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March 15, 2007

Thailand: A Week Of Muslim Murder And Mayhem

The provinces of the south of Thailand, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani, as well as two districts of Songkhla province, are predominantly Muslim, and formerly comprised an independent sultanate called Pattani. This was invaded in 1786, and annexed within Siam (Thailand) in 1902. For five decades at least, there have been insurgencies and rebellions. The current insurgency began on January 4, 2004, when an army base was raided in Narathiwat province, with 300 weapons seized, and with 20 schools set alight. This insurgency has now claimed between 1,700 and 1,800 lives.

The three southern provinces are the poorest in the country, with high levels of unemployment. The national average of unemployment is 14%, but in Yala it is 35%, in Narathiwat it is 28%, and in Pattani the rate is 25%. The Muslims in the region speak Yawi, a dialect of Malay.

On Monday March 5 violence broke out in Yala province, in the south of Thailand. Two men, aged 20 and 24 were shot in a drive-by killing in the province late on Monday, and a 21-year old government security guard was shot dead while he was in a public phone booth in the province. In neighbouring Pattani province, two villagers aged 31 and 52 were shot dead by Muslim insurgents.

The two youths who died in Yala on Monday night were among young people emerging from a Ayurweng village sports stadium on the main Yala-Betong road. A pickup truck pulled up and four to five people opened fire. The two youths who died were named as Rosadee Mahama and Abdulloh Latte. A third victim, Susee Salamae, was shot and critically injured. He was taken to hospital.

Others were killed on the same day in Yala and Pattani. In Yala in the morning, a 32 year old rubber tapper was shot dead as he rode his motorcycle to the plantation where he worked, and his 25-year old wife was badly injured. A 70-year old Buddhist rubber tapper was also killed in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province.

Wednesday March 7: A couple were shot at while riding a motorcycle on Wednesday morning in Yarang district of Pattani. The man was killed and his wife was seriously injured. The 25-year old man, Chachawan Arsaiphol, had on Tuesday attended the cremation of his brother who had been killed on the same stretch of road.

Thursday March 8: About 70 Muslim women and children staged a protest outside Bacho district police station in Narathiwat province. They had faces covered and were demanding the release of a man who had been questioned the day before, but had been released. The protesters did not believe the man, Naruwan Keiji, had been set free.

In Yaho village, Rangae district in Narathiwat, a police patrol vehicle was hit by a bomb, leaving one soldier injured.

General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, who had engineered the coup of September 19, 2006, claimed on Thursday that the authorities were well on their way to controlling the insurgency. The week previously, an insurgent camp had been discovered. Sonthi was preparing to make a trip to the south.

Friday March 9 Early on Friday, two bombs went off in Waeng district, Narathiwat province. One explosion knocked down a power pylon, and the other happened at a crematorium. No-one was hurt.

Also in Narathiwat, a grocery store owner was shot and killed on Friday in Sungaipadi district. Four men pretending to be customers entered Mr Preecha's shop, and then opened fire. When police and military visited the area to inspect the scene of the killing, a bomb went off. A second bomb was found hidden inside the shop, which was defused with water cannon.

While this was going on, Sonthi Boonyaratkalin was talking to officials in Chanae district in the same province.

In Pattani province, three villagers were injured in a shooting incident late on Friday as they drove motorcycles home from a tea shop in Yaring district.

Saturday March 10: At 7 am, a bomb went of at a school in Muang district, Yala province, leaving a 22-year old soldier critically injured. The bomb was left in a flower bed and was detonated by remote control when soldiers made a security check.

Early on Saturday, a 15 year old boy was shot dead by security forces after he fired at a security post in Yala province.

A Buddhist couple was shot dead in a village in Betong district, Yala province, on Saturday night.

Sunday March 11: Three Buddhist Burmese workers were shot dead in Nong Chick district, Pattani province, where they were working on a construction site with a dozen other Burmese nationals. Four other workers were injured in the shooting.

One of the men who was shot was then decapitated, the 26th person to be beheaded since this insurgency started in January 2004. On his body was left a note saying: "Kill the innocent and we kill Thai Buddhists." The head was taken away.

Also on Sunday, Muslims and Buddhists staged separate demonstrations in the south. 60 Muslim women wearing veils staged a protest in Pattani, to have three arrested Muslim theft suspects released. The men were arrested on suspicion of stealing a motorcycle. The women blocked the road.

While this went on, 150 Buddhists staged a protest nearby, to complain about the Muslim women blocking the road.

In Narathiwat, a 60 year old Buddhist man was shot dead as he rode his motorcycle to a rubber plantation.

In Yala province, a brother and sister, aged respectively 45 and 48, were shot dead while they went to a rubber plantation in a mountainous region.

Monday March 12 Eight people were wounded in a busy market in Yala province when a bomb went off. At the time of writing, one of the people injured in the market blast, Sgt-Maj.3rd Class Thanunya Baramee, is still in a critical condition. She was hit in the groin and thigh, and after two operations, she remains on a respirator. The person who set off the bomb was thought to be a Muslim woman

In Narathiwat city, a school building was burned down. In Rueso district of Narathiwat province, Ban Kor Tor village was raided. The village is thought to have a training camp for the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK), one of the main insurgent groups.

In Pattani's Nong Chik district, police were still hunting for the head of the Burmese worker killed the day before.

Late on Monday, a school in Yaha district, Yala province, was burned down. Before setting fire to the school, four computers, a TV set and other electronic appliances were looted by the group of around 10 insurgents.

Tuesday March 13: This day was the anniversary of the founding of the BRN (Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Pattani) insurgent group. It was founded in March 1963 by Ustaz Haji Abdul Karim Hassan, who had links to the Communist Party of Malaya. He was apparently influenced by pan-Arab socialism.

Security was tightened in the southern provinces.

Wednesday March 14: In Bacho district, Narathiwat province, early in the morning, a policeman was shot, leaving him in a critical condition.

In Khok Pho district, Pattani, a married couple were injured in a drive-by shooting.

A mini-van carrying passengers in Yaha district of Yala was attacked. A tree was laid in the road, along with spikes. Gunshots were fired at the van as it turned in an attempt to escape by concealed assailants, mounting an ambush.

The bus went off the road and hit a tree as it was being fired at with AK-47 and M16 rifles. The gunmen then entered the bus and began to execute the occupants. The 41-year old Muslim bus driver, Abdulraman Kodae, was shot in the head, but survived.

Three women and five men were killed, all of them Buddhists. Two of the victims were teenage girls, aged 14 and 15. All of the victims were shot in the head, and all had their wallets stolen from them.

To show how thoroughly planned this incident had been, as soon as security forces arrived, a bomb was set off. The van attack has been condemned by Thai Interior Minister Aree Wong-araya.

Thursday March 15: A clerk, Thanet Sriwangkaew, was shot dead at his office in a rubber processing factory today in Rangae district, Narathiwat province. Thanet was seriously injured, shot three times, and was locked inside his office. Fellow workers had to prise open the door to reach him, but he died before his body could reach hospital.

Meanwhile, angry protests took place in provincial capitals around Thailand, at Ayutthaya, Rayong, Chumphon, Krabi, Si Sa Ket and Chiang Rai, where people complained at the inhumane incident concerning the van.

In possible retaliation for yesterday's attack upon the van, a mosque was bombed in Yaha district, Yala province. 11 people were injured in the attack. This appears to be one of the few occasions when Buddhists, who have suffered much during this insurgency, appear to have acted in revenge. The bomb was hurled from a passing car.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 15, 2007 10:50 PM

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