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November 26, 2006

Thailand: Schools, Buddhist Villagers, Targeted In Muslim South

Since our last update on November 20, the insurgency in Thailand's southern provinces, despite promises of deals and peace negotiations, seems to be getting worse.

The current insurgency began on 4 January, 2004. A military base in Narathiwat province was raided, with four soldiers killed. A large arsenal of weaponry, with more than 300 guns, including AK-47 and M16 rifles, was stolen. On the same night, twenty schools in the south were set ablaze, in what is called "the night of the fires". For many insurgents, schools are seen as symbols of authority, and as they promote the Thai language, rather than the Malay dialect (Yawi) of the local populace, even Muslim schools and teachers have become victims.

The three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, as well as two districts of Songkhla province, formerly comprised an independent sultanate called Pattani. This was invaded by Siam (Thailand) in 1786. In 1902, the sultanate became officially annexed into Thailand. For fifty years, there have been movements to have the territory of Pattani secede from Thailand. Some insurgent factions desire a clean break from Thailand, while others merely wish to improve the conditions of Muslims in the southern provinces, who comprise 80% of the local population. The current insurgency has so far claimed the lives of at least 1,700 people.

There are several groups of insurgents in the south. Some of the main insurgent groups are: Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), New Pattani United Liberation Organisation, Barisan Revolusi National (BRN), Gerakan Mujahideen Islam Pattani (GMIP), United Front for the Independence of Pattani (Bersatu or Barisan Bersatu Kemerdekaan Pattani), Mujahideen Pattani Movement (BNP), Barisan National Pember-Basab Pattani (BNPP), and Mujahideen Islam Pattani.

Other groups which have recently become prominent are the Runda Kampulan Kecil (RKK) which is an offshoot of BRN (the Barisan Revolusi Nasional), and also Permuda, which is the youth wing of BRN. Most of the leadership of Pulo, a group which appears to have little involvement with the current insurgency, are in exile in Sweden. Pulo are nonetheless influential, and are involved in talks towards peace.

The main factions are engaged in the peace talks, which are being brokered by Malaysia's former prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his Perdana Global Peace Organisation. Some of the groups want a complete secession from Thailand, while others demand more rights for the Muslims in the south.

Wan Kadir Che Wan, the president of Barisan Bersatu Kemerdekaan Pattani (Bersatu), a coalition of five separatist groups, has said that Mahathir has helped create trust between Muslim leaders in the south and the Thai authorities. The five groups in Bersatu's coalition (which had been formed in August 1989) only seek a change in some government policies, rather than seeking independence from Thailand.

Other groups such as Runda Kampulan Kecil and Permuda, the youth wing of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, seem to be acting as independent agents.

Some insurgents want to continue the mayhem, and plan to intensify the violence. A source told the Bangkok Post on November 19 that the groups funded by foreign money want to keep the insurgency going. During Ramadan, 6,000,000 baht ($163,908) of donations were sent to insurgents, the source said. The Muslim donors came from Egypt, Libya, Sweden, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The Runda Kampulan Kecil (RKK) has no intentions of engaging with any peace deals. Its operatives have been celebrating at their success in driving Buddhists out of their homes in Than To and Bannag Sata districts of Yala province.

The issue of the funding of the insurgency has over the past week become a a source of contention between Malaysia and Thailand. Wan Kadir Che Wan, leader of the Bersatu coalition, said from his undisclosed location outside of Thailand on Tuesday (November 21) that the violence in the south was unlikely to end. He said this was because of younger separatists believing they have the advantage, and because they have spies within the Thai government.

He said to Al Jazeera: "As far as I understand ...they have been collecting the weapons for a long time in preparation and also the money. The main advantage of this situation is that.... they are inside the Thai government itself so they know many things."

"This new generation of people, they are very young and they are very determined," he claimed. "The old generation can compromise but this new generation seems to still want independence.....Not only independence but they want to establish an Islamic state of Pattani." The most alarming part of the Bersatu leader's claims was his suggestion that the younger radicals were being influenced by an infiltration of the Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah. This is the group responsible for numerous bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 and 2005 Bali attacks in which respectively 202 and 20 people were killed. "I think that many of the group are there but maybe they are not directly involved," Wan Kadir Che Wan said.

The former leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, Hambali, alias Nurjaman Riduan Ismuddin, had been captured in Thailand on 15 August 2003. He is now in US custody in their detention facility at Guantanamo, Cuba.

