guran

The Nation

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EDITORIAL: Has Thailand lost its conscience?

Published on October 28, 2004

In a way, public apathy allows the PM to continually push the bounds of decency

The violent crackdown on Muslim protesters in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district on Monday, which resulted in several deaths during a bloody clash at the scene of the protest and the subsequent loss of scores more lives after more than 1,300 people, mainly young men, were rounded up and put in the army’s custody, has been met with what can only be described as widespread public apathy. The relative lack of a public response to this glaring example of state-sponsored violence is reminiscent of the ambivalent public reaction to the news that the Thaksin administration’s anti-drug campaign had left more than 2,000 suspects dead in its wake, including many victims of extra-judicial killings.

It comes as no surprise that both the Tak Bai crackdown, which resulted in more than 80 deaths, and the war on drugs were both authorised by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

In both instances, the Thaksin administration showed a total disregard for the most basic human rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all Thai citizens, regardless of their ethnicity or religion.

If the prevailing public opinion is any guide, then Thaksin obviously got away with the bloody crackdown on drug traffickers. It is not yet clear how well or how badly he will fare in the wake of the Tak Bai incident.

Most of the protesters had been observing the Ramadan fasting period and were therefore prone to severe dehydration and exhaustion, yet they were given neither food nor drink after being arrested

Prisoners, all of them with their hands tied behind their back, were packed – many stacked up horizontally, several people deep – into military vehicles and heavy trucks. As a result, many of them suffocated or were crushed to death while being transported to an army barracks in Pattani for interrogation.

It is not an exaggeration to say that cattle being delivered to the slaughterhouse are provided better conditions and more humane treatment.

The circumstances leading to this catastrophe remain sketchy and could not be independently confirmed a few days after the tragic and preventable deaths were allowed to happen under the watch of the Fourth Army.

The gross incompetence and total absence of professionalism in the handling of the protesters on display here cuts straight to the heart of the army’s supposed commitment to restoring peace in the restive Muslim-majority southernmost provinces by winning the hearts and minds of the locals while working to weed out Islamic militancy through military means.

At this point, it would matter little if some of the arrested protesters turned out to be known Islamic militants who had committed or been involved in the flare-up of murder and terror that has raged in the South. Even the most vicious and evil of terrorists are entitled to due process of law and a fair trial.

These deaths fly in the face of the military’s code of conduct, which demands that civilians and enemy combatants alike be treated humanely. This is of course to make no mention of the imperatives of common human decency.

Instead of initiating an independent inquiry into this tragic incident, General Sirichai Thanyasiri, who is in charge of the military command in the Muslim South, yesterday appointed senior government officials and army and police officers to determine whether any wrongdoing had been committed leading to the deaths of so many of the protesters in the Fourth Army’s custody.

This thinly veiled charade of justice is a fresh affront to the already grieving local Muslim population, which will naturally want a full explanation of what happened to its loved ones. They expect to see that justice is done, wrongdoers punished, their loss compensated and, above all, that the Thaksin administration make a sincere and unreserved public apology.

Without waiting for the outcome of the internal investigation, Prime Minister Thaksin has had the nerve to extend his forgiveness to all military personnel involved, casually dismissing the deaths of the protesters in captivity as an “unfortunate accident”.

The prime minister also appeared unperturbed by the chorus of international condemnation, saying instead that Thailand could explain away what happened simply as an internal affair.

Most conspicuous, however, has been the absence of public outrage in this country over the brutal treatment of the Tak Bai protesters. Only a handful of human rights advocates have made any noise. In a predominantly Buddhist country that ascribes to itself such noble attributes as compassion, respect for the sanctity of life and tolerance, the silence of the voice of conscience is deafening.

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Muslims do seem to have serious difficulties living in peace with non-Muslims in too many parts of the world for it to be coincidental.  This begs the question why?

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Any subjugated homogenous group of people will eventually rebel.

Muslim/Muslim wars are by no means uncommon , the closest ( geographically) example to hand is the war between Malaysia & Indonesia.

The most recent Iraq and Kuwait.

hi...

no only human rights for humans and none for those who murder the innocent..

do you respect terrorists ? people who plant bombs in public places and blow up innocent people ?

amarka

what about the people who drop bombs from planes on innocent people ?

what about the people who start wars for political & economic reasons ?

what about the governments which arms nations which commit genocide on the innocent ?

what about the soldiers who kill innocent civilians on foreign soil ?

what about the soldiers who torture innocent civilians to death ?

what about the generals who cooly calculate with collateral damage ?

what about the israeli politicians who blew up innocent people in palestine ?

what about the executioners who executed the innocent ?

what about the soldiers who may have grabbed innocent onlookers during mondays incident ?

Human rights apply to all.

It is not up to the strongest to decide upon who human rights should apply to.

The government added that the total death toll resulting from Monday's incident is 87.

What's the explanation for the 3 new deaths ? bird flu ??

It would be interesting if Kate could inform us as to why he was in Iraq and what good his presence there has done.

Agree with everything you said Kat with the exception below.

I view the current war in Iraq as unnecessary to America's security or self-defense.

Not only unecessary but in all probability detrimental to America's security.

so it escalates even further......

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Seemingly a bar frequented by tourists according to reports.

You're leading a four man team, hunkered down behing the rocks about 120 metres from a village hosting fifteen Taliban fighters.

