84 Dead in Pattani: "This is typical"

[Pharcyde]

Yep, right you are. It was the story about mr T inserting family at the top of the army. Anyone know more about the details, and the "alleged backfire".

 

Chuckwoww, if you get hands on that in depth article, pls fwd it to me. Seems more likely that the Nation will write it than the BP anyway...

[Fidel]

From PULO's Website:

 

Bertubuhan Pembebasan Patani Bersatu

Patani United Liberation Organisation PULO

 

 

28 October 2004

 

Press Release

 

The Thai government and Mr. Thaksin Shinnawatra should be responsible for the violences at Tak Bai and Kerisik.

 

The unrest in the Patani has been going on for more than 10 months now. There are very strong indications that a tragic ending of it is not far away any more. So, on behalf of justice and the right to live - we have no choice than - once again to appeal to the United Nations Security Council and the UN Human Right Commission to come and bring about peace.The least we ask for is.

 

However, the legacy of the brutal more than 100-years long Thai occupation and the effect of the violence after math of the consultation will last for long time. We believe that to give the world?s newest nation a good beginning is necessary for the international community to pressurise the Thai government to expedite this process.

 

Patani, through the mass media, has become a well-known issue. In EU, Middle East and Asia solidarity work for Patani has intensified during the past few years and it has been remarkably successful. Many countries welcomed encouraging reports while condemning the outrages and atrocities during last 10 months (Kerisik and Tak Bai massacres).

 

To summarise, given recent developments in Patani, we would like the commissions to highlight the following issues:

 

- The establishment of an internationally recognized court in Thailand to charge the officers and officials responsible for the violence during last 10 months.

 

- The immediate arms embargo against Thailand.

 

- The need for support from the international community for the nation-building.

 

Switzerland

Hj.Lukman B.Lima

[kamui]

And here is small side story, how some Thai officials try to handle the incident. Not by trying to find out what acutally happened and what went wrong, but to intimidate the messenger:

 

CSD lures media to false press briefing

 

Published on November 05, 2004

 

The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) yesterday lured members of the media to the provincial police headquarters in Narathi-wat for a "press conference'', only to hit them with summonses demanding they surrender video footage of last week's Tak Bai crackdown.

 

Police questioned the media members for up to four hours over the October 25 incident which |left 85 Muslim protesters dead |- 78 of them while in custody.

 

Many of those questioned were upset at what they described as a "deceptive" tactic, while one media member was seen crumbling the summons and tossing it back at police in anger.

 

The appropriateness of yesterday's police action has been questioned given that an independent panel has already been established to probe the Tak Bai incident.

 

Senator Thongbai Thongpao, a Magsaysay Award-winning law-yer, described the incident as a violation of press freedom and a form of intimidation.

 

Colonel Anuchai Lekbamrung, CSD deputy commander, has led a team from Bangkok to Narathi-wat to probe the Tak Bai incident, but it is unclear what its mandate is.

 

Col Thanongsak Pattrarapanu, deputy commander of Narathiwat police, apologised to those questioned, saying it was a "mistake on the part of officials".

 

CSD officers were keen to find out who had taken a picture of commandos firing live rounds at Tak Bai protesters. The photograph, which appeared in Nation Multimedia Group publications on October 28, contradicted the government's claim that troops had fired into the air to scare protesters away.

 

The CSD's interest in knowing the identity of the photographer has raised the question of whether authorities had a hidden agenda.

 

An independent council headed by former ombudsman Pichet Sunthornphiphit was set up on November 2 to investigate the deaths of the 78 protesters, most of whom suffocated in the back of Army trucks while being transferred to Pattani.

 

The committee will hold its first meeting today.

The Nation

[Pharcyde]

Aha, I guess now they are trying to polish the case as much as possible, any home videos are not too welcome.

Kudos to the Nation for having the guts to publish strong stuff like this.

[MaiLuk]

Seems that the PM has canceled his trip to the APEC meeting. He is also talking about disarming the muslims, at least that is how I interpret his statements. Won't be easy to find all those guns. Will he implement a plan similar to the war on drugs?

 

"I am flying to Narathiwat on Sunday to instruct security forces there to work more decisively to tackle the violence," Thaksin said, referring to a region where 85 Muslim men died at the hands of security forces after a protest last month.

 

"We will have to launch a major crackdown on war weapons in the south soon," he said referring to the assault rifles. He did not say when the campaign would start.

 

--From Reuters article

[kamui]

I wonder, if this doesn't mean more military and more oppression in the south?

 

 

PM targets illegal weapons

 

Published on November 07, 2004

 

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday vowed to rid southern Thailand of illegal war weapons as more violence rocked the Muslim-majority region.

 

In the latest attacks, two unidentified men shot Dam Thongmuang, 72, in the head at point-blank range yesterday morning.

 

Police Lieutenant Boonserm Klaewwathree of Narathiwat's Chanae district said Dam was a former district volunteer for natural disasters and accidents.

 

Later, in the same province, one of two men who walked into a motorcycle repair shop posing as customers shot the owner's son, Paosaen Payanon, 40, in the head, Police Captain Decha Lertdechanon said.

 

In Songkhla's Sabah Yoi district, Wieng Kaewbangorn, 54, was shot dead on Friday evening as he was standing and chatting in front of a friend's house.