To add to these claims, Surayud Chulanont, the premier of the government formed after the coup of September 19, has said that money is coming in from Malaysia. He claimed on Tuesday that Thai restaurants within Malaysia were contributing funds to the insurgency.

These restaurants were from the Tom Yum Kung chain, named after a Thai spicy shrimp soup. As well as funding from these restaurants, Surayud claimed that more funds arrived through extortion from businessmen in the Thai south. Surayud also said that the problem with the insurgency is that many of the leaders of groups currently engaged in a massive campaign, in denial of the current peace negotiations, are themselves unknown.

Surayud agreed with the Bersatu leader that Jemaah Islamiyah may have infiltrated the southern insurgent networks, but nonetheless claimed that funds from foreign Islamic radicals has been minimal.

Malaysia, for its part, denied Surayud's allegations. Deputy Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow said the claims were "baseless". "It is very imaginative of him. It is absolutely baseless. These restaurants are owned by Malaysians and Thais," the Malaysian minister said.

Surayud's claims of Thai foodshops in Malaysia supporting the insurgency were denied by Suthiphan Sririkanond, adviser to the Association of Thai Foodshop Owners in Malaysia. He said that the allegations would only damage the Thai food industry in Malaysia, which employs thousands. Suthiphan said that members of his association have merely contributed amounts from 300 Thai baht ($8.20) to 500 baht ($13.67) in monthly membership fees. This fee was not an extortion charge, he said.

Thailand's interior minister, Aree Wong-araya (a Muslim) claimed on Wednesday that Surayud's comments would not affect Malaysian/Thai relations. He said: "We've heard (rumours) for a long time about some overseas private sector businesses being a funding source for the insurgents but we couldn't provide the details."

Schools And Teachers As Targets

There are 861 schools in the three southern provinces, with 291,300 students being taught by 11,260 teachers. About 60 teachers have been killed, and many more wounded, since the current insurgency began. Some of the killings of teachers have been dramatic. On May 19, Muslim villagers descended on a school in Gujinruepo village, in Narathiwat's Rangae district. The villagers demanded to know which teachers were non-Muslim. Two women Buddhists, Juling Pongkunmul and Sirinat Thawornsuk, were identified. Ms Sirinat was dragged from a teashop, and Ms Juling was taken from a classroom.

The pair were led to a community center in the village and subjected to a prolonged beating with sticks which lasted for more than an hour. The villagers, mostly women, also prevented security forces from gaining access to Gujinruepo. When the two teachers were rescued, they had suffered horrific injuries. Ms Srinirat recovered, but Ms Juling had suffered brain lesions and had lapsed into a coma. Juling, a talented artist who had only recently begun teaching at the Gujinruepo village school, still remains in a coma, on a life support machine at Songkhlanagarin (Prince of Songhkla) Hospital in Hat Yai, Songkhla province.

On Wednesday (November 22), 50 schools reopened in Narathiwat province. The closing of the schools happened after an attack upon a woman teacher on November 14. She had been killed by two drive-by gunmen while riding her motorcycle home after work in Rueso district, Narathiwat province. The teacher, 33-year old Buddhist Kutilda Inchampa, was also an army sub-lieutenant and assistant principal at the school.

The day after Ms Kutilda had been killed, the school where she taught, Ban La Moh, was closed. Another school in the same district was also closed, as staff and parents were fearful of similar attacks. The Ban Baluka school lies on the same road where Kutilda Inchampa had been shot. On Friday November 17, 38 more schools in Rueso district in Narathiwat had officially closed.

While schools in Narathiwat re-opened, schools in Yala province were closed in Yaha district. The schools closed on Wednesday following a dispute which had erupted in two villages on the previous day. The villagers had been demanding the removal of troops and police from two temporary bases in the vicinity. Inhabitants of Ban Mapae village claimed that the Border Patrol Police had arrived in the district to assassinate villagers.

200 Muslim villagers had blocked roads, and though attempts were made to negotiate with them, it was decided that the villagers' demands could not be met. Citing security fears, 27 schools in seven sub-districts were closed down. They are expected to open tomorrow.

The crisis in schools escalated on Wednesday night, when Ban Tanyong Limor School in Rangae district, Narathiwat province, was subjected to a bomb attack. The intention appeared to be to set the school on fire. The bomb in the canteen damaged tables and chairs, and made a hole in the floor, but did not set off a blaze. A second bomb was found at the school, beside a flag-pole, but it had failed to go off.

