Slaying and burning of woman teacher 'inhumane'
Fourth Army Region chief Sakon Chuentrakul yesterday condemned the shooting and burning of a teacher in Pattani as an inhumane act.
English language teacher Siriporn Srichai, 43, was shot and burned on Friday while she was riding a motorcycle to work at Tabingtingi school in Mayo district.
She was the 170th teacher killed in the deep South since unrest flared in early 2004.
It was reported that Siriporn had asked for a transfer to teach in Yala near her home as she was unsure of her safety while travelling to school, but the request wasn’t approved because there was no vacant position.
Sakon said the attack indicated there were insurgents who still want to stir unrest by attacking women. He believed the assailants were from the same group that had carried out attacks against other women.
Offering condolences to the victim’s family, Sakon said attempts to bring peace to the southern border provinces were hindered by groups who wanted to create misunderstanding between the public and state authorities.
As for peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, Sakon said they were dependent on the government. The change in the National Security Council chief would not affect the peace dialogue, he believed.