 

Earlier in Narathiwat's Than Yong district, Suriya Ma, 16, a student at Naralikalai High School, suffered a shotgun wound and was in a stable condition.

 

Fearing more pupils could be targeted, the director of an Islamic private school, Wayari Hajimayeng, has agreed to shorten school hours by 15 minutes so that students can change out of their school uniforms.

 

"In the past our concerns were mainly for the teachers. Now the students are being targeted as well," Wayari said.

 

In his weekly radio address, Thaksin reiterated his aim to launch a massive crackdown on illegal war weapons in the restive region and that he would take a personal interest in it.

 

More than 500 weapons and tonnes of explosives have been stolen from government armouries since the beginning of this year, including the raid on an Army camp on January 4 by Islamic insurgent groups. None of the explosives or weapons have been recovered.

 

The prime minister said he would continue to employ both a "soft approach and an iron fist" to address the problems in the South, adding that "innocent people don't have to fear or worry".

 

Thaksin's government has been sharply criticised at home and abroad for using strong-arm methods rather than trying to win the hearts and minds of the country's Muslim minority.

 

The Nation

[kamui]

Mr. T. must be joking.

 

 

 

Can paper doves bring peace to the South?

 

Published on November 17, 2004

 

UBON RATCHATHANI

 

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday called on Thais across the country to fold a flock of 62 million origami paper birds that will be dropped by military aircraft over the South to promote peace in the restive region.

 

While still refusing to apologise for the deaths of 86 Muslim demonstrators in Tak Bai, 78 of whom died while in custody on October 25, the premier has asked every person in the country to wage peace by making paper birds and sending them to their district offices.

 

"I believe Thai people want peace in the South, which is currently racked by violence with no end in sight,"Thaksin said, "If the whole country calls on them to stop killing each other and turn to each other, the misled people who have been convinced to kill will stop."

 

But the origami overture may not work, according to Paisarn Phromyong, deputy secretary-general of the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand. Some might merely regard the paper birds as litter that they will be forced to pick up later.

 

"Praying and telepathy are more important than making paper birds," Paisarn said. "We just want Thai people to pray for a change in the minds of the ill-intentioned people so that they will do good things."

 

The paper birds are intended to be a symbol of peace and love. Thaksin has ordered the airforce to airdrop the paper flocks in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani on December 5, His Majesty the King's birthday.

 

"I am learning how to make a paper bird and might need former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej to help teach me," the premier said. Thaksin said he had instructed Deputy Prime Minister Vishanu Kruangam to work with MCOT Plc, the state-owned television and radio operator, to spread the word of the paper-bird operation. On Sunday, Thaksin met with a group of academics who had demanded he apologise for the deaths of the Tak Bai demonstrators. They presented him with a paper bird.

 

When asked if he would apologise as requested, Thaksin yesterday responded, "That's nonsense."

 

Meanwhile, Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said the Cabinet agreed with the paper-bird idea as it would touch people's hearts and boost communication between outsiders and southerners.

 

"Though it won't directly solve the problem, it represents encouragement from the Thai people to the southern residents," Jakrapob said, adding that Thaksin got the idea from the academics he met on Sunday.

 

After the Cabinet meeting, Thaksin proclaimed, "enough is enough for the problem in the South", said Jakrapob.

 

On October 13, a campaign inviting 60 people to make 60 paper birds as way to convey their good wishes to people in the South was launched by a group called "Flowers and Paper Birds for Peace". It was led by Sumit Champrasit and folk singers Surachai Chantimathorn and Pratchaya Srithanyarat.

 

The paper birds will be given to residents in the South on November 26 and 27. The group also invited 70-year-old Grandma Hai Khanjantha, a northeastern villager, to be the campaign's presenter.

 

Islamic leaders said origami birds would do little to solve problems in the South. They instead urged Thais to pray for peace in the restive region.

 

Nimu Maekajae, deputy chairman of the Islamic Committee of Yala, said the origami birds meant nothing to Muslims because they respect prayers, not sculptures or pictures.

 

However, Nirand Pantharakit, director of the Chularatchamontri Office, said the paper birds were a psychological strategy to express Thai people's concerns as well as a warning to wrongdoers to get back on the right track.

 

Piyanart Srivalo

 

Sucheera Pinijparakarn

 

The Nation

[MaiLuk]

This guy is very sarcastic (and funny): "But the origami overture may not work, according to Paisarn Phromyong, deputy secretary-general of the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand. Some might merely regard the paper birds as litter that they will be forced to pick up later. Praying and telepathy are more important than making paper birds, Paisarn said.

 

This guy plans to use the birds as psychological warfare: "However, Nirand Pantharakit, director of the Chularatchamontri Office, said the paper birds were a psychological strategy to express Thai people’s concerns as well as a warning to wrongdoers to get back on the right track . "

 

This guy has not yet been told the 86 people who were killed were THAI: "On Sunday, Thaksin met with a group of academics who had demanded he apologise for the deaths of the Tak Bai demonstrators. They presented him with a paper bird. When asked if he would apologise as requested, Thaksin yesterday responded, "Thats nonsense"

 

Taksin is going to be angry at someone when he finds out the victims were thai. If he had known then of course he would have apologized immediately and avoided all this "nonsense."

 

This seems like reading about a fictional place. ::