On Thursday, 40-year old Suradet Wassadaeng, a teacher at Baan Don Rak School in Pattani was shot dead in Nong Chik district as rode his motorcycle home from school. His body was riddled with bullets. A sugar cane juice vendor, who had a stand beside the road, was also injured in the shooting incident.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Ban Bor Thong School in Rangae district, Narathiwat province, was set on fire (pictured). The entire building, including a nurse's room, a religious room and four classrooms, was destroyed.

On Friday, the headmaster of Ban Bang Kao Community School in Sai Buri district, Pattani province, 48-year old Nont Chaisuwan, was brutally killed as he sat in his pickup truck after classes. He was shot by drive-by insurgents, and as he was wounded but still alive in his vehicle, the truck was set ablaze, burning him to death.

As a result of the headmaster's murder, a meeting of Pattani teachers was held, and it was decided that all 336 schools in Pattani province would be closed indefinitely. Yesterday, Boonsom Thongsriplai, chairman of the Teachers' Federation in Pattani, said: "The decision will affect all 336 schools, ranging from elementary to high schools, in the province. The closure will start on Monday. We have to close the schools indefinitely because no one can guarantee teachers' safety."

"We have no choice. Teachers have become prime targets of the militants. We are well aware the closure will affect our students, but we believe that solving educational problems is easier than tackling the problem of our safety," he said.

In Narathiwat, schools will remain open next week, said Pairat Saengthong, director of Naratiwat Education Service Area Office 1. He said that for parents of children in high risk areas, they should accompany their offspring to school. He said the parents and children could travel with the groups of teachers who are already provided with military escorts. He added that Ban Bor Thong School, though gutted by fire, would also be open. He said teachers' offices and temporary shelters would serve as classrooms.

Tawat Saeham, head of the Narathiwat Teachers' Federation, said that the situation in the province was now "critical". He said that it was sometimes better to use the "stick rather than the carrot", referring to the current government's policy of appeasement. He said that by taking a position which compromised too much, insurgents may become emboldened.

At least 60 teachers have been killed in the current insurgency. So far in November, four teachers have been killed.

Killings

On Tuesday afternoon, November 21, an elderly couple were gunned down in Bannang Sata district, Yala province. 60-year old Lek Fuangfoo and his 64-year old wife Wilai Phetdee were riding home on their motorcycle from their rubber plantation to their village, Bannang Buto. Two attackers on another motorcycle followed them and shot the pair with an 11-mm pistol.

Later the same day, the body of an insurgent was discovered, following a shootout with security forces in the same province. The man, 26-year old Sugri Banhaning, was wanted on bomb-making chages. His body was discovered naked at the roadside where the shooting incident had happened. A police spokesman said: "Other militants may have taken off his clothes because they were afraid authorities would be able to trace them, or the victim may have been carrying bullets and they were hurrying to take them."

On Wednesday evening, a 16 year old youth was shot dead in a shootout between a group of young people and village defense volunteers in Than To district, Yala province. The shooting happened as the young people were riding motorcycles in the dark. The defense volunteers claimed that they were shot at first.

Following the incident, 50 women protesters marched on the Than To police station to demand that the police find the individual responsible for the teenager's death. A group of 300 villagers protested at the mosque in Pansuk village. On Thursday, as the youth's body was carried in a procession, protesters attacked cars and threw rocks at police. Some tried to attack a news cameraman. A gunmen also shot at the house of a villager in Pansuk, but no-one was injured.

In Bannang Sata district on Friday morning around 3 am, the Provincial Electricity Authority office was set on fire. Two cars, a truck and a crane were also set alight by insurgents. Before attacking the Electricity office, 10 gunmen shot at a security guard, and then poured oil into the building before igniting it.

In Yaha district of Yala province on Friday, a bomb was detonated at 4 pm at a food stand in front of a Buddhist temple, the Wat Yaha Pracharam. Several people were injured, one seriously.

Buddhist temples have become refuges for Buddhist villagers who are fleeing their homes after threats have been made. The trend began on November 8 when villagers from Bannang Sata and Than To districts fled to Wat Nirotsankharam temple in Muang district, Yala province. They fled after an incident on November 5, in which an elderly man and his daughter were shot and burned to death in their house in Santi Village 1. At least 200 villagers are staying inside the Wat Nirotsankharam temple.

On Friday, it was revealed that more Buddhists have fled their homes, this time in Rueso district, Narathiwat province. About 20 villagers have taken refuge in police accommodation where they have been since November 17. This week a note was left in their village of Lubokuwae, saying that if the Buddhists did not move out, their lives would be at risk.

