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June 25, 2006

Thailand: Killings Continue In Muslim South

We reported that on so-called "Pattani day", June 15, more than 50 bombs went off in the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, killing three people and injuring 16 more. The bombing campaign continued on June 16, when a dozen more bombs were set, injuring four people. On June 17, another bomb exploded in a karaoke bar, killing one man and injuring two women.

Though arrests were made, and one bomber accidentally blew himself up in Chanae district, Narathiwat province on June 19 the campaigns of violence have recently started up again.

The southern provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, as well as two districts of neighbouring Songhkla province, were formerly an independent Muslim Sultanate. This Sultanate, called Pattani, had been invaded, and a century ago, it became officially annexed into Thailand. In these three provinces, there is a Muslim majority, with 80% of the demographic being Muslim, and 20% Buddhist.

However, since January 4, 2004, an armed insurgency has been going on, which has now seen almost 1,300 people killed. The insurgents wish the three southern provinces to secede from Thailand.

On Monday, June 19, a village headman, 39-year old Malayeng Sae-ngor, was attacked outside his home in Yaring district, Pattani. He was shot at by gunmen with assault rifles, and was injured in his arm. However, he was able to fire back and drive off his assailants.

On Tuesday June 20, a bomb went off at a roadside shelter in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province. The shelter is frequently used by police and soldiers who are assigned to guard school teachers, who have been threatened and attacked by insurgents. The blast ripped off the roof of the shelter, but no-one was injured.

On the same day, it was announced that a total of 17 bombing suspects had been arrested. These included the four arrested on June 16 and three drug dealers arrested with urea fertiliser on the border of Yala and Pattani on June 18. The other bomb suspects were not identified.

Also on Tuesday, a member of the Bang Por tambon (parish) administration,in Narathiwat province, 40 year old Masakee Laboh, was killed in a drive-by shooting while riding his motorbike.

On Wednesday, June 21, two more suspected bombers were arrested after being identified from camera footage. The pair, Ma-Useng Samae, aged 29, and Dhue-Rorheng Dorkor, also 29, were filmed in front of the Cho Airong district hall in Narathiwat province. Two men had placed a 5 kilogram bomb under a marble bench, and had returned later when it failed to detonate. The pair have criminal records connected with insurgent activities.

On Wednesday, in Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat, a woman who was eight months pregnant was shot in the afternoon. The condition of Patchara Chusawat was said to be "critical".

On the same day in Betong district in Yala province, a house belonging to 47-year old Tawat Buaphet was set on fire. In the same district, a 20-year old rubber tapper, Panya Nakphosri, was wounded by a pillion rider in a drive-by shooting.

On Wednesday, the Organsation for Islamic Conference (OIC) offered to help to broker some sort of peace in the troubled southern region. Thatiland's Foreign Minister, Kantathi Suphamongkhon, attended the OIC's meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, as an observer. He said later that he was pleased with the outcome. He stated: "'They felt strongly that people who try to use Islam as a justification for violence are not true Muslims."

On Thursday, June 22, the nation's Defense Council announced that more troops would be sent to the south, to add to the existing 20,000 conventional troops and 2,800 paramilitaries from the Fourth Army.

On the same day, it was revealed that many of the surveillance cameras in the south, which could have provided information to the identity of bombers, were out of order. The cameras, supplied by Xytech Co, had ceased to function due to lack of maintenance. Engineers were scared to service the cameras, because of fear of attack.

On Friday, an informer in Rangae district, 57-year old Roh-ning Yuso, was in his front yard, when he was shot at by a man carrying an M16 rifle. He was shot in the leg, but managed to take cover. Roh-ning has previously passed information on to the state, concerning local activists' activities.

On Saturday (June 24), an irrigation worker and his young son were attacked by gunmen in Yarang district, Pattani province. 33-year old Boonhoam Janthai was riding to work on his motorbike, with his eight-year old daughter and three-year old son. Two motorbikes came up from behind, and shot Boonhoam at close range, killing him. His little son, Akegarat, was also hit in his head, and he died in hospital. His sister survived without injury.

In the early hours of Saturday, a bomb attack was made upon the headquarters of the Thai Rak Thai party, the party of which caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is the head. Three objects were thrown at the building at 1.30 am local time. One was a dud. The others did not explode. Thaksin said that people should not jump to conclusions and suspect political motives for the scare. It has subsequently been ascertained that the two "grenades" were fake.

Also yesterday, in Bacho district in Narathiwat province, a roadside bomb went off. It missed its target, a group of six Thai marines who were on patrol on three motorcycles, about 100 meters away. According to the Nation, the bomb went off too soon. At the scene of the incident, in Ban Tanyong Village, a 100 meter long wire was found, which had been used to detonate the bomb. The explosion left a six inch deep and 12 inch diameter hole in the roadside.

Today, the President of the Privy Council, said that he disagreed with the suggestions of the now disbanded National Reconciliation Committee, that the Malay language, rather than Thai, should be added as an official working language.

General Prem Tinsulanonda said: "We cannot accept that [proposal] as we are Thai. The country is Thai and the language is Thai. So we have to make efforts to learn Thai and [everyone should have a uniform] command with the rest of the Kingdom. We have to be proud to be Thai and have the Thai language as the sole national language."

Intelligence agents in Yala district said that this weekend, there were high fears of a possible bomb attack at Narathiwat airport, and at Hat Yai in Songhkla province, the financial hub of the southern region.

Meanwhile, the Nation reports that the condition of Juling Pongkanmul has worsened. 26-year old Ms Juling was one of two Buddhist teachers, singled out for their faith and brutally beaten with sticks for more than an hour, by a mob of Muslim villagers in Narathiwat province. The event took place at the school where they taught, in Gujingruepo village in Rangae district on Friday May 19. Her colleague, 30-year old Sirinart Thavornsuk was injured but was able to regain consciousness.

Ms Juling has never recovered from the coma she went into during the attack, and has since been cared for at the Prince of Songkhla Hospital in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. She suffered lesions on her brain, and has been on a life-support system. We reported on June 14 that arrest warrants for 46 Muslim villagers, who took part in the attack, were issued. Seven people had been arrested by May 22, including Karima Masaleh, the wife of an insurgent, who had organised the assault. 19 arrest warrants had been issued by May 24.

But now, it appears, the condition of Miss Juling, a talented artist, has worsened as a result of her body sometimes rejecting her intravenous feeds. She has been given increased doses of antibiotics. Her brain is still not responding to stimulation, and she is on an artificial respirator all of the time.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at June 25, 2006 3:27 PM

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