Family of slain man urged to return home

Adding to his misery, the cash-strapped brother said he could not afford to travel the long distance between Buri Ram in the Northeast and Pattani in the South, preventing him from attending the funerals of both victims. He expressed his hope that Samrit Nualsai and her young children will leave Pattani and open a small grocery shop in Buri Ram.

Sanit, 66, has pleaded with authorities to assist the remaining members of the family of Samarn Iang-ma, who was slain along with his two-year-old son Jakkarin, while working on finding solutions to end the violence in the deep South.

Meanwhile, a network of women’s groups issued an open letter calling on the Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate (BRN-C) to make its views on the gun attack – which killed six civilians – known via YouTube. 

Network leader Soraya Jamjuree said that following the BRN’s recent posting of demands via a video message on YouTube, it was only right that it should take or deny responsibility for the attack via a social network. 

“An online statement will help justify BRN if it did not carry out the attack, but a lot of people now think that the attack had something to do with the ongoing peace dialogue, of which BRN is a part,” she added.

Soraya said statistics show that more than 400 women have been killed, 1,400 wounded or disabled, and some 5,000 widowed by the insurgent violence, which has left approximately 5,000 people dead and tens of thousands wounded or disabled.

Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat has criticised the media for its extended coverage of the incident, saying that the locals were not “actually demoralised, as the questions they were  asked during interviews were meant to suggest”. 

“The media should also condemn this attack and the violence,” he commented.

“It is normal [to have] losses; it’s a small problem that is being fixed, but don’t use the word ‘demoralisation’. Those facing the losses will be compensated under normal procedures,” he added.

His statement prompted angry responses from journalists, including Channel 3 reporter Thapanee Ietsrichai, who said the media were doing their job and that Sukampol’s statement was an act of intimidation and demeaning to the media, especially on World Press Freedom Day yesterday.

A group of Buddhists living in Yala yesterday distributed flyers to locals in urban areas condemning Wednesday’s attack and calling for unity between Buddhists and Muslims and support for their efforts to build a long-term peace.

The National Human Rights Commission issued a statement condemning Wednesday’s attack and those behind it.