aman book: new media in southern thailand issue 1

8/3/2019 Aman Book: New Media in Southern Thailand Issue 1

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Aman Books10 PopularEnglish language

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Suara Pattani

Aman News Center

http://www.voicepeace.orgE-mail : [email protected]


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About Us.. Aman News CenterA New Step of the Media at theEnd of an Ax .....................................................................................................................................1

1.Nasyid: The Song of Peace in the Deep South ...................................................................7

2.Put out the Southern Fire Thai Govt. to Step out of Its Shadow. .................................11

3.Foreign Journalist in the Deep South to International and Thailand ....................15

4.Inquiry into the Death of Yakariya Paohmanih- Dr.Pornthips Autopsy is Not consistent

with the Military..........................................................................................................................................19

5.Education Problems in the Deep South Provinces an Inviolable Prob.................. 25

6.We are All Relatives: Ismail Lutfi Japakiya ...................................................................................29

7.Stop Torture and Protect Victims on the Occasion of International Day in Support

of Victims of Torture .....................................................................................................................33

8.Clearing the Dust.. Democrat Government Signals at Negotiation as a Way to Peace...37

9.HRW Called on the Thai Government to Take Care the Deep South Teach......... 41

Air Payae Villagers and Friends Honor the Victims of Al-furqon Mosque Tragedy...4510.

Contents.

AmanNewsCenter

http://www.voicepeace.org

[email protected]

WE PEACE

http://www.wevoicepeace.org

[email protected]

PEACE MEDIA

http://www.thaipublicvoice.org

[email protected]

BungarayaNews

http://bungarayanews.com

[email protected]

SuaraPattani

[email protected]

Contact


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sary reflect the views of the Foundation.


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Thursday, 14 May 2009 10:02

By Waelimoh Pusu

It is undeniable that the violence in south-

ern of Thailand has become a familiarity

in Thai society. There has been a significant

decrease of news from the southern news in

the mainstream media, such as TV, radio and

newspaper.

However, this does not mean that peoples

need for information has dropped.

Many of the southern Thailand observers have

pointed out that the violence in the southern

Thailand today as has not improved as the

state tried to imply. Moreover, there are still

many problems which have been neglected by

the government.

This is evidenced by the spread of alternative

media covering south border issues besides

Issara News Center.

Aman News Center is considered the so-

called new formation at the end of the ax.

Mr. Tuwaedaniya Meringing, editor of Aman

News Center told us about Aman News or-

igins, which formed as a result of various

media groups working in the southern prov-

ince borders came together, such as We Peace

group, Bungaraya group, Peace Media group

and Suara Patani group. Some of these groups

had previously received funding from agenciessuch as Internews and the Asia Foundation.

Training from international media development

institutions resulted in new radio productions,

presentation the news through a website and

training of citizen journalists from TV Thai.

Before this, these alternative media groups

had their own way of working and were not

united. The important thing was that the qual-

ity news or articles was not as good as it

should have been, he said.

This problem led to a meeting in March 2009,

which the group decided to establish a club

called Peace Media Friends Club: PMFC).

Our main objective is to present news in the

form of short articles or scoops that present

various dimensions such as the impact of vio-

lence towards the way of peoples lives in the

area, economic, culture, education and other

many issues. This would give accurate infor-

mation to people on every side and help the

state create understanding, unity and peace in

this land, Tuwadaniya stated.

Started point of Aman News Center

The Peace Media Friends Club (PMFC) de-

veloped into the Aman News Center. Now

there are more than ten journalists scattered in

the three southern provinces to follow news in

the area but not emphasizing the daily news

(daily violence). PMFC presents news through

the website www.voicepeace.org in three lan-

guages- Thai, English and Malay.

Amanman News CenterA NewStep of the Media at theEnd of an Ax


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We are lucky to have professional journal-

ists who used to work with Issara News Cen-

ter such as Mr. Natharavuth Meangsook, to be

our chief editor, Mr. Ayub Pathan, from Deep

South Watch (Former Issara News Center Edi-

tor ), to be our advisor, along with Professor

Samatcha Nilapathama from Faculty of Sci-

ence Communication, PSU. Pattani and Miss

Nualnoi Thammasathian, former BBC journal-

ist. All of them came together to assist us.

I serve as editor with the duty to help our

brothers and sisters do their work, Tuwae-

niya, former BBC journalist in the southern

provinces further stated.

As someone who is familiar with the southern

news, Tuwaedaniyas views that the status

or standing point of Aman News Center

does not overlap with Issara News Center or

Deep South Watch who currently runs the

news on the border news.

If you ask me whether having Issara News

Center and Deep South Watch, are enough

to provid the new, I would say that it is not

about having enough or not but rather the

establishment of Issara News Center is from

the central region, established by ThailandJournalist Association. Thus, the Deep South

Watch is to present the research and its jour-

nalists are from the central region also. But

our Aman News Center was established by

local people who want to tell their stories to

outsiders.

Before this, local people didnt have their

own news center in the local area but have

one today. So, as an alternative, they can

write or tell about things they want to through

Aman News Centers website. Our goal in the

future is to train people who are interested

in becoming a journalist but dont have any

basic training about mass communication, to

become professional journalists, he said.

And that was the reason why group of stu-

dents called Bungaraya joined Aman News

Center.

Aman News Centers aim is to give an op-

portunity to the students to find the facts

and use peaceful ways to solve the problems

according to the laws of the land. We do not

have any intention to blame the government

and its officers but we want to present every

side of the news in every side with accurate

facts. Because the facts enable us to sur-

vive, he repeated.

Local power to ease communications and un-

derstanding

An academician familiar with the local me-

dia, and a an advisor of Di Slatan show,

a southern Thailand radio program which is

currently on air, Assistant Chidchanok Rahim-mula, deputy dean of academic, faculty of

political, PSU., Patani, gave the opinion about

local media that

When local people can present their opin-

ions, in whatever channel, it means that they

are aware of media communications. So, if

many of them are recognizing the importance

of the media and different media outlets can

become a very powerful voice. In the past,


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we only depended on the mainstream media.

Issara News Center will always emphasize in

both sides of the story. But we must not forget

that Issara News Centers journalists comprise

of editors from Bangkok. Before this, I accept

the agencys credibility as a local media. But

after the local editor was removed, everything

also changed.

Assistant Chidchanok Rahimmula also gave

an example from abroad that if we want a a

big culture to lean towards a sub-culture, we

must utilize local communication. For example

in England, there are many national media

outlets, there are also many local ones as