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July 22, 2006

Thailand: Teachers Are Targets For Muslim Militants

On May 18, we wrote that teachers were being earmarked as targets by the militant insurgency. The schools had reopened after a two month holiday, and security forces were warning teachers to be vigilant. At that time, we noted that more than 50 teachers had been killed and about 60 more had been injured in the southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani since the current insurgency began on 4 January 2004.

The first day of the insurgency was marked by a raid on an army camp in Pileng army camp in Narathiwat province, where 413 guns, including 380 M16 assult rifles, 2 M60 machine guns, and 24 pistols were taken, and twenty schools in the south were set ablaze, in what is called "the night of the fires".

On May 19 in Gujinruepo village in Ragae district in Narathiwat province, a mob of Muslim villagers, mainly comprising women mounted an attack upon a school. They demanded to know the non-Muslim teachers. Two Buddhist women staff were identified, Juling Pongkunmul and Sirinat Thawornsuk. Ms Juling and Ms Sirinat (who had been dragged from a tea shop) were held hostage in the village, where for more than an hour they were savagely beaten with sticks.

Ms Sirinat recovered from her ordeal, but 26-year old Ms Juling lapsed into a coma from which she still has not recovered. She has since been cared for at the Prince of Songkhla Hospital in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province.

Teachers have been given protective escorts, but even these have been attacked. On June 27 in Raman district, Yala province, a bomb and armed ambush saw one soldier and four defense volunteers killed. They were from a teachers' protection patrol. On the same day a bomb was left at a school gate in Cho-I-Ring district, which was later defused.

On July 6 we noted that with so many teachers resigning and schools in chaos, an attempt was made to introduce 500 satellite dishes and thousands of televisions into schools to provide "distance learning". On that day, a 42-year old year old male teacher was shot and wounded as he drove to Santiwithaya school in Yarang district, Pattani province. Only the week before a colleague from the same school had been hit in a drive-by shooting and seriously injured.

There are 861 schools in the three southern provinces, with 291,300 students being taught by 11,260 teachers. On July 12 we noted that teachers will soon be trained in handling firearms by the elite Royal Thai Aide-de-Camp Department of the military. This group has already trained 900 teachers in the use of firearms to defend themselves.

Bangkok Post's Saturday edition states that many schools were closed on Friday (21 July) in the district of Rueso in Narathiwat province, following threats which were made to kidnap teachers.

the threats were connected with an incident which we reported on yesterday when four militants who were on a "wanted" list were arrested in Ban Salo village, Rueso district. A mob of 50 (later reports say 100) villagers travelled from Ban Salo on pick-up trucks and surrounded Rueso district police station, demanding the release of the four men. The majority of the villagers were women.

Later, phone threats were made, saying that teachers would be kidnapped from the district. As a result, all but one of the 34 schools in the district were closed.

The Nation reports that late last night, a school in another Narathiwat district was set on fire. The fire broke out about 1 am at Ban Lubo Batu School in SI Sa Khon district. A room and desks were damaged. Villagers assisted firemen to put out the fire.

The fire had been a ploy to lure security officials into an ambush. The group of five to eight militants were noticed by security officials, who fired at their potential assailants, who then fled.

In Pattani province, the Nation reported that police, soldiers and divers recovered an M16 rifle which had been among the weaponry which had been stolen from Pileng army camp on January 4, 2004.

Divers were searching a canal behind the Sasana Withaya Pondok School (an Islamic seminary) and after half an hour found the M16, as well as an AK-47 and a 30-round magazine. They also recovered from the forest nearby three 30-round magazines for AK-47 rifles. It is believed these belonged to the militants who attacked the checkpoint in Tambon Krohbon village, on Thursday July 20.

The attack on the checkpoint, in Sai Buri district of Pattani, caused three police officers to be killed, and one injured. The Bangkok Post reports that following the attack, police went on the trail of the militants. They found two injured insurgents in Nong Chik hospital. Hasun Wamae, 24, and Mayuding Baga, 30 were later pronounced dead. Three other suspects were caught. One of the three had a gunshot wound, and one is believed to have taken Mayuding Baga to the hospital.

The Bangkok Post says that in addition to the M16 and AK-47 rifle discovered by the unit, four HK33 rifles and three other M16 rifles were discovered. They also found a 38mm pistol and a truck. The truck had been stolen from Phuket, and the HK33 and AK47 rifles and a pistol were taken from officials during the raid upon the checkpoint. Seven rifles had been stolen from the officers in the raid.

On Thursday, a 60-year old fruit grower was killed in Bannang Sata district in Yala province. Seng sae Hor was the victim of a drive-by shooting.

In tambon Sakorbon, Mayo district in Pattani province, a group of six Muslim insurgents raided the home of a village headman, looking for six pistols which the man was said to possess. Dressed in Muslim "dawah" robes, they held a gun to Rorhei, the wife of Puhad Waeyama.

Her husband was out praying at a nearby mosque. Rorhei said she did not know where the weapons were kept, and the militants left. They scattered spikes in the road to stop anyone pursuing them.

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.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at July 22, 2006 6:21 PM

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Posted by: Christian at July 22, 2006 10:48 PM

Posted by: Giraldus Cambrensis at July 23, 2006 3:27 PM

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