Thailand Drops Cases Against 92 Muslim Protesters

[Jai Dee]

Thailand drops cases against 92 Muslim protesters

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has dropped charges against 92 Muslims involved in a 2004 protest in the rebellious far south that led to 78 Muslims dying in army custody, the Attorney General's office said on Friday.

Attorney-General Patchara Utithamdamrong had signed the order dropping charges of instigating public disorder and disobeying authorities against 92, who were freed on bail, spokesman Attapol Yaisawang told Reuters.

"The order was sent today to the provincial prosecutors office in Narathiwat and we expect the prosecutors to ask the court to withdraw the charges on Monday," Attapol said.

The order came a day after Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont apologised for past hardline government policies blamed for stoking unrest in the region, where more than 1,700 people have been killed in nearly three years of violence.

On Oct. 25, 2004, police and soldiers shot dead seven Muslims protesters as they tried to disperse a rally in front of the police station in the Narathiwat town of Tak Bai, near the Malaysian border.

Another 78 were crushed or suffocated to death after they were stacked "like logs", in the words of one survivor, in the back of army trucks and transported to an army camp.

A government-appointed probe found the methods used to disperse the demonstration were inappropriate, but army officers in charge of the operation were not punished.

The general in charge of the south during the incident was later transferred to a less responsible post in Bangkok, where he was promoted under the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ousted in a bloodless Sept. 19 coup.

Attapol said among the 92 arrested in 2004, 58 had been put on trial but no verdicts had been reached. Two suspects died during the court proceedings.

Source: Reuters - 3 November 2006

[Jai Dee]

Thailand drops charges against 92 Muslims suspected of violence in south

BANGKOK (AP) - Charges were dropped Friday against 92 Muslim demonstrators involved in a notorious anti-government rally in southern Thailand two years ago, when dozens of protesters died in army custody, an official spokesman said.

The action by the attorney-general came a day after interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont apologised for the former government's hard-line policies against an Islamic insurgency, and promised an investigation into allegations of earlier human rights abuses.

Speaking during a visit to the south, Surayud also suggested that the charges against the suspects be dropped.

Attapol Yaisawang, spokesman for the attorney-general's office, said the cases of 82 persons who have been on trial and 10 others pending investigation had been dropped.

International human right groups have also urged Thailand to bring to justice security forces involved in the deaths of 85 protesters after an Oct. 5, 2004 rally in Narathiwat province's Tak Bai district turned violent, and soldiers fired at demonstrators.

A handful were shot, but dozens died of asphyxiation after they were piled on top of one another on military trucks to be taken to detention.

The Tak Bai deaths inflamed passions in the far south, the only Muslim-majority area in Buddhist-dominated Thailand.

Muslim residents of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens.

A Muslim insurgency erupted in the area in January 2004, and has since claimed more than 1,800 lives.

The government of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was criticized for trying to solve the problem by force. The Tak Bai incident not only angered Thai Muslims, but it also drew condemnation from Muslim countries in Asia and the Middle East, as well as from human rights groups.

Thaksin was toppled in a bloodless military coup in September.

The new leaders have made peace in the south one of their top priorities, vowing to end the iron-fisted approach of Thaksin's regime.

"We dropped the charges as suggested by the government to create and atmosphere of unity and national reconciliation,'' the attorney-general's spokesman said.

Source: Malaysian Star - 3 November 2006

[sriracha john]

When this is coupled with the following, the coup has made more progress, in 2 days, in resolving the crisis in the Deep South, as well as bridging the widening gap with its southern neighbor, than Thaksin did in 5 and half years:

Malaysia hails Thai PM's apology for previous government's southern policies

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia praised the Thai prime minister Friday for apologizing to Muslims in Thailand's violence-wracked southern provinces for the previous government's hard-line policies, saying it showed humility that could promote peace.

"We are very happy with what is happening in Thailand,'' said Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

"I'm very glad that (Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont) has taken the first very constructive step. It's not easy to make a public apology.''

Surayud, speaking to an audience of about 1,000 Muslims during a visit to southern Thailand, said Thursday that the previous Thai government's methods in tackling an Islamic insurgency there had been wrong and had made the situation worse.

