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October 13, 2006

Thailand: Muslims Behead Man In Front Of Daughter

We wrote on Tuesday, October 10 that there were talks of potential peaceful resolutions to the Muslim insurgency in the provinces of the south. The insurgency has been raging since January 4, 2004, and so far has cost 1,700 lives.

The southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, as well as two districts of Songkhla and parts of Malaysia formerly comprised the independent sultanate of Pattani and parts of what is now Malaysia. Following invasion, the northern territory of Pattani sultanate became annexed into Siam (Thailand) a century ago. The population of these provinces comprise 80% Muslims, who speak Yawi, a dialect of Malay. The insurgents seek to have independence from Thailand.

The coup of September 19, led by a Muslim head of the southern army, General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, has raised hopes of a resolution to the ongoing conflict. Since the coup took place, killings became less frequent. But the end of this week has seen a peak of killings.

Yesterday evening, according to Mail & Guardian, the Nation and Bangkok Post, a man was decapitated in front of his daughter.

The man, a 45-year old migrant worker from Myanmar (Burma) was riding a motorcycle in Pattani province, with his daughter riding pillion. The Burmese, called Yao, worked nearby at a shrimp farm in Nong Chik district.

The stories of how the man became beheaded are contradictory. According to the Bangkok Post, the pair were ambushed while riding on Yao's motorcycle. The Nation claims the pair were seized at the shrimp farm, the Mail & Guardian states that the pair were at home when militants arrived.

What all stories agree upon is that the daughter was blindfolded, and her father was shot, then decapitated. The Mail & Guardian and the Bangkok Post state that the militants took Yao's severed head, and later deposited it in the village where he lived, about 12 miles away. The head had been booby-trapped with a bomb.

When villagers discovered the head about 11 pm, the authorities were called, and the bomb was discovered. The Bangkok Post states that the bomb failed to detonate, whereas the Mail & Guardian states that there was a small explosion, in which no-one was hurt.

Police Colonel Thawan Nakarawong of Nong Chik district said: "The insurgents left a note demanding that police and soldiers pull out from the area, otherwise they will kill more people."

This is the twentieth beheading in the current insurgency. The last decapitation took place on March 7, when a 41-year old rubber tapper was the victim. Abdulaziz Japakiya, whose head and body were found together in Yala province, was a Muslim.

Today, a homemade bomb exploded near a market in Thanto district in Yala province. A police officer was injured in the blast.

Yesterday, a 26-year old former border patrol policeman, Woranoot Sootsa-ard, was shot and killed by two assassins in Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat Province. He was killed in the early hours, at his home

Also yesterday, Prayoon Sukitpong, a 40-year old employee of a tyre factory in Muang district, Yala province, was shot dead. He had been riding back to work on his motorcycle after having lunch, when two gunmen attacked him.

Late in the evening on Wednesday (October 11), state Australia's Daily Telegraph, the Peninsula and The News.pk, a 55-year old Muslim was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Pattani district.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 13, 2006 3:30 PM

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