Author: Nirmal Ghosh
Publication: The Straits Times
Date: February 12, 2004
URL: http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,234565,00.html
Introduction: Search of religious
school without notice proves to be the last straw for provincial leaders
in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat
A raid on an Islamic school has
deepened the central government's problems in southern Thailand, provoking
a revolt among its Muslim community leaders.
The Islamic Central Committee of
Thailand, along with Muslim leaders in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, criticised
as 'disgraceful' the way soldiers recently raided a Muslim religious school,
or pondok.
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As a result of this, the local Muslim
leaders said on Sunday, the population would now refuse to cooperate with
security forces.
The pondok was run by Pattani Islamic
Committee chairman Waeduramae Mahmingji.
The troops claimed they were pursuing
a man after he had killed a soldier.
Ordinarily, soldiers notify local
Muslim leaders before entering a pondok.
On this occasion, it did not happen.
'We viewed this search as the government's
failure to take note of our concerns in past meetings, which has undermined
the government's credibility,' Muslim leaders said in a statement.
Hours later, gunmen killed an assistant
village head, then a government worker at a health clinic.
Both killings occurred in Yala province.
Both victims were Muslim.
The deaths marked the fifth consecutive
week such killings have occurred in the south.
Police said they could be part of
a bid to destabilise the region.
In a hawkish response during a radio
interview, Defence Minister Thammarak Issarangkura said the government
would not tolerate any kind of rebellion in the south.
He compared the violence to the
1970s-era communist insurgency, saying: 'During that time, many people
died. Do we want that situation to happen again? The rest of the country
won't let the people of these three provinces disrupt the lives of all
59 million people in Thailand.
'If there's war, a lot of people
will be killed in those three provinces.'
Mr Thammarak criticised Muslim leaders
for allowing the principles of the Quran to be violated. 'Their God does
not teach this kind of thing,' he said.
But in a separate TV interview,
the minister acknowledged there might have been 'misconduct' on the part
of security agencies.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
visited Hat Yai on Monday in order to meet officials and to gather information.
He went no further south and did
not meet Muslim leaders, but he did say he would return next week to address
their concerns, a spokesman said.
The call for non-cooperation by
Muslim leaders indicated something was going wrong and needed urgent review,
Prince of Songkhla University lecturer Abdullah Hapbru told journalists
on Monday.
Opposition Democrat Party leader
Banyat Bantadtan said: 'Never before in history have the Islamic Committee
chairmen of the three provinces taken a unanimous decision to cut ties
with the government.'
Meanwhile, Thai security forces
say they are holding a militant over January's raid on a military camp
and armoury in Narathiwat province.