Syed Hamid said Malaysia regards Surayad's apology to be "magnanimous of him, recognizing that countries in the region are interested in Thailand's well-being, stability and security.''

"It's an attitude of humility,'' Syed Hamid told reporters.

"He has created the right spirit and environment for them to be able to find a solution.''

Surayud, named interim prime minister after a Sept. 19 bloodless coup deposed the government of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has also promised an investigation into allegations of earlier human rights abuses in southern Thailand.

Thailand's southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are the only ones with Muslim majorities in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

The three provinces have been the scene of sectarian violence that has claimed more than 1,800 lives since January 2004.

Malaysia - a mostly Muslim nation with northern states that border southern Thailand - would be "very happy'' to help Thai authorities in any measures to restore confidence, Syed Hamid said.

Thailand's southern Muslims have long complained of discrimination, with fewer educational and job opportunities, and with police and civil servants imposed on them from Bangkok.

- Associated Press

====================================================

Withholding the more graphic, here is some of Thaksin's handiwork:

One of the Thailand's darkest days.

[sriracha john]

Muslim detainees wait for their release in Tak Bai, Thailand. Malaysia has lauded an apology from Thailand's premier Surayud Chulanont for the deaths of 85 Muslim protesters in southern Thailand, saying the move would help ease the situation there.

AFP

[sriracha john]

Thailand drops cases

BANGKOK - Thailand has dropped charges against 92 Muslims involved in a 2004 protest in the rebellious far south that led to 78 Muslims dying in army custody, the Attorney General's office said on Friday.

Lawyers and rights activists welcomed the move and urged the government to speed up other cases they said resulted from the hardline policies of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister in a bloodless Sept. 19 coup.

Attorney-General Patchara Utithamdamrong had signed the order dropping charges of instigating public disorder and disobeying authorities against the 92, who were freed on bail, spokesman Attapol Yaisawang told Reuters.

"The order was sent today to the provincial prosecutors office in Narathiwat and we expect the prosecutors to ask the court to withdraw the charges on Monday," Attapol said.

On Oct. 25, 2004, police and soldiers trying to disperse a rally shot dead seven Muslim protesters in front of the police station in the Narathiwat town of Tak Bai, near the Malaysian border.

Another 78 were crushed or suffocated to death after they were stacked "like logs", in the words of one survivor, in the back of army trucks and transported to an army camp.

A government-appointed probe found the methods used to disperse the demonstration inappropriate, but army officers in charge of the operation were not punished.

The general in charge of the south during the incident was later transferred to a less responsible post in Bangkok, where he was promoted under Thaksin.

JOY AT APOLOGY

The cases against the 92 were dropped a day after Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont apologised for Thaksin's iron-fisted policies blamed for stoking unrest in the region, where more than 1,800 people have been killed in nearly three years of violence.

Coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the first Muslim to lead the Thai army, said the apology demonstrated sincerity in resolving an injustice.

"The southern problem is mainly about people's hearts and minds. The apology was meant to show the government's sincerity for its people and I hope that we should be able to receive some positive responses," he told reporters.

It also drew a warm welcome from Malaysia, whose relations with Bangkok were strained by Thaksin's frequent accusations that it allowed militants refuge.

"I think his step is a step in the right direction and it is an attitude of humility. I think he had created the right environment for them to find solutions," Malaysia's Bernama news agency quoted Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar as saying.

A Thai rights group helping the 92 said it was happy with Surayud's apology and the dropping of the cases, but it would continue to pursue civil cases demanding 103 million baht ($2.8 million) in compensation from the government.

"The apology has drawn tears of joy from many villagers in the Muslim south, but the government must try to bring the answer to other cases committed by state officials, too," said Angkhana Neelaphaijit of the Working Group on Justice for Peace.

Other cases included the disappearances of dozens of Muslims in the region, said Angkhana, whose lawyer husband vanished more than two years ago while defending Muslim insurgent suspects.

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission said the apology should be followed by the arrest of guilty officers involved in the death of innocent Muslims.

