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September 4, 2006

Thailand: Twenty-One Banks Return To Business After Islamist Bombings

On Thursday, August 31, 22 banks in the Muslim province of Yala were hit by small IED bombs. One person was killed and 24 people were injured. There had been warnings, printed on A4 pieces of paper and distributed among residents of the province, that an "event" would take place, but these were not specific. Only one of the banks hit on Thursday has been unable to open today.

One bomb, placed in the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives' Yala branch. failed to detonate. It was concealed within a hard-cover file.

Ten bombs were detonated in Yala district, five in Betong district, two in Yaha, and one each in Bannang Sata and Raman districts.

The date of the bank blasts coincided with the 27th anniversary of the founding of Bersatu, the United Front for the Independence of Pattani. The Bersatu is an umbrella group for several other separatist groups in the region. The term "bersatu" is the Malay word for "united". Most of the Muslims in the three southern provinces of Thailand speak Yawi, a dialect of Malay. These provinces, Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, as well as two districts of Songkhla province, had formerly been an independent Sultanate, but in 1906 this became annexed within Siam. The inhabitants of the three provinces of the south are predominantly Muslims, who make up 80% of the demographic and are ethnic Malays.

As well as being the anniversary of the founding of Bersatu, August 31 was also the day of Malaysia's "National Day", when it celebrated 49 years of independence from British colonial administration.

An insurgency has been active since January 4, 2004, in which 1,400 people have been killed. The aims of the insurgents are for the three provinces to secede from Thailand.

The bombs in the Yala banks went off in the morning nearly simultaneously. A pensioner was killed in the blast which happened at the Yala branch of the Kasikornbank chain. He was a retired army officer. From CCTV footage at this bank, it appears that the person who set the bomb may have been a woman.

The bombings threatened to affect the local economy. The Bangkok Post reported that Panya Ongsakul of the chamber of commerce for the three southern provinces stated that local people had been already reluctant to make new business investments. He said the bombings would prolong the situation.

Sopon Jayasakul, chairman of Hat Yai Commercial Bank Club in Songkhla, said that all banks would be having security guards search customers' bags before allowing them entry, and that banks would be re-arranging their interiors to avoid any corners in which bombs could be left unnoticed.

On Friday, three individuals were arrested in connection with the bank explosions at Betong district in Yala. They were identified as Ma-ae Jehsor, 27, his brother Kareeya Jehsor, 23, and Kosol Yamaka, also 23. Since then three more suspects have been arrested. All six are being held at the National Police Bureau Forward office in Yala.

According to the Nation, police have said that one of the suspects arrested has said that he was paid 2,000 Thai baht to place the bomb in one of the banks. This is a small amount, worth only $54. The money was promised by a village elder, who handed him the money concealed within the outer pages of a book. The book itself contained the bomb, the suspect said.

There are 92 banks in all in Yala province. Yala's Governor, Boonyasit Suwannarat, has advised that banks in the region should install more closed circuit televisions. Yesterday, the first of several "light posts" - extremely bright streetlamps - were brought into the province.

The day after the attacks, Pattani's Governor, Phanu Uthairat, ordered security in all banks in his province to be doubled. Though all of Yala's banks have been closed until today, customers could still withdraw money from ATM machines which were left active.

The insurgency has continued. On Tuesday, August 29 a husband and wife were shot and wounded in Sungai Padi district of Narathiwat. The couple were working in a rubber plantation as tappers when two insurgents, armed with AK-47 assault rifles, shot them. 37-year old Waedueramae Arong and his 25-year old wife Wae-aesor were taken to Sungai Kolok Hospital. The man had been hit in the chest, abdomen, left thigh and knee. His wife had been hit in her right thigh. Mr Waedueramae's condition was said to be critical.

On the same morning, bomb squad officials inspected the site of a blast which had taken place the previous night in Yala municipality, at a roadside pavilion. No-one had been injured in the blast. Apparently the 10 kilogram bomb had been left by two teenagers who rode off on a motorcycle. Mobile phone parts, pieces of adhesive tape and a steel box were found at the scene.

On Wednesday, August 29, 200 troops conducted a search of two villages in Bannang Sata district in Yala province, looking for bomb-making materials. A cache of weapons, gunpowder and 600 litres of salt were discovered in a hillside shelter. Whether the salt could have been used in bomb manufacture is unknown. Muhama Alimama, 38, of Ban Johbantang village, was taken in for questioning. He was already on a list of wanted insurgents.

