NGOs called upon to condemn 'inhumane attacks'
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Authorities are calling on human-rights agencies and non-government groups to condemn the violence in the deep South, while also helping to protect the rights and freedom of people in the restive region.
Colonel Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for the Forward Command of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4, made the plea after several bloody attacks took place on Saturday, leaving at least five people dead.
“These were inhumane attacks,” Pramote said.
He also urged people not to believe in rumours that security officials were behind the attacks. He explained that the attackers wore what looked like the uniforms of security officials, but they were not officials at all.
“They tried to pass the blame on to the authorities,” Pramote said. “Don’t fall victim to their deceptive ploys.”
He said people in all sectors should come forward and stand up for human rights by condemning the use of violence and advocating a peaceful approach to ending unrest in the deep South.
“It is a peaceful solution that will be sustainable in the long term,” Pramote said.
Meanwhile, security officials rushed to a Tessaban 3 School in Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat yesterday, after someone painted a threatening message saying, “Run RKK Bak [sic]”, in red on the schools’ cement floor.
The officials cordoned off the school for about half an hour and scoured the area but found nothing suspicious. Authorities believe the group behind the threatening message was linked to Saturday’s bomb attack in Sungai Kolok town, which injured eight victims.
Since violence in the deep South erupted in early 2004, it has claimed more than 5,000 lives. Thai authorities have been struggling to contain the unrest.
A peace dialogue with the separatists’ de facto leaders, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), has not yet yielded results, as both sides have been insincere to each other, academics said yesterday at a seminar hosted by the Thai Journalists Association.
The BRN is at a crossroads. It needs decisive strategies for the peace talks, Islamic politics, and the Arab Spring, said researcher Chiraporn Ngamlertsupakorn, who has conducted research on the BRN’s ultimate goals including its stance on peace.
The BRN has a clear mandate to use Islamic ideology to liberate the southern-most provinces from Thailand, she added.
Ekachai Srivilas of King Prachatipok Institute said peace talks between the BRN and the government had been taking place for some time, but never achieved their objective as authorities never implemented agreements. Authorities should consider the BRN proposals seriously as half of population in the deep South was on the side of the separatists, he said.
Chaiwat Satha-Anand from Thammasat University suggested that both sides should consider “peace dialogue”, rather than “negotiation” to bring lasting peace to the region. A peace dialogue was a political process to reduce violence, he said.
