Violence in the South of Thailand

[dirtydog]

As they seem to be killing each other everyday I thought a single thread would suffice.

PM accuses Army chief Sonthi of being slow to act against violence



Six people were killed yesterday in a series of attacks in the deep South, including a powerful roadside bombing followed by a gunfight that left five security personnel dead.

Police said a 20-kilogram bomb was detonated as a military vehicle passed by, killing one soldier instantly and leaving a two-metre-deep crater.

Four defence volunteers survived the blast but were gunned down seconds later by a group of about 20 suspected militants waiting in ambush.

The bomb had been hidden in a drain underneath a bridge in Yala's Raman district and was set off by wire.

The victims were part of a unit providing security for a local school.

About an hour later, another bomb exploded just metres from nearby Wat Sountrawat. Nobody was injured.

In another incident, Mayainung Sa-ah, 35, of Rangae district in Narathiwat, was shot in the head at close range while riding his motorcycle. He died at the scene.

Meanwhile, a third bomb exploded outside the home of a Narathiwat district chief in neighbouring Sungai Padi.

And, separately, a bomb hidden under a Sungai Padi market stall exploded. There were no injuries.

Yesterday's attacks came amid finger-pointing and political tussling in Bangkok over who should have control over security agencies in the troubled South, where more than 1,200 people have been killed since early 2004.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra accused Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin of being slow to respond and suggested he should be more active in handling the protracted regional violence.

"I have told him [Sonthi] on several occasions. He still has to make adjustments," Thaksin said in one of his strongest statements yet against the Army chief.

But officials claimed Sonthi was being denied cooperation by civilian agencies, including provincial authorities and their respective governors.
Provincial leaders continue to look to Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya for guidance, officials alleged.

The Nation
Yala

[dirtydog]

VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTH / SCHOOLS CLOSE, SECURITY BOOSTED

Villager killed in drive-by attack, two injured in separate shootings
MUHAMAD AYUB PATHAN WEADAO HARAI
Police inspect the scene where Jehahming Jehgo, 28, a computer teacher at Santiwittaya school, was critically injured in a drive-by motorcycle shooting in Yarang district of Pattani yesterday. — ABDULLOH BENYAKAT
A villager died in a drive-by shooting in Yala and two people, one of them a teacher, were wounded in attacks in neighbouring Narathiwat and Pattani. Naseh Dagae, 44, of Than To district, was killed in his house on Tuesday night. Men on a motorcycle fired several shots into the house, fatally wounding Naseh.
In Narathiwat, Sudeng Mahama, 25, a volunteer peacekeeper of Rangae district, received a serious gunshot wound to his left leg while motorcycling with friends along the Narathiwat-Rangae road in Muang district, also on Tuesday night. In Yarang district of Pattani, Jehahming Jehgo, 28, a computer teacher at Santiwittaya school was attacked by gunmen on a motorcycle yesterday and severely wounded.
He was returning on foot to the school after picking up documents from a nearby copying shop.
Authorities have closed three schools in Yala's Raman district following the ambush of a convoy carrying teachers that left five members of an armed escort dead on Tuesday.
An official said the schools, which have 350 pupils, will remain closed until the government can provide more guards for the teachers.
A soldier was killed by a bomb that went off beside the convoy, and four Muslim men who had volunteered to guard the teachers were then shot dead by the hidden gunmen.
Yala governor Boonyasit Suwanrat said the attackers stole the dead guards' weapons.
Security forces yesterday beefed up surveillance only to find a report of a possible new wave of mass bombings in the deep South to be a hoax. Rumours also circulated that Masae Useng, a leading figure of a network of local radical groups, was to launch a major insurgent onslaught against authorities and civilians yesterday.

bangkok post

[Donleavy]

A very strange situation. The violence is getting worse and worse. The 'separatists' don't really seem to exist, the coppers admit they know the people commiting violent crimes and who are they? Drug kingpins; they know who they are and they're drug dealers. Not people with a political motive whatsoever.

So I say this, crush them. If they really are scummy drug-dealers that have been murdering their own people and terrifying the populace with no political motivation or aspirations, destroy them. No pussy-footing, get them out of there and shoot them in the head, twice.

Criminality dressed as politics should be dealt with accordingly.