In Nong Chik district of Pattani on Wednesday, a 55 year old defense volunteer was shot dead. Somsak Chaichart was riding his motorcycle home when he was ambushed.

On August 31, the day of the Yala bank bombings, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) announced that it will be questioning another six police officers in connection with the disappearance of Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelaphajit. We reported on January 12 that a policeman, Nguen Thongsuk, had been convicted of Somchai's abduction, which took place on March 12, 2004. Witnesses at the trial said they had seen Nguen bundle the Muslim lawyer into a car in a Bangkok parking lot. The policeman only received a three year sentence. The day after the policeman was convicted, prime minister Thaksin SHinawata confirmed that Somchai was dead, but furnished no details.

The six officers will be summoned to the DSI headquarters next week, and ten witnesses will be requested to give their accounts through this month.

Also on Thursday, a roadside bomb was set off in Moyo district, Pattani province, as an patrol unit passed by. No-one was injured by the bomb, which went off at 4.45 pm local time, near Ban Khuan Yi village.

The head of the army in the south, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, said on Friday that the perperators of the Yala bank blasts were "inhuman" and "without religion". He also called for dialogue with insurgent groups. Yesterday, acording to the Nation and Reuters, the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo) welcomed the call for communication.

The foreign affairs chief of the outlawed group, Kasturi Mahkota, said from his refuge in Sweden: "Pulo stands firmly by its principle that the Pattani issue can be solved through negotiations provided there is sincere commitment from the government in handling the problem-solving process. If the Thai government is truly anxious to save lives, be they Thai settlers or Malays in the Pattani provinces, then it is obvious that the conflict must end immediately to secure the best interests of both."

He warned that the move would not be fruitful if General Sonthi's comments had been made merely in reaction to the Yala bank blasts. The roots of the conflict needed to be considered, Kasturi said.

Yesterday's Bangkok Post, as well as TNA English News stated that 3,000 Muslims will gather later this month in Yala province to call for peace in the region. The meeting will be held at the Yala Central Mosque on Sept 16, according to Vaipot Srinual, chief of the Armed Forces Security Centre.

He said that said the 3,000 young people and 33 core leaders would be at the meeting. The supporters would fill in questionnaires specifying the problems they faced. The forms will later be submitted to relevant government agencies so that the problems could be resolved.

Yesterday, an international seminar on southern issues was held in Bangkok's Assumption University, with representatives from Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The meeting was aimed at understanding causes of the current conflict, and to work on ways to encourage peace. The meeting coincided with the publication of a new book: "Understanding Conflict and Approaching Peace in Southern Thailand."

On Wednesday, August 30 doctors at the Prince of Songkhla Hospital announced that Juling Pongkanmul may not be fully "brain dead". Ms Juling, aged 26, was one of two women Buddhist teachers, singled out on account of their religion, who were savagely beaten by Muslim villagers at the school where they taught. The incident happened on May 19 in Gujingruepo village in Rangae district, Narathiwat province.

Ms Juling, a talented artist, had only recently taken up her post at the school. She was so badly beaten that she went into a coma, from which she has not recovered. Doctor Sumet Pirawut, director of the hospital where she is being looked after, said that not all the cells in her brain appeared to be dead, and stated that his staff would continue to treat the remaining cells.

However yesterday, the Nation, the hospital announced that Ms Juling's condition has worsened. There were fluids in the tissues around her lungs, and a tube was being used to drain away these fluids. She is being given medication to decrease her blood pressure and to stop infection of the lungs.

Finally, the Nation reports that this morning, a soldier was severely injured in a bomb blast in Narathiwat province. At the village of Tambon Kosit in Takbai district a bomb was set off on a bridge by remote control, as a teacher protection unit passed. As teachers have been targets of frequent attacks by Muslim insurgents, army and defense volunteers mount patrols to escort teachers to and from schools, and to check roads for militant activity.

The bomb is estimated to have weighed 5 kilograms. It also left a one meter crater in the road beside the bridge. 22-year old Provate Adirek Jaichuay was injured, and taken to the district hospital.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 4, 2006 6:54 AM

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