VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTH

Schools in Narathiwat shut after the killing of teacher

The Nation

NARATHIWAT: -- In the wake of the fatal shooting of a Thai-Muslim teacher, all 378 schools in Narathiwat province were closed yesterday at the conclusion of a meeting by a teachers' network.

The network also pleaded with teachers to raise funds for the family of victim Chonthee Charoenchon, the 158th teacher slain in the Deep South. They also called on security officials to hunt down the four assailants who carried out Wednesday's attack.

The schools are scheduled to reopen on Monday. Twenty-one schools in Narathiwat's Bacho district had earlier been temporarily closed in the wake of the shooting at Ban Tanyong School on Wednesday.

Chonthee, 51, was shot in the head twice during lunch in the school's canteen, which was crowded with almost 300 students. There was one shooter accompanied by three others. They had arrived on two motorcycles and had posed as the parents of students.

Chonthee's keys were snatched from his belt and the attackers made off with the teacher's Nissan sedan.

The schools were closed as teachers, students and parents have lost confidence in the security measures. The body of the Chonthee was buried yesterday.

Police said they would question teachers at the scene to get an idea of the identities of the suspects and make sketches to compare them with those of criminals in police files.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat described yesterday's killing of Chonthee as another blow to education in the region but stood firm in his belief that the existing security measures for educators needed no adjustment.

Sukampol said the victim was a Thai-Muslim and that the school is run according to the Muslim system with security provided by other agencies, not the military.

He said it was after a long time that a Thai-Muslim teacher had been killed, and called on southerners to join hands in anti-insurgency activities.

He said the armed forces were ready to assign military personnel to help teach children if requested by the Education Ministry.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana said Chonthee was a native of Songkhla province and he was a teacher who worked very hard and devoted his life to education.

"It is a pity that he was killed and became a victim of the southern violence," said the minister.

He added that Ban Tanyong School where Chonthee taught had never asked for protection inside the school. Its administration needed a protection unit for teachers and students on the way to and from the school. The decision was a result of a meeting between teachers and was based on the reasoning that the teachers and students were Thai Muslims.

Meanwhile, Boonsom Thongsriprai, president of the Federation of Teachers in the three southern border provinces, chaired a meeting of the administrations of 370 schools in Narathiwat.

A statement issued after the meeting demanded that authorities arrest the four suspects involved in the killing of Chonthee at the earliest and suggested that the forces send text messages to teachers when they learn about the movement of insurgents who intend to attack teachers.

The meeting also blamed the killing on security authorities and called for an investigation on why the insurgents had now changed their targets to Thai-Muslim teachers.

-- The Nation 2013-01-25

related topic

Thai Militants Kill Teacher In School Canteen

http://www.thaivisa....school-canteen/

MIndless brainwashed people killing for no reason other than hatred. I bet they couldn't even quantify why they hate. Religions globally have been the major cause of wars. But the weak minded need something to believe in so I guess it is not going to go away. I wonder what the world did prior to religions becoming fashionable 1500+ years ago? How the hell did we all survive? Man made and deserving, it's all about control of the masses no matter what you believe.

Edited January 25, 201313 yr by Locationthailand

MIndless brainwashed people killing for no reason other than hatred. I bet they couldn't even quantify why they hate. Religions globally have been the major cause of wars. But the weak minded need something to believe in so I guess it is not going to go away. I wonder what the world did prior to religions becoming fashionable 1500+ years ago? How the hell did we all survive? Man made and deserving, it's all about control of the masses no matter what you believe.

Religion is man's worst creation.

I have written and deleted four responses to this story, but nothing I have written does anything to help me understand this disgusting, murderous act.

Edited January 25, 201313 yr by arthurboy

the school is run according to the Muslim system with security provided by other agencies, not the military.

Regardless of that:

The meeting also blamed the killing on security authorities.

RIP the good teacher and may those who commit these dirty acts rot in hell.

Minister says safety measures for southern teachers to get boost

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Jan 25 – The government is ready to deploy more state personnel to provide safety to schools and teachers in violence-plagued areas in Thailand’s far South, a senior officials said.

Deputy Prime Minister/Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana was apparently referring to Wednesday’s fatal shooting of Chonlathee Charoenchon, a Muslim teacher in a Thai-Muslim school in Narathiwat province.

He said educators at Ban Tanyong School where the teacher was killed had earlier told the authorities that they did not require special security on the school premises.

The government will provide security if requested by any educational institutes, he said.

Regarding additional welfare for teachers, Mr Phongthep said related government agencies had discussed the issue but no resolution was reached since any adjustment will involve other state officials.

Southern teachers have asked the Education Ministry to increase the Bt2,500 monthly risk allowance to Bt3,500 but there are teachers who have never received it, the minister said, adding that all teachers should be under the same payment rule.

The Narathiwat Teachers' Federation met Thursday to review the situation and concluded that all 378 schools in the province would closed Friday and reopen Monday.

Twenty-one schools in Bacho district had closed already in the wake of the killing of Mr Chonlathee.

The Federation asked fellow teachers to raise funds for the family of the victim and called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute the gunmen.

Narathiwat Deputy Police Chief Pol Col Krisda Kaewchandee said the 9mm bullets which were fired into the slain teacher at Ban Tanyong School came from the pistol of Pol Sgt Asisol Hemna, a traffic police officer in the provincial seat.

Sgt Asisol was killed on May 25 last year and his weapon was stolen. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-01-25

i hope they get the #$%^ and that they will be punished.

