Down south once again

[Flashermac]

THE NATION

22 May 2006

 

 

100 schools to shut for a week: Brutal beating of 2 female teachers heightens fears of further violence; top Army chief offers to quit over latest attacks

 

 

School administrators yesterday agreed to close 100 schools in Narathiwat's Education Zone 1 for a week following Friday's brutal beating of two teachers, one of whom remains in a coma, while the region's top Army officer offered to resign over the incident.

 

Thawat Sae-Hum, president of Narathiwat's Teachers Federation, said the decision to close half the schools in Narathiwat's Education Zone 1 this week stemmed from continued fear of violence among teachers in the area.

 

"We agreed to stop teaching in 100 schools in Education Zone 1,"he said, noting there were 199 schools in Zone 1, which covers five districts including Rangae.

 

The move would also help officials hunting for the attackers, as they would not have to worry about providing safety to teachers at the schools, he said.

 

Teachers would hold a meeting today to evaluate the situation and come up with a security strategy of their own.

 

"We will not adhere to the plans of the security forces anymore. It is clear that their plans don't work," he said.

 

Fourth Army Region commander Lt-General Ongkorn Thong-prasom said yesterday he was ready to resign over the incident if his superiors want him to quit.

 

General Ongkorn said he had submitted a report to his supervisor and was ready to face the consequences.

 

"I am deeply sad that such a brutal incident took place. As chairman of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-Building Command (SBPPC), which is in charge of providing security to people in the three southernmost provinces, I would like to take all responsibility," Ongkorn said.

 

But he insisted every official had tried their best to provide security to the people in the region.

 

On Friday, Juling Pangamoon, 24, and Sirinart Thavornsuk, 30 - both teachers at the Kuching Reupoh elementary school in Rangae district - were taken hostage and beaten by villagers demanding the release of two men arrested earlier on the same day.

 

Juling was beaten particularly badly and remains in a coma.

 

"The patient's brain is severely damaged. She remains unconscious. Even though she can breath partly by herself, she still needs a ventilator," said Associate Professor Dr Sumet Peerawut, the chairman of Songkhla Nakarin Hospital.

 

Meanwhile, two rubber tappers were killed in separate incidents in the troubled region yesterday.

 

Sama-ae Aree, 52, was killed while riding his motorbike home in Yala's Bannang Sata district.

 

Investigating officials said two teenagers riding a motorbike approached Sama-ae from behind and fired four shots from an 11mm pistol.

 

The bullets went into his mouth, right shoulder and right hip. Sama-ae was sent to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

 

In Rangae district, an elderly couple was shot while riding a motorcycle to their rubber

 

plantation. Somboon Ratchasuwan, 69, died at the scene while his wife Tem Samsao, also 69, was seriously injured, officials said.

 

She was sent for treatment at Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Hospital. Police believe Muslim militants are behind the attacks.

[sayjann]

this really angers me,what the fuck is wrong with some People?......

 

if you have a gripe with the Police then take it up with them.

why kidnap 2 Women and beat them so badly?.

[..]

Things have really fired up down there again. Not sure the cause. But I see that there has been at least one bomb a day for a week.

 

Regards,

SD

[Guest]

"

if you have a gripe with the Police then take it up with them.

why kidnap 2 Women and beat them so badly?.

"

 

the police might fight back

 

what would you expect from scumbag cowards?

[Flashermac]

<< Not sure the cause. >>

 

Two possibilities:

 

1) Trying to cash in on the publicity for HM's 60th Coronation Anniversary celebrations?

 

2) Thaksin is back and taking over some of his old duties?

[sayjann]

Pasathai.

i expected a reply like that and thought about saying something similar.

i agree with you but i would think that some of the Police are not well liked in their neighbourhood.

wouldn't it have been more satisfying to the locals to lie in wait for a drunken Copper and beat him?.

 

i'm not condoning any sort of violence but find it tragic that 2 Women get the brunt of anger for an act which may have been started by the Police........

 

in my neck of the woods it would have been a case of rolling over the Police car,setting fire to it and then everyone in the Community becoming blind and claiming to see nothing.

[Flashermac]

Unfortunately, that is not the usual Thai way of responding. Say a Thai is pissed off at you. A more common response is to poison your dog or damage your car when you are not around. Direct confrontation -- unless it happens in a moment of anger -- is much less common. The Thai way is to go behind your back.

 

Also, attacking a couple of women teachers is going to get a lot more national attention than if the angry villagers had just beaten the crap out of a male cop.

[sayjann]

i understand,you know better than me how things work.

 

'Also, attacking a couple of women teachers is going to get a lot more national attention than if the angry villagers had just beaten the crap out of a male cop'

 

i would imagine this would be the last thing the Authorities would want to have splashed across the National Media and Internet.

surely another slight on Thailand's image when the Thai's are trying to encourage more visitors.

 

if the People involved had just beaten up a couple of Cops in some dark alleyway i imagine not many of us here would have known about it.

but the beating of 2 young Women has made the news.......

[Bangkoktraveler]

I think the OP had the story right: [color:"red"]"On Friday, Juling Pangamoon, 24, and Sirinart Thavornsuk, 30 - both teachers at the Kuching Reupoh elementary school in Rangae district - were taken hostage and beaten by villagers demanding the release of two men arrested earlier on the same day."[color:"black"]

 

A lot has happened in the south in the last few years. Th mosque shoot out and massacre and then the large number of people that were smothered to death as they were being transported. Execution style deaths with machetes beheading heads and bombs seem to be the norm each and every day. When a lot of explosives and weapons have been stolen over the last few years, it makes me wonder when we are going to see all of that stuff being used?

[cardinalblue]

I think the issue is way beyond just the thai police against the locals down there. It has taken on a much more secular focus.

 

Targets have been police, gov officials, teachers, shopowners, growers, etc. All these have been a different religion than from their own; even ones who didn't shere their same view but same religion. Look what happened to that family of nine because he was an informant...

 

They seem they just don't want to belong to the thai nation but have a separate state on thai land...

 

I think the gov should say to them, if you don't want to live peacefully in thailand, cut a deal with malaysia and send them there? Would they want to go or accept such an offering?

 

We all know monies are flowing up from this country in their religious support so lets see if they want them?

 

CB