Bangkok attacks planned

[SiamIAm]

Published on March 10, 2005

 

Defendants face death if found guilty; first court hearing to be held today

 

Public prosecutors yesterday indicted eight religious teachers for treason, separatism and murder – crimes punishable by death.

 

Waeyusoh Waedueramae, Mumad Kanafi Doloh, Abdul Rosae Hayi Doloh, Ahama Bula, Masukree Hari, Saleh Teng, Hama Jehteh and Doleh Disa-ae were mostly working at Thammawitthaya Foundation School in southernmost Yala province.

 

They were arrested last December in connection with separatist violence that has rocked the deep South since 1993, prosecutors said.

 

Several other suspects, including alleged ringleader Sapae-ing Baso, the former principal of Thammawitthaya, remain at large.

 

The eight defendants are said to be members of the separatist group Berisan Revolusi Nasional Malayu Pattani (BRN), which advocates violence to carve out a “Pattani” state in the predominantly Muslim region.

 

The accused are said to have masterminded and participated in numerous attacks throughout the region, including the torching of schools, the murder of Buddhist monks, and the raids on military camps in Yala and Narathiwat to snatch assault rifles, prosecutors said in their writ to the Criminal Court. All the teachers have denied the allegations. Their attorney, Kitja Ali-isaha, said he had credible evidence to prove the eight teachers were completely innocent.

 

“Despite the recent deaths of three key witnesses who stood by them, we still have enough witnesses to prove our case,” he said.

 

The court will hold its first hearing today. For the first time, prosecutors are expected to begin their argument with a video show, rather than an oral presentation.

 

Representatives of the Department of Special Investigation, which has handled the investigation, said earlier that the eight teachers were believed to be key players in the continuing insurgency in the deep South, which has claimed more than 600 lives since January 2004.

 

Separatists attempted to murder the manager of a school in the South yesterday because he tipped off the Special Investigation Department (SID) about four religious teachers who have been arrested on charges of treason, murder and separatism, officials said last night.

 

Madaoh Yalapae, manager of Thammawitthaya Foundation School, was seriously injured after he provided information to the SID about the activities of religious teachers at the school.

 

The sources said the spate of attacks occurring in the deep South were a show of force by the Berisan Revolusi Nasional Malayu Pattani (BRN), which celebrates its 45th anniversary on Sunday.

 

Kesinee Taengkhiew

 

The Nation

 

[it's interesting to note that the BRN is an arm of the United Front for the Independence of Pattani [bersatu] jointly formed in 1991 in conjunction with the PULO and BNPP. The chairman of the BRN at the time was headed by Rosa Burako, who was not noted as one of the teachers arrested. While these teachers may have had a hand in planning, they were not the "heads" of the BRN...

 

Also note: "Since the September 11 terror attacks on the United States, the international terror group al-Qaeda has injected money and insurgency know-how into militant groups in various countries enabling them to climb out of their dormant state and grow rapidly. Thai military intelligence sources suspect that, in the attempts to annex southern Thailand, Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia, based in Trengganu, helped to revive the local separatist groups GMIP and Barisan Revelusi Nasional (BRN)." -GlobalSecurity

 

Remember when Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin (Hambali) a known high ranking Al-Qaeda agent (Bali bombing)was caught in the south? His presence in southern Thailand was no accident. It and would seem to support the Thai intelligence claim of Al-Qaeda’s involvement in this insurgency.]

[gummigut]

OH: Not discounting what you are saying but Thailand has been the center for SE Asia for the US Gov't for some time. They probably have a significant number of fluent speakers under their payroll by now.

 

<<burp>>

[mogul]

His tough guy approach has backfired and further pushed moderate Muslims into the arms of the extremists.

 

is this taksin or dubya? wtf is wrong with these eli's?

[Old Hippie]

Gummi,

 

You are probably right language wise, but you still have to rely on locals. Very difficult to have farangs infiltrate a Thai villagae and or an organization and act from the inside. Even in Nicaragua and El Salvador, we needed locals who knew the terrain/lingo and had the local accents which are difficult to pick up. Puerto Rican and Cuban Americans would give themselves away very quickly...

[Zorro]

Mogul

 

I was referring to Thaksin.

[krml]

What I am wondering is what the backlash is going to be when the 8 who are on trial for being terrorist leaders are found guilty. Since they are being tried in BKK something is bound to happen once the verdict is released.

[Old Hippie]

Is there any publicity surrounding this trial? here in the USA, many were rounded up as terror suspects, and we never hear of them again, real low key, which makes me wonder what is really going on here...?

[krml]

They had an article about it in The Nation I think last week. We do have publicity for terror trials here in the US too.

 

The guy they locked up for the dirty bomb plot in Chicago a couple of years ago was all over the news recently because the judge told the Gov't to either charge him or let him go. As well as the whole Gitmo issue.

 

Also the guy in Virginia that was charged with an assassination attempt on the president, who is allegedly an al qaeda operative. His trial has also been all over the news recently. On CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc.

 

I know the government does not tell us everything but at least some is being publicized. Whether good or bad who knows?

[SiamIAm]

"What I am wondering is what the backlash is going to be when the 8 who are on trial for being terrorist leaders are found guilty."

 

A valid question. If they were higher ranking organizers within the BRN, I would imagine they would be forced to show some sort of force to show they are a serious organization...Most likely a bombing (or multiple in synchronization), and probably confined to the south but possibly in Bangkok if Thai security is lax.

 

If there is no bombing (or thwarted attempt) I would question whether these people were actual members of the insurgency. Or perhaps this is an attempt by the Thai intelligence/military to draw out additional supporters/organizers? We’ll have to wait to see how this plays out to get clearer picture.