Three Buddist Temples Bombed In South

[Felt 35]

Three Buddhist temples bombed in South

Published on May 17, 2004

Simultaneous blasts injure two despite warnings of possible violence

A fresh spate of violence rocked the deep South last night as three separate explosions went off almost simultaneously in three Buddhist temples in Narathiwat, injuring two people and damaging the temples' sanctuaries.

The bombs went off at about 7pm at Thara-korn temple in Tak Bai district, Ratsamosorn temple in Rusoh district and San-ghasit temple in Rangae district, police said. They said they had not yet identified the explosives used.

The blast at a gate of Ratsamosorn temple in Rusoh slightly injured Kuekul Seangwong, 27, who was making a telephone call at a phone box nearby, and Assah Nge-ngor, 18, who was in front of his house opposite the temple's gate, police said. The two were admitted to a Rusoh hospital.

The explosion at Tharakorn temple broke a pole of the temple's sanctuary - the part of the temple complex where monks gather for the holiest ceremonies.

There were no reports of casualties there.

The rear wall of the sanctuary at Sanghasit temple in Rangae - where there were also no injuries - was also damaged.

Authorities have been deploying marines to guard many temples in the area. But last night's bombs were put in place and went off before the troops normally arrive, at about 8pm.

The explosion last night was a significant violence took place in the Muslim dominated region three weeks after the government armed forced killed 108 Muslim, including 32 in the historical Krue Se mosque in attack to several military and police outpost. Five officials died in the incident.The head of the Buddhist Sangha in Narathiwat, Phra Rajkunathan, said that at more than half of 67 Buddhist temples in the province the only person who lived in the temple was the abbot.

"It's worse. . .perhaps nothing is worse than this," he said.

He said that he had asked authorities to deploy adequate troops to guard the temples. "I won't ask for troops any more. Let's see if there is nobody to protect the Buddhist religion," he added.

Fourth Army Region Com-mander Pisarn Wattanawongkiri said earlier that he had instructed security officers to be on high alert last night as intelligence reports suggested a "certain level" of violence might take place.

Police Ninth Region Comman-der Prung Bounpadung said he had given similar orders to the police, as he had received information that separatist movements would mo-bilise as many as 300 fighters to attack vulnerable targets such as schools, Buddhist temples and officials' workplaces between May 14 and 20 - from last Friday through this coming Thursday.

Commanders at the Fourth Army Region have been paying |special attention to schools, which will begin the new semester today. Troops will accompany some teachers from their homes to schools, Pisarn said.

Elaborating, he said soldiers would accompany teachers travelling between homes and schools in Narathiwat and Yala, while security officials would be on patrol along routes that teachers and students often use around schools in Pattani.

Some schools in sensitive areas need security protection from troops around the clock, he said.

Teachers have been living in fear since 20 schools in Narathiwat were torched on January 4, the same day that an Army camp was attacked.

Pirat Wihakarat, president of the Federation of Teachers in Southern Border Provinces, said most of the schools in the deep South were ready to operate today. However, some schools in Narathiwat might not be ready for students as they are under repair or fresh construction since the arson attacks in January and April.

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Police informant gunned down in Yala

A police informant in Yala who had recently accused police of involvement in the disappearance of two other local informants was gunned down on Saturday night in the southern province.

Doloh Rohying, 46, was shot in front of his second wife's house in Yaha district at about 11pm and died on the way to hospital, police said.

Doloh was hit in the stomach, chest, arms and on the left side of his face, police said, adding that 16 spent casings from an M16 rifle were found at the scene.

Police said they suspect bandits or separatists murdered Doloh because he had been giving provincial police information about insurgents in the area for years.

However, Doloh had also been in conflict with the police after publicly accusing them recently of kidnapping two other local informants.

Doloh had accused officers from Bangkok of abducting informants Ya Jehdallah and Wae-arong Rawying in March 2002.

He had filed petitions with government agencies, including the Prime Minister's Office and the Fourth Army Region, accusing a group of officers from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) of involvement in the pair's disappearance.

"I am sure that at least one CSD officer was involved in the disappearance since I accompanied the pair to see the group from the CSD before they went missing," Doloh told The Nation last month.

He said that a group of officers from Bangkok eager to show their effectiveness had accused the pair of involvement in an attack on Yala's Ban Nangsta Police Station.

The CSD has denied that any of its officers were involved in the disappearance of the informants.

The Fourth Army Region is still investigating the case along with others accusing the police of abducting or having a hand in the abduction of a number of residents of the predominantly Muslim provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

Local residents say hundreds of people have gone missing since authorities imposed martial law in the region following an attack on a military camp in January.

Hundreds of people - including security officers, Muslims, Buddhist monks and civil servants - have been murdered in the restive region over the past two years. On April 28, 108 alleged Muslim militants were killed by security forces in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Songkhla. Five security officers were also killed in the clashes that day.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

THE NATION

[fatter than harry]

....and why is this in Phuket topics?

[thaimee]

The blast at a gate of Ratsamosorn temple in Rusoh slightly injured Kuekul Seangwong

please fix them gates before they get rusty afore the rainy season really gets a whoremongering...

wait a minute, which anti-thaksin cronie paid off which muslim wanabee?

a first for the scrap book, a holy war against a peaceful buddhist nation?

this underlying mockery of a true debacle is bringing down my stock portfolio...

Thaimee