilty of this despicable crime under the due process of law must be punished.

Members of the Fourth Army, and indeed the entire military, must hang their heads in shame for their un-soldier-like vacillation, if not cowardice, in the face of the hostage situation involving Juling and one of her female colleagues who sustained less serious injuries.

It must be remembered that the military's bungling was so glaring that Army Commander-in-Chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin found it necessary to personally offer an apology to the families of Juling and the other kidnapped teacher for the Fourth Army's failure to rescue them.

But what the public needs is not apologies or further excuses from the military. We want the armed forces that are capable of effectively combating insurgents, based on good intelligence and under strict rules of engagement to avoid civilian casualties. 

The insurgency in the deep South was sparked by a daring raid in January 2004 on an Army battalion by almost 100 insurgents. Four soldiers were killed and an arms depot ransacked. Insurgents got away with hundreds of automatic rifles, most of them still unaccounted for and presumably being used by insurgents in their efforts to establish a Muslim homeland in the deep South.

More than 1,800 deaths in the predominantly Muslim, Malay-speaking southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat later, and the armed forces are still struggling to find a foothold. It is worth noting that most of the casualties have been civilians and government officials, including some 60 mostly-Buddhist schoolteachers like Juling, who were targeted by insurgents in their campaign of terror against the people in the deep South.

Compared to the number of teachers killed, the military sustained a disproportionately low number of casualties because they have avoided putting soldiers in danger to protect other people, which is exactly what they should be doing. Let's hope that this policy to avoid fighting at all costs will change soon. In peacetime, the military has always been granted privileges and treated with due respect; now that insurgents have turned the deep South into a war zone, the armed forces have no excuse but to honour their solemn oath to defend the country against its enemies.

The government's policy to promote reconciliation between Muslims in the southernmost provinces and mainstream Buddhist society depends on the military's willingness to put up a fight against insurgents and to prove that it is capable of restoring a semblance of law and order. The death of Juling, an idealistic teacher who believed that peace in the deep South is still possible, should serve as a reminder that there is no reason why Muslims and Buddhists cannot reconcile and live together in harmony - that is provided that all Thai citizens, as well as government and military officials do their part to make it

happen.