Thai forces face murder charges over south civilian deaths

[webfact]

Thai forces face murder charges over south civilian deaths
AFP

BANGKOK: -- Seven Thai security officials will face murder charges for shooting dead a group of unarmed Muslim men in the conflict-hit south, police said Wednesday, as details emerged of a fresh civilian killing at an army checkpoint.

Two villagers and two students were gunned down on 25 March in a raid on Ban To Chut village in Pattani province when security forces, acting on a tip-off, opened fire on a group of suspected militants.

Initially authorities said the men were armed rebels but an investigating panel on Tuesday revealed the four to be unarmed civilians, not linked to the festering decade-long insurgency against the Thai state.

Legal action against officials is rare in the kingdom and particularly in the deep south where civilians comprise most of the 6,300 victims of a decade of conflict between security forces and rebels fighting for greater autonomy in the Muslim-majority region.

"They (the seven) face murder charges. But an investigation will show whether the murders were due to their security operation or in self-defence," Kriskorn Paleethunyawong, police commander of Pattani province, told AFP, adding that the seven men have not yet been arrested.

"I am waiting for them to surrender," he said, refusing to confirm whether the officials belonged to the military or police.

In a new report of violence late Monday a soldier shot dead an unarmed 24-year-old Muslim man as he tried to evade a checkpoint in Mayo district of Pattani province, local police commander Jeeraseth Daongentrakool told AFP.

"A military officier... fired a shot at the tyres but missed and hit the victim," he said, adding the man died instantly at the scene.

Thailand, a mainly Buddhist nation, annexed the southern region more than 100 years ago and stands accused of perpetrating severe rights abuses as well as stifling the distinctive local culture through clumsy, and often forced, assimilation schemes.

Pornpen Khongkachonkiet of the rights group Cross Cultural Foundation welcomed the "timely and frank" release of findings into the killing of the four men, but urged an end to a culture of "impunity" among the security forces.

"Now the army commander needs to show leadership and suspend the alleged perpetrators or at least show some disciplinary punishment," pending the judicial process, she said.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-04-09

[webfact]

Rangers Will Be Handed Over to Police for Slaying of Students

The army authorities have agreed to hand seven rangers over to the police who were accused of killing four unarmed students in southern Thailand.

Two students and two villagers were killed on March 25 during a raid in a Pattani village. Security forces were acting on a tip that the group were suspected militants. An investigative panel announced on Tuesday that the individuals were not militants, and recommended legal action be taken against the security forces. Weapons seized after the incident were also found not to belong to the men.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/815947-rangers-will-be-handed-over-to-police-for-slaying-of-students/

[webfact]

SOUTHERN INSURGENCY
Prawit promises to activate judicial process over Pattani killings
Panya Thiosangwan,
Somchai Samart
The Nation


Prawit Wongsuwan

BANGKOK: -- DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER for National Security General Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday affirmed that the case in which four young men were killed in the March 25 raid in Pattani's Thung Yang Daeng district would go through the judicial process.

His comments followed a fact-finding committee's report on Tuesday that investigations had proved the four men were innocent and not connected to the ongoing insurgency.

Prawit, who also serves as defence minister, told reporters yesterday that officials would act on the committee's findings. Insisting that national security officers worked with good intentions and wanted to restore peace in the restive region, he said, if mistakes are made then things will have to proceed in as per the justice system.

"This should serve as a cautionary lesson. I believe the officers were doing their best, but this operation took place at night, which means there might have been other factors leading to mistakes. However, all of them will have to undergo the judicial process," he said, adding that the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre was looking at details for remedial measures for the affected.

"The Thung Yang Daeng Model allows people participation [in watching out for suspicious persons and items], but national security officers must be able to separate good persons from the bad in order to prevent problems in operations," he added.

On Tuesday, Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4 Front Command spokesman Pramote Prom-in said the investigation result was an initial report and could not be legally binding as this case still had to be proved in court.

In related news, Mental Health Centre Region 12 director Petchdao Tohmeena said yesterday that officials would wait for about a month before visiting the slain men's families and relatives, because they were currently being visited by members of the media and other agencies. For the time being, the families are being helped at the Thung Yang Daeng Hospital, she said.

After a month, the number of visitors should reduce, hence it would be better for the centre's officials to visit the victim's families. She said it would take them more than three months to recover from grief, as the deaths were so sudden.

Petchdao also called on the authorities to show their sincerity by having the wrongdoers undergo the judicial process and announce how they will be punished instead of going quiet once remedial measures have been put in place, a tendency seen in previous cases.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Prawit-promises-to-activate-judicial-process-over--30257698.html


-- The Nation 2015-04-09

[chooka]

No excuse in planting weapons on them. How many other times throughout the years in Thailand has the military done this to cover up killings?

[Srikcir]

If there is one thing Article 44 CANNOT DO is get the Malya-Thai insurgents to the peace table. But it may further cause an increase in violence.

Well done General Prayut.

[soalbundy]

This will lead to nothing,while they are at it what about Tak Bai

[fxe1200]

This will lead to nothing,while they are at it what about Tak Bai

...right! 85 people died on October 25, 2004 in Tak Bai. None of those being responsible were punished.

[JOC]

This will lead to nothing,while they are at it what about Tak Bai

...right! 85 people died on October 25, 2004 in Tak Bai. None of those being responsible were punished.

Also known as impunity!!

BTW. They are wearing the same uniforms as the current government.................

Edited April 9, 2015 by JOC

[Baerboxer]

This will lead to nothing,while they are at it what about Tak Bai

...right! 85 people died on October 25, 2004 in Tak Bai. None of those being responsible were punished.

Also known as impunity!!

BTW. They are wearing the same uniforms as the current government.................

And what have any previous governments done about such things this century? Or extrajudicial killings and murders by the police?

[EnglishJohn]

If there is one thing Article 44 CANNOT DO is get the Malya-Thai insurgents to the peace table. But it may further cause an increase in violence.

Well done General Prayut.

Why ?. I can't think of one reason why it would.

Looking back however, the 'big negotiation' with the insurgents by Paradorn achieved absolutely nothing while it definitely DID increase violence. A lot.

Well done General for taking those rank amateurs out of the picture. You are a bad choice from worse options - but Thailand is definitely a better place than it was.