Attapol said that among the 92 arrested in 2004, 58 had been put on trial but no verdicts had been reached. Two suspects died during the court proceedings.

- Reuters

[brazil]

i applaud the new governement for this gesture of peace to the south of thailand

i only hope the muslim forces from around the world behind the insurgents will want to negotiate a peacefull solution.

islam has very rarely recognised peacefull solutions in the past 1000 years.

[Losangels]

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission said the apology should be followed by the arrest of guilty officers involved in the death of innocent Muslims.

- Reuters

Arrest and conviction of at least one high ranking officer resposible for the deaths would go a long ways toward improving relationship with the muslims in the far south

[sriracha john]

"I have come here to apologise to you on behalf of the previous government and on behalf of this government. What happened in the past was mostly the fault of the state," Surayud said on Thursday in response to a question from the audience about past refusals to apologise.

- The Nation

[Tony Clifton]

Not an evasive excuse at all. Good one.

[younghusband]

i applaud the new governement for this gesture of peace to the south of thailand

i only hope the muslim forces from around the world behind the insurgents will want to negotiate a peacefull solution.

islam has very rarely recognised peacefull solutions in the past 1000 years.

Not even the current government believes the trouble in the South is fuelled by "muslim sources around the world".I agree the new government should be applauded but as General Surayud himself pointed out most of the blame can be laid locally, and specifically in Bangkok.The internationalisation of the problem is a danger, but not yet I think a reality.

[brazil]

yes you can blame the muslim forces around the world.

even in 1999/2000 there were muslim groups wanting a nation of islam from southern thailand,, covering all of indonesia, malaysia, singapore and south of manilla in the phillipines to be a seperate autonomy islam state.

the troubles in the south of thailand are not just a local issue in my oppinion.

people can blame poverty, racism, poor education, unemployment. But these factors are in every country in the world.

what disgusts me most about the islam nation in the south is how they target the budhists and the monks providing an atmosphere of fear and dread. budhism has not caused the problems in the south. the budhist religion accomodates other religions unlike islam.

and didnt the major troubles in the south of thailand happen during the iraqi war along with other troubles around the world between muslims and other religions?

i have seen how islam has destroyed communities in the uk, it is a more viscious attack that they now use in thaland.

you can never negotiate with islam

[sriracha john]

I wondered how quickly it would take for the tiresome religious bashing to begin with its inevitable resultant warnings and all-to-often thread closures.

Thanks for not disappointing me that it was done so rapidly.

"Didn't the major troubles in the south of Thailand" also coincide within the timeframe of increased world-wide illegal wildlife trading? Perhaps that is the root cause.

[marshbags]

I wondered how quickly it would take for the tiresome religious bashing to begin with its inevitable resultant warnings and all-to-often thread closures.

Thanks for not disappointing me that it was done so rapidly.

"Didn't the major troubles in the south of Thailand" also coincide within the timeframe of increased world-wide illegal wildlife trading? Perhaps that is the root cause.

These negative armoles are not interested in the obvious humility shown by the new government and in patrticular General Surayud.

At the end of the day words backed up by deeds ar far more powerful than the predictable observations of these brainwashed individuals who are intent on spreading vile and evil doctrine / propagander both here and around the world.

They are also intent on destroying humanity by their hate of peaceful societies irrespective of their beliefs and in contradiction of their true faith.

May the south now prosper from the initiatives now being put in place and they in turn react accordingly and overpower these evildoers by assisting the much appluaded initiative

marshbags

P.S.

The release of the 92 individuals which include the 58 set for trial is an enormous show of sincerity if i might be allowed to observe.

Now let us see some action taken on behalf of the extra judicial killings / murders and the people responsible brought to justice.

Edited November 5, 2006 by marshbags

[kmart]

Just seen the news this morning that despite all the recent olive branches; apologies; and attempted reconciliations; that the "rebels" are back to shooting teachers and burning schools.

Its probably what they do best...

They are engaged in an ethnic cleansing campaign against Thai Buddhists, and thats the whole of it.

I wonder what Malaysia will have to say about this?

They obviously will not be reasoned with, so whats next? Any suggestions from the liberal apologists....?