R I P

We have so many arab worshippers in my home country and some of them they don't want to send their daughters to school, as they follow supreme arab tradition / way of living.

I'm in phuket for now and I noticed that muslim children go to muslim schools only, not same school with other non-muslims.

I understand they don't want to send their children into school, they are afraid what they might learn, and maybe someday they could question the whole religion. Killing for keeping an uneducated youth, which could be used for future suicide bombers or hit-men against non-muslims.

Don't defend the religion of peace please. It is what it is, you need to perform special effort to not to see, hear, know what really it is.

We have so many arab worshippers in my homecountry and some of them they don't want to send their daughters to school, as they follow supreme arab tradition / way of living.

I'm in phuket for now and I noticed that muslim children go to muslim schools only, not same school with other non-muslims.

I understand they don't want to send their children into school, they are afraid what they might learn, and maybe someday they could question the whole religion. Killing for keeping an uneducated youth, which could be used for future suicide bombers or hit-men against non-muslims.

Don't defend the religion of peace please. It is what it is, you need to perform special effort to not to see, hear, know what really it is.

Are you saying the Thai Muslims in Phuket do not attend government schools? In Pattaya, also a traditional Muslim area, both girls and boys attend the government schools. They attend the Mosque for learning the Koran after school for a few hours and on Saturday. Never heard of a Thai Muslim being identified in suicide bombing in Islamic countries. To date no such event in Thailand.

In Pattaya "they" want their children educated, including girls, some of whom are members of my Thai family and doing very well.

Edited January 25, 201313 yr by simple1

I work at a private school that is affiliated with the Catholic Church (a very, very lose affiliation I might add), we have about 10% Muslim children at the school.

Sigh

Are you saying the Thai Muslims in Phuket do not attend government schools? In Pattaya, also a traditional Muslim area, both girls and boys attend the government schools. They attend the Mosque for learning the Koran after school for a few hours and on Saturday. Never heard of a Thai Muslim being identified in suicide bombing in Islamic countries. To date no such event in Thailand.

In Pattaya "they" want their children educated, including girls, some of whom are members of my Thai family and doing very well.

This is what I observed here in a week. I can't say all muslim children go to muslim schools, perhaps some of them have no choice but to go thai school aswell. However, I know the fact that community opression is a big binding problem for muslims and they have to behave just like other muslims do, can't disobey norms etc.

I also noticed many muslim-only moobans, they usually use Yammu (or Yamu) at the end of their names. However where I'm staying is mixed with muslim minority and generally mixed others. Can't help but noticing the muslim symbols in their car in so many muslims. Are they marking themself off against any terrorist attack or?

One last thing, I just witnessed refusal of speaking in Thai in Hotel Mercure reception by a southern boy. My friend wanted to practice his thai, he got answer in english "I'm not thai, I don't speak thai". Yeah right, nobody born in this country, carrying a Thai id card and passport, or I should say Thai citizen is obliged to know thai language right?! So they don't want to be a Thai because their religion orders them to kill all non-believers, pork eaters, buddhists (statue worshippers) but they want to learn and speak arabic because it is supreme race and being for muslim followers.

Are you saying the Thai Muslims in Phuket do not attend government schools? In Pattaya, also a traditional Muslim area, both girls and boys attend the government schools. They attend the Mosque for learning the Koran after school for a few hours and on Saturday. Never heard of a Thai Muslim being identified in suicide bombing in Islamic countries. To date no such event in Thailand.

In Pattaya "they" want their children educated, including girls, some of whom are members of my Thai family and doing very well.

This is what I observed here in a week. I can't say all muslim children go to muslim schools, perhaps some of them have no choice but to go thai school aswell. However, I know the fact that community opression is a big binding problem for muslims and they have to behave just like other muslims do, can't disobey norms etc.

I also noticed many muslim-only moobans, they usually use Yammu (or Yamu) at the end of their names. However where I'm staying is mixed with muslim minority and generally mixed others. Can't help but noticing the muslim symbols in their car in so many muslims. Are they marking themself off against any terrorist attack or?

One last thing, I just witnessed refusal of speaking in Thai in Hotel Mercure reception by a southern boy. My friend wanted to practice his thai, he got answer in english "I'm not thai, I don't speak thai". Yeah right, nobody born in this country, carrying a Thai id card and passport, or I should say Thai citizen is obliged to know thai language right?! So they don't want to be a Thai because their religion orders them to kill all non-believers, pork eaters, buddhists (statue worshippers) but they want to learn and speak arabic because it is supreme race and being for muslim followers.

Your post is nothing but bigoted anti Muslim rant. Don't know why you holiday in Phuket with all your hatred of Muslims.. You do know the name Phuket evolved from Malay and has a 30% Muslim population. With your one week experience of Phuket how do you know the person in the hotel is actually Thai? You will know that Mercure is a multinational French company and will take customer relations seriously. To get a job as a receptionist in Thailand at a Mercure branded hotel usually means that would have at the very minimum competed college. How about going to the manager & complain that the individual refused to speak Thai and inform the manager of all your assumptions - please let us know the truthful response.

Edited January 26, 201313 yr by simple1

Let's stay on the topic of the thread. I might decide to deny speaking my native language to everyone who wants to 'practice' if I am busy.

The topic is about schools being shut due to the killing of a teacher.

Edit: Argumentative, inflammatory and off-topic posts deleted.

Edited January 27, 201313 yr by Scott