We need to acknowledge ATROCITIES such as Tak Bai

It has been 11 years since that unfor?gettable day but the ghost of the Tak Bai massacre continues to haunt Thailand. And so it should. 

It was on this fateful day 11 years ago when Thai security forces from various agencies and units surrounded a large group of unarmed demonstrators protesting in front of Tak Bai police station – demanding the release of five Muslim defence volunteers who authorities accused of handing over government-issued weapons to insurgents. 

For the five, it was either be killed by the insurgents or surrender their weapons, and the village volunteers chose the latter. 

Realistically, nobody is going to put their lives on the line for the authorities under this or any other scheme, like the Thung Yang Daeng model, that basically involves outsourcing security work to local villagers. 

And it’s not because the pay is peanuts (if anything). It’s simply that local Malay Muslims, who form about 90 per cent of the two million people in this historically contested region, share the same mistrust of the state as the insurgents and should be able to convince the security chiefs that such a cheap and unsound policy won’t work. 

At Tak Bai the authorities were punishing the five villagers for not putting their lives on the line – and then prepared to gun down protesters, seven of whom were shot dead that afternoon. Another 78 died from suffocation after being stacked on the back of military trucks while driven to a regional Army base; one can argue that their deaths were unintentional. 

Then again, not one single official was punished for what had happened. The video footage was clear. These protesters were dragged like dirty rags; many were kicked and punched and the troops had no qualms about doing it while being filmed.

The thought that such acts would radicalise an entire generation of Patani Malay youths didn’t appear to cross their minds, or how damaging their actions would be for a country that loves to preach love, kindness and reconciliation. If anything, the incident as an example of the indifference of the Thai state and public to the plight of ethnic Malay Muslims in this hotly contested area. 

In terms of punishment, the head of the Fourth Army Area was transferred to another post. Some years later, families of the deceased got “compensation” for the death of their sons.

An opportunity for reconciliation came in 2006 when then Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont apologised for the Tak Bai massacre. But there was no follow-up and Thailand missed a chance to translate that apology into real and meaningful results. 

Today, nine years after Surayud’s apology, another military-appointed government is in place. Without a fully functioning Parliament with representatives mandated by the people, the spotlight is squarely on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. 

Seminars and public events commemorating the massacre are taking place in Bangkok and in the deep South to remind the world that nothing has been forgotten. 

Another reminder of the tragedy is the daily bombs and ambushes of security forces in the restive region. 

The thing is, the government in Bangkok should know that their peace initiative with the separatists will be meaningless if they can’t find ways to come to terms with atrocities of the past, regardless of how unpopular this might be with the rest of the country where people are pretty much indifferent to the plight of the ethnic Malays.

The state could start by acknowledging past mistakes and following up with events and initiatives to show that they mean it. In most open societies, an atrocity of the scale of Tak Bai would call for a monument to commemorate the tragic incident. But something like this requires political courage, which is something that is lacking in Thai leaders.