[younghusband]

Just seen the news this morning that despite all the recent olive branches; apologies; and attempted reconciliations; that the "rebels" are back to shooting teachers and burning schools.

Its probably what they do best...

They are engaged in an ethnic cleansing campaign against Thai Buddhists, and thats the whole of it.

I wonder what Malaysia will have to say about this?

They obviously will not be reasoned with, so whats next? Any suggestions from the liberal apologists....?

I haven't seen any liberal apologists on this forum.Everybody knows there is a problem in the South, and as General Surayud has pointed out it's largely of Bangkok's own making over many decades.A little known fact is that actually more Muslims have been killed by terrorists (and I'm not referring to the Thai army/police force) than Buddhists, although the more sensational killings seem to be directed at the latter.There are some very unpleasant people out there among Thai Muslim activists, many with psychopathic tendencies.We have seen this before in nationalist movements, as any Brit over a certain age knows too well as we decolonised.The most obvious recent example is N.Ireland and the IRA.

I think the strategy must be to cut off the activists from the majority Muslim community and for all to follow HM THe King's praiseworthy example over many years in encouraging inclusiveness in the Southern provinces..This means among other things much much more action on the Tak Bai incident.The PM has made a good start in apologising but its only a start.The guilty senior officers must be brought to account, publicly tried and punished severely if found guilty.Over time greater emphasis should be given to local culture and language, as well as investment in services and infrastructure.Officials in the administation and police force should largely be local.Dual citizenship with Malaysia should perhaps be allowed, with KL sharing some of the responsibility of oversight with Bangkok (along the lines of the Anglo-Irish agreement).

Though I have very high hopes of PM Surayud (God it's a relief to have a well mannered gent in charge rather than a coarse vulgar upstart), I am somewhat pessimistic generally because the remedial measures I have detailed would be anathema to the traditional Thai establishment.Even the apparently unexceptional suggestion a few months ago that the Jawi language might have a more central position was rejected out of hand in some quarters.The Thai establishment doesn't seem to have the necessary flexibility, even a sense of their own best interest.So frustrating because I think this problem could with statesmanship and imagination be solved.I very much hope I am wrong but I fear it may be a case of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind.

[pumpuiman]

The insurgents have spit in the face of PM Surayud once again today, despite the olive branches being cast forth. I applaud the PM for his patience, and hope that the factions in the south realize that the well is not bottomless, and start to show some restraint soon.

[marshbags]

The insurgents have spit in the face of PM Surayud once again today, despite the olive branches being cast forth. I applaud the PM for his patience, and hope that the factions in the south realize that the well is not bottomless, and start to show some restraint soon.

As in many conflicts around the world and not only Thailands south.

Many of the so called insurgents ( ??? ) are not on any particular agenda apart from causing death and destruction among these innocent majority communities.

As Y.H. has posted it effects all religions and creedes and this is an excuse for the extremist nutters to spread their hate and destruction on society.

They are also conveniently used and funded by third parties who gain from the ensuing and predictable outcomes via opportunism

In the south it is also a good way to hide the obvious corruption and political abuse that takes place

under it,s cover along with misuse of funds for personal gain down the pecking order.

This as i mention in my post is a good opportunity for the local communities in some brave way to help get rid of it.

They authorities should in my humble opinion facilitate this and provide a confidential communication network to protect them while at the same time taking it anonymously and following up independantly on such information.

Bearing in mind they don,t do the non brainer of tackling it like a bull in a china shop along with making sure they have enough evidence to justify any actions.

A group made up of people of proven integrity and intellect ( not just intelligence ) in this area of so much misery should be engaged by the authorities for this purpose.

I also think that by giving them a title, ( ??? ) i.e. insurgents, freedom fighters ect. we are giving them a respectability they do not deserve.

Again in my own humble opinion.

Above all else the Thai authorities must be given time and consideration to do the job and not be condemned by the recent acts of late.

marshbags

P.S.

Out of interest has the violence reduced since the take over and the welcomed riddance of Toxsin and his authority.

I seem to think it has but i,m sure someone will correct me if i am mistaken.

Edited November 5, 2006 by marshbags