In Rueso district, Narathiwat, about 11 Buddhists have fled the village of Supae, and have made their home in a Buddhist temple in Raman district. It is reported that Buddhists in other regions are planning to abandon their homes.

Buddhists comprise 20 of the population of the provinces in the Muslim south. When the insurgency began, individuals were the main targets of the insurgents. About 20 Buddhists were decapitated in the first year of the insurgency. Over the past year, as many Muslims as Buddhists have been killed, but following the coup of September 17, it appears that whole Buddhist communities have been placed under threat.

On Saturday, 500 Buddhist monks from 266 temples in Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat took part in a special prayer session for peace at Songkhla provincial hall.

While the monks and their supporters prayed for peace, killings escalated on Saturday. In Kabang district, Yala province, three Buddhist men were shot dead as they hunted for wild boar in a forest. The men had their throats cut.

In another incident in Muang district in Yala province, a grocery store was attacked by insurgent gunmen. Two teenage Buddhist boys, Thanakorn Khandam, 17, and Chaikorn Udnoon, 17, were injured.

At Muang district, a 78-year old Buddhist woman, Pongsri Charoensap, was injured when four gunmen opened fire on a group of villagers who were gathered outside a house.

The attacks and threats upon Buddhist homes and businesses are becoming more explicit. In Rangae district in Narathiwat province, many businesses have caved n to Buddhist demands to have their businesses close every Friday and Sunday. Yesterday, businesses in Tambon Tanyongmas, Rangae district, received a circular letter, signed by "Terrorist Group". This letter demanded that they close their shops on Sundays. The letter threatened that if the businesses did not comply and acknowledge Sunday as a holiday, their lives and property would be at risk.

Also in Yala province yesterday, a group of insurgents ambushed a unit of military rangers in Muang district. The exchange of gunfire lasted about 10 minutes until reinforcements arrived, and there were no reported casualties.

An intelligence official has predicted that there will be bombing attacks upon electricity generating facilities in villages, before other targets are attacked. This has happened before, in Yala in July 2005, and in Narathiwat on November 3 last year. The official said that the insurgents would be flying the "Pattani State" flags at villages where they were successful. The funding for these operations is said to come from the Bersatu group, even though the leader of this coalition, Wan Kadir Che Wan, has said Bersatu does not seek secession from Thailand.

The leader of the insurgents who are thought to be planning these attacks is Sapaeing Bazo, leader of the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional Coordinate. Sapaeing Bazo has been in hiding in Malaysia, and he has a bounty upon his head of 10 million baht ($256,227 US). Another prominent figure in the Barisan Revolusi Nasional is Masae Useng, who is believed to have organized the three-day mass bombing campaign which began on June 15. June 15 is regarded by many insurgents as the "national day of Pattani", as it is the anniversary of a meeting demanding independence, which took place in 1997. Masae Useng is believed to be in hiding in the Middle East.

Sapaeing Bazo founded the Thamma Wittaya school in Yala city, Yala province. This Islamic school has had six of its teachers dying as suspected insurgents in the current spate of unrest which began on January 4, 2004. In March this year, 19 teachers from the Thamma Wittaya were arrested, but they were later released.

Today, two soldiers were killed in Raman district, Yala province today. Lieutenant Corporal Ekkachai Polchai and Private Chakrin Thipchaksu were at a market, where they had stopped at a food stall. Two gunmen shot them both at point blank range. Two women villagers, 60-year old Aesoh Arwae and 38-year old Yaena Chapakeeya, were also injured in the shooting. The gunmen, who had entered the market barefoot, stole the soldiers' M-16 assault rifles before fleeing.

In Rueso district, Narathiwat, this morning, a 24-year old man, Adinan Mueyaebasor, was shot dead. The victim was riding his motorcycle, running errands, when two gunmen fired five times at him with a long-range shotgun.

In Muang district, Narathiwat (the district shares land in Yala), a 47-year old government employee, Udom Kulwichit , was shot dead by two gunmen. Udom was riding his motorcycle to go shopping. His wife, Chamreang Kulwichit, was also on the motorcycle, and she was injured in the gunfire.

General Surayud Chulanont, the prime minister, has promised a policy of reconciliation with the insurgents in the Muslim south. This policy appears to be bringing no rewards, and is not halting the misery of the inhabitants of the southern provinces.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 26, 2006 12:03 PM

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