[stroller]

Any link where I could read all about coppers and druglords in the South?

[Donleavy]

I don't have any links I'm afraid. Reading the Bangkok Post/The Nation should keep you up to date though.

[dirtydog]

Suspected militant sympathiser shot dead

Narathiwat - A suspected sympathiser for the separatist movement was shot dead early Saturday morning in what police believe was an attempt to silence him from giving information to authorities.

Pol Lt Phuchong Sanguanjit of Sungai Kolok district police station said Saokri Amsoh, 22, was shot dead inside his pick-up truck in the business area of the district at 4:50 am.

Phuchong said Saokri was returning from sending his mother to a fresh market where she sells goods there.

Witnesses said two gunmen on a motorcycle followed the truck and opened fire at Saokri.

Phuchong said Saokri was known to be a sympathiser and used to incite people to rally in front of the Tak Bai police station but he recently provided cooperation to state authorities.

The Nation

[dirtydog]

Extremists kill two, attack police

Islamic militants have shot and killed two Muslim men in separate attacks in Thailand's south.

Police say a 48-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting late Saturday as he rode a motorcycle in Yala. In neighbouring Narathiwat province, a 22-year-old Muslim man was shot dead by militants while he was sleeping in his pick-up truck.

Separately, some 10 suspected Islamic militants opened fire on a police camp in Yala late Saturday.

Police exchanged fire with the militants for about 10 minutes but no one was injured in the attack.

Separatist unrest has left more than 1,300 dead since the latest fighting broke out in early 2004.


bangkok post

[dirtydog]

Suspected police informer shot dead
Authorities believe victim was silenced

By Waedao Harai Muhamad Ayub Pathan
A suspected police informer was shot dead yesterday in an attack authorities believe was the work of Muslim insurgents aiming to silence him. Saogree Amsoh, 22, of Narathiwat's Waeng district, was shot twice in the chest while helping his mother unload fruit and vegetables from his pick-up truck at the Genting morning market yesterday.
An initial investigation found that Saogree was once a sympathiser of a separatist group but later switched sides and began to assist the authorities.
In the same province, a 200-strong security force split up into small units in Rangae district and launched surprise pre-dawn raids on 14 locations in two villages.
They took into custody Ahamud Pasri Gaseng, 40, said to be a subordinate of Masae Useng, a high-ranking member of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional and a key suspect in the sectarian violence in the region.
Investigators believe Mr Ahamud had driven Mr Masae to the separatist group's meetings, where plans were hatched to attack government offices.
In Sungai Kolok district on Friday night, Suchira Giya, 22, a cross-border agricultural produce retailer, was critically wounded by gunfire in front of a tea shop. Witnesses said four hitmen attacked Mr Suchira from a pick-up truck as he was about to return home.
In Yala's Raman district, a bomb disposal squad neutralised a 15kg bomb which was placed close to an electrical transformer pole on the Gayuborkoh- Balor road yesterday.
Bomb-making material, including a torch, three batteries and an alarm clock, were also found at the scene. Police linked the bomb to the Runda Kumpulan Kecil, a radical group said to be under the command of Rorhing Ahsong, aka Ustaz Rorhing. The group has been blamed for the recent ambush of a teacher escort team in which four civilian volunteers and a soldier were killed .

bangkok post

[dirtydog]

Pattani - A private school teacher was shot and severely injured in what police believed to be another drive-by shooting by militants.

Sutthisak Malisuwan, 42, a teacher of Santi Witthaya School in Yarang distrit, was shot and severely injured on a village road while driving his pick-up truck to school at 11 am.

Pol Col Wichia Inthawong, commander of Yarang police station, said Sutthisak was shot just about 200 metres before reaching his school.

He was shot three times on his right arm and body. He was rushed to the Pattani Provincial Hospital.

Witnesses told police that Sutthisak was followed by two men on a motorcycle and one of them opened fire at him and fled the scene.

The Nation

[dirtydog]

Five soldiers were hospitalised yesterday after a bomb attack in Yala's Thanto district. The soldiers had just finished escorting a group of teachers home when a group of armed men triggered the explosion at about 4pm, then opened fired from the roadside.


