Published on April 29, 2004 - We Thais woke up yesterday to a new reality. The televised images of bloodstained streets, of an ancient mosque riddled with bullet holes, and of machetes still in the firm grips of dead young militants were so surreal that they took some time to register, but they eventually merged to give us a rude awakening. What happened yesterday morning may change Thailand forever. As authorities described one of the bloodiest days in our modern history as a breakthrough in efforts to end the turbulence in the deep South, we pray we are not seeing the beginning of an era of constant fear, mistrust and intolerance among people of different beliefs. We pray that religious harmony, which has been for so long our nation's character and pride, is not on the verge of being shattered.

For four months, the government has endured attacks and acts of violence waged by separatist insurgents. The pent-up anger and embarrassment took its toll with yesterday's carnage. The authorities said the culprits were youngsters, hired by influential groups to do dirty jobs such as burning schools, police kiosks and killing government officials. Yet, apart from boasting of identities of those behind these attacks, the authorities are still numb. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Army Chief Chaisit Shinawatra quickly downplayed the bloodbath, dismissing the young militants as bandits and daredevils under the influence of alcohol or drugs. What the two leaders do not see, or pretend not to see, is that this is not about addiction or banditry; this is about a fanatical ideology that none of us knew existed on such a grand scale.

This insurgent structure was born in southern Thailand long before the January 4 Army-base raid and yesterday's mayhem. The young recruits may have been dressed in T-shirts and jeans and sporting Palestinian-style Kefiyas but they were not afraid to die despite being armed for the most part with nothing more than machetes. This structure has the ability to commission acts of terror against the authorities in any place at any time.

Thailand is bracing itself for far-reaching repercussions. Many Muslims would treat those killed at the Krue Se Mosque yesterday as martyrs. Many who have hitherto shunned extremism will now come forward and join the jihad against the central authority. It could be sooner rather than later that a new breed of militant Muslims makes its presence felt in a big way.

One wonders if the killings carried out by the security forces at the important mosque - granted the decisiveness was required by the situation - could not have been avoided by negotiations or some other approach. But the Thaksin government's hawkish policy and all-or-nothing mindset raised the question of whether the security forces have alternatives at all.

The body count should not be used to measure success in the campaign against violence. The number of killed militants who sang praises to their God during their suicide missions does not tell us how close we are to solving the problem. Instead, it only shows us how far we have been from reality and points to an unknown future that is indeed worrisome.