You have all the Taliban tagged and placed. You plan to hit them in five minutes, during the next Salaah. With surprise on your side you can take them all out easily as they kneel to pray.

A little girl with a puppy on a leash approaches your position. A couple of metres away she spots you, and freezes.

Do you let her raise the alarm, resulting in certain capture and maybe death for you and your team, or do you ignore the military code of honor and the rules of engagement and slit her throat, then hit the village before she's missed ?

It's quite obvious which choice you would have made Kate, I would not expect you to be anything but a wimp.

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Earlier this year a little girl I loved stepped on a mine left behind by the Russians 15 years ago.

How many little girls have been killed by US bombs ?

Why is the US among the few countries which have not yet banned landmines ?

it appears only terrorists and rioters enjoy favorable opinion for a certain sector a ex pats ...

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Right.

I'm starting to wonder why this forum has attracted so many cowards and terrorist sympathizers.

Maybe they e-mail each other for reinforcements.

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it's rather critical thinkers that have responded.

Unfortunately Soldiers are so heavily indoctrinated that they are unable to think critically.

If they do, it is usually only after the conflict is over.

Most Soldiers don't know the real reasons why they are at war.

Why were you in Iraq Kate ??

Well you sure are a real Bitch, Bitch 

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I'm more woman than you'll ever get and more man than you'll ever be, Dorknight.

Learn to live with it.

The US got simply what is was asking for for a long time. Talk about ignorance....

Sure that thought didn't enter you limited brain yet  

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So according to you it was OK for a bunch of raghead psychos to murder 3000+ innocent civilians because it was "what the US was asking for for a long time" ?

You disgust me, you worthless piece of trash!

I hope Homeland Security reads your crap and sends someone to twep you!

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Bin Ladins actions were not ok , but the reasoning behind it can be understood.

Just as the reasoning behind Bush wanting to complete what his father started.

But neither action is acceptable by any civilized standards.

For the vast majority of people human rights work and are respected.

for terrorists - people who knowing take the life's of others,

yes you are right I have no respect for them and would not offer them human rights..

amarka

only human rights for those that you respect ?

That's probably what Pol Pot, Stalin along with others thought.

How on earth can you drink that american shit you call coffee ??

Eloquently put Kat !

I suppose I'm to blame for raghead terrorists crashing planes into buildings too.

Have you ever wondered what reason they may have had for doing such a thing ?

What is their reason for hating the USA ?

Violence breeds violence .

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When it's someone else's son or daughter I'm a "right wing paramilitary type" and "full of hate", but if it was your son or daughter being threatened with decapitation by raghead terrorists you would be down on your miserable knees begging me or someone just like me to do whatever it takes to rescue him or her, up to and including nuking Iraq.

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Isn't it a coincidence that there was not a single decapitation in Iraq until Katy and his mates turned up ??

He actually appears to think that he has done some good !

Pity him !

interesting posting from earlier this year.

http://matrix.bangkokpost.co.th/forums/sen...Message_ID=2754

I don't know the statistics, but I think you'll find it's not totally clean.  Tak Bai gives its name to a distinctive Southern Thai dialect, which is also spoken in Malaysia - see the Tak Bai Thais of Kelantan and Tak Bai subdialects.  Another complication is the Moslem Thais whose mother tongue is Southern Thai - Ethnologue Report for Southern Thai

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As far as I can see some 80% of the patani population are Malay speakers and some 95% are muslims.

( source http://www.wrmea.com/archives/july01/0107053.html )

Can't really compare their situation to the former Thai immigrants to Kelantan.

Usually cutoffs when not using the pc are due to the modem at either end disconnecting due to inactivity.

There are many programs that can enable a connection to be kept alive.

Beleive one is included in norton systemworks.

One call should in theory last until you book out !

If I am not mistaken it is only citizens of switzerland and japan who can exchange a driving licence for one issued in the EU.

If they can't control themselves they should move to a country that has whatever it is that they want and not try to force everyone else to change since that's not going to happen. 

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I beleive that they had what they wanted in their country before it was overrun by thailand.

Won't Phuket look pretty ?

Well , if birthcontrol failed what else can you do ?

A southern Thai Muslim separatist group dormant since the 1980s said on Wednesday insurgents would take their fight to Bangkok to avenge the deaths of 78 Muslims in army custody in the deep south.

"Their capital will be burned down in the same way the Pattani capital has been burned," the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO) said in a statement posted on its Web site.

The group, which is not thought to have an armed wing, was involved in a violent campaign in the 1970s and 1980s for an independent Muslim Kingdom of Pattani between southern Thailand and northern Malaysia.

"We pledge before Allah that from now on, the infidel will suffer sleepless nights, the property they have robbed from us will be totally destroyed and their lives will face consequences for the sins they have committed," the group said.

"Their blood will be shed on the soil and flow into water. Our weapon is fire and oil, fire and oil, fire and oil."

Well guess those down South will think twice about rioting now

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Actually, the exact opposite reaction is most likely. Brutal violence begets violence.

"I am concerned that the incident yesterday will escalate the tension in the south, some groups may try to do something about taking revenge," Abdul Rahman Abdul Samed, the top Muslim official in Narathiwat, told AFP.

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I'm afraid britmaveric does not respond to logic.

He seems to think that they are just naughty schoolboys.