Three sergeants - Chareon Saengsawang, Lek Sukphong and Prem Mecha - and privates Worawuth Thasunthon and Rithidej Kokraphan were wounded in the attack.

Meanwhile, senior Democrat Party executive and former foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan said there was no hidden agenda in his meeting with Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin. It was an opportunity to exchange views on the South in an atmosphere of "mutual interest and common responsibility", he said.

The meeting came amid reports that Thaksin and his security tsar, Chidchai Vanasathidya, will give Sonthi more freedom to address the problems in the South.

Surin said he was impressed with Sonthi's sincerity and determination to bring peace to the restive region.

Surin said he agreed with Sonthi that village chiefs, kamnans and community leaders must be made to feel they have ownership of the areas in which they live and that they have a stake in the outcome.

"We are also in agreement that the quality of education and human-resources development in the region needs to be furthered in order for the people to make a more meaningful contribution," Surin said.
He said that seeing the problem as stemming from separatism overlooked such problems as abuse of power, lack of cultural appreciation, lack of ownership and the erosion of trust between the people and authorities.

the nation

[dirtydog]

Ex-village headman shot dead in Pattani
POST REPORTERS
Pattani _ A former village headman was shot dead in Pattani yesterday, while his wife narrowly escaped death in the drive-by attack.

Mahama Siroryuding Vani, 40, a former village headman in Kapho district, was pronounced dead after being attacked by two gunmen on a motorcycle on the Sai Buri-Johgueyae road.

His wife, Goriyoh Deehama, 36, a teacher, said they were driving a pick-up truck home from Sai Buri district when the pillion rider opened fire at them, before fleeing. Police believe the attack was the work of a militant group.

An intelligence source based in the South said insurgents had threatened to kill residents travelling to work in neighbouring provinces if they did not bow to their radical principles, stirring up panic among their families.

Fourth Army commander Lt-Gen Ongkorn Thongprasom, director of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-building Command, asked the press to be very careful with its coverage of the southern violence, which has sometimes contained images of security force members killed by militants. He said such reports were very sensitive in terms of the morale of security personnel and public trust.

Surapan Prapkree, director of a health centre, said she had found a 30% increase in the number of people suffering from mental problems during a field trip to the deep South.

Three major contributing factors were the hike in oil prices, higher consumer product prices, and the unrest in the region.

Ms Surapan said more psychologists had been sent to the area to help reduce the problem.

She suggested that people embrace His Majesty the King's principle of a self-sufficiency economy to help them cope with their hardship.

[dirtydog]

DEEP SOUTH / MEDIA, MENTAL ILLNESS

Suspects' families 'depressed'
WAEDAO HARAI ISSARA NEWS CENTRE
Narathiwat _ Gujingruepo villagers whose female relatives have been detained in connection with the hostage-taking incident that left teacher Juling Pongkunmul in a coma are deeply depressed and need help, an expert said.

Phetdao Tomeena, director of the local mental health centre, said the suspects and their families have suffered mental problems since the hostage drama on May 19. She said at least two families have been closely monitored by mental health workers.

They believe their relatives have been made scapegoats for the incident in Narathiwat's Rangae district, in which Ms Juling and a colleague were taken hostage and beaten.

Ae-Soh Jormae is the mother of Subaida Jormae, 35, who has been detained in Narathiwat's central prison. She has become fidgety and secluded. She often weeps and avoids talking to anybody.

Madari Mayohgaseh, an assistant of the Gujingruepo village headman, said the villagers lived in fear of being arrested by the authorities without a warrant.
He said the 18 suspects who have been detained had no knowledge of the crime.

bangkok post

[Donleavy]

What are your thoughts on this issue Dirty Dog? Would be interesting to hear your take rather than just read your cut and pastes. Thanks.

[Stocky]

Democrats discuss strategies for South
By Ismail Wolff, ThaiDay, 18 July 2006

Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said reconciliation was impossible in the strife-torn southern border provinces unless the government alters its policies in the region.

Abhisit led a team of senior party officials to meet with former members of the now defunct National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) yesterday to discuss the party’s policies for the troubled southern border region.

Meeting with senior NRC members, including former prime minister Anand Panyarachun, Abhisit said his party would announce its policies for returning peace to the troubled region before the end of the month.

