Western Resistance

« Indonesia: Islamist Praises Government's Handling Of Unrest | | UK: What Passes for Reasoning at IkhwanWeb »

October 26, 2006

Thailand: Muslim Cleric Killed In South

Today, a Muslim cleric was killed in the south of Thailand, the latest victim of the insurgency which has now claimed 1,700 lives since it began on January 4, 2004.

The imam was attacked by gunmen in Cho Airong (Cho-I-Rong or Joh-I-Rong) district in Narathiwat this morning, states TNA English News and Bangkok Post. Another man was also injured in the shooting.

The imam, 50-year old Latae Ar-wear, was shot twice in his upper body as he was walking to a mosque to perform morning prayers with a crowd of worshippers. 80-year old Yagoh Balor, was critically injured in the attack. The worshippers were ambushed by gunmen who were lying in wait, hidden beside the road. Police claimed after the incident that the villagers in the local community scattered spikes in the road to prevent them from reaching the scene. This was done, they said, as the community believed the attack had been staged by the government.

Around midday local time today, four policemen were injured in an explosion in Rangae district in Narathiwat province, states the Bangkok Post and the Nation.

The blast happened as police were on a routine patrol on a road leading to Baan Kadae. The Post reports that the police had been lured to the scene after being called to investigate two apparent "bombs". These turned out to be old television sets hidden inside boxes. When they arrived at the scene, a bomb hidden at the roadside was triggered by remote control. One of the officers was seriously injured.

There has been anxiety in Narathiwat over the past couple of days. Yesterday (October 25) was the second anniversary of the Tak Bai massacre. This incident had developed after farmers and villagers led a protest in Tak Bai district of the province. Police fired at the demonstrators, killing seven people. The demonstrators had been protesting about the arrest of six village defence volunteers from tambon Ban Pron, who had been accused of gun theft.

The protesters, after being kicked by members of the military, were stripped to their waists and forced to lie in the road as part of their collective humiliation. Arrested by local police and military, it was decided to transport the protesters in trucks to Ingkhayuthaboriharn camp in Pattani province. Loaded into military trucks, in some cases four layers deep, and still kept face down with hands tied behind their backs, at least 78 individuals died of suffocation.

A brief video of the initial attacks upon the protesters can be found HERE, and a 16 minute video can be found HERE. Thaksin Shinawatra had claimed that the men had died as a result of being weakened through their Ramadan fasting, and demanded that members of the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) conference, which was held shortly after, did not mention Tak Bai.

Within a month of the Tak Bai deaths, 30 Buddhists were killed in insurgent violence, apparently as revenge. On Thursday August 10 this year, families of some of the victims of the Tak Bai tragedy filed cases at Pattani provincial court.

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged the new post-coup government to prosecute those who were responsible for the Tak Bai deaths. Deutsche Presse Agentur in yesterday's Bangkok Post reported that no senior officials have been charged with the poor handling of the case, and 58 of the original protesters are still in prison for supposedly inciting the riot that developed from the demonstration.

The Asian Human Rights Commission said: "Justice has been played the fool in the Narathiwat courtroom where the public prosecutor has consistently failed to ensure that witnesses appear, and where the chief investigating officer - the former Tak Bai police chief - could not identify even one of the defendants.... or tell what evidence had been brought against them."

Surayud Chulanont the "puppet" prime minister appointed after the September 19 military coup, has suggested that he is considering dropping all charges against the 58 individuals languishing in jail. The military have also suggested yesterday that charges against the 58 Tak Bai protesters should be dropped. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said that police are still searching for 32 more Tak Bai protesters.

Meanwhile, violence has continued unabated. Last week (Sunday to Sunday) there were at least 28 killings, and on Monday (October 23) five Buddhist monks were injured in a bomb attack in Muang in Narathiwat province. One of these is still in a serious condition.

On Sunday night in Panare district of Pattani province, a former Muslim teacher was killed. Ruyaning Sa-I was shot by an AK-47 assault rifle.

On Monday, a 24-year old man, a former employee of a government job-creation scheme was shot dead as returned home from a market. Boonya Nadae was attacked by a gunman on a motorcycle in Thung Yang Daeng district, in Pattani province.

On Tuesday, a hired labourer was shot four times by two attackers and killed in Raman district in Yala province. 36-year old Dison Mansu was on his way to attend morning prayers at a nearby mosque, to celebrate Muslim Hari Raya Day. Before they fled, his assailants scattered spikes in the road.

On Tuesday morning in Sungai Padi district, Narathiwat province, a roadside shelter was blown up. The 5 kilogram device was thought to have been aimed at security officials who usually had a break in the shelter. No-one was hurt.

In another part of Sungai Padi, three rounds from an M79 grenade launcher had been fired at a police station in tambon Sakor on Monday night. No-one had been hurt, but two adjacent houses had been damaged.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 26, 2006 8:20 AM

Comments

Posted by: FreedomSeeker33 at October 26, 2006 9:12 AM

Post a comment