“Both the NRC and the Democrat party feel that an adjustment of government policy is required. As long as the government continues to be stubborn, reconciliation will not be possible,” Abhisit said.

“The first priority right now is to change the government policies that have been implemented over the past two to three years. As things are, it is not helping the people in the South.”

Abhisit, former foreign minister and southern Muslim, Surin Pitsuwan, and other MPs, met with the former NRC members for more than three hours to discuss their recommendations for reconciliation.

“After reading the NRC report the party has received a clear overview of the current problems and found that the NRC’s proposals and the Democrats policies are harmonious,” Abhisit said.

“The urgent issue that the party needs to discuss is how we can put our policies and the NRC’s proposals into concrete effect.”

Abhisit also urged the government to give a clear reaction to the NRC’s proposals.

Despite assurances from caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that the government will implement most of the NRC’s proposals, observers have expressed skepticism that he will follow through with that promise.

One of the key proposals to set up a new administrative body to oversee policy in the region has already been shot down by the government, while many other recommendations including the opening up of dialogue with militants contradict current counterinsurgency policy.

The government has said it will implement all “appropriate” recommendations, but despite the report being released more than a month ago the government is yet to provide a detailed response.

Abhisit said he agreed with the proposal to establish a new administrative center for the region that would give the people a chance to participate more in local government and the parliamentary system.

“The problems in the South are also political problems which cannot be solved by the army or certain government authorities alone,” he said.

“It needs mutual cooperation from administrative branches, the police and organizations outside of the government such as the media and religious leaders.”

Abhisit will chair a meeting of MPs and local community leaders from the southernmost provinces in Narathiwat on July 20.

[Stocky]

The rebellion in Southern Thailand isn't going to go away. The big stick approach to the south has not worked, all it has succeeded in doing is to alienate and radicalise more the the population. Thailand would be better served by a government that sought to resolve the problems of the south through dialogue. The majority of Thai Muslims would be happy to remain a part of Thailand governed from Bangkok, so long as they feel their needs are being addressed, and they are governed with a degree of sensitivity. The current 'big stick no carrot' approach gives more power to the separatist cause of groups like PULO.

Thaksin commissioned The National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) to look for solutions, but after initially welcoming their report he's done nothing to implement any of its recommendations.

The summary report of the NRC can be found here National Reconciliation Commission

[stroller]

The majority of Thai Muslims would be happy to remain a part of Thailand governed from Bangkok, so long as they feel their needs are being addressed, and they are governed with a degree of sensitivity.

I wonder about this one. There has been a strong seperatist movement from ethnic Malay Muslims going way back in history. I don't know whether this represents the sentiments of the majority or not, but recent gov policies have probably helped their cause more than resolved anything.

[Eliminator]

With these muslim pricks killing people every day, it isn't going to help the situation.

[Whiteshiva]

With these muslim pricks killing people every day, it isn't going to help the situation.

If you were exposed to the kind of abuse and discrimination that the Muslim population in Southern Thailand has endured over the years, my guess is that you would be pretty trigger happy yourself......

[Eliminator]

Whiteshiva, I damn sure wouldn't be thinking killing monks, children or teachers as being the "RIGHT" way of doing things to get my point across in ANY stretch of the imagination.

[Bluecat]

It seems Dirtydog that nobody is interested by the violence in South Thailand considering this kind of thread is on many websites with little action...
But thye fact that there is little concern among 'English speaking' forum posters is not that important, the worrisome thing is that the Thais do not care and the Thai government even less.
And that the situation will spread beyond the South one day or another...

[Stocky]

Whiteshiva, I damn sure wouldn't be thinking killing monks, children or teachers as being the "RIGHT" way of doing things to get my point across in ANY stretch of the imagination.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that this criminality is defensible just that it is symptomatic of the problems caused through the bad governance of the southern provinces.

[stroller]

And it doesn't manifest from one day to the other.
People don't suddenly decide to do this. It's the result of decades or generations of unresolved conflicts.
And there is no fast miracle cure for it, either.

But ther's a choice here: suppress and punish more severely, a continuation of the past, or look at the issues and address them. A combination of the two is also an option.

The criticism is, that the Thai gov hasn't picked up the recommendations by the committee, but is relying on brute force to control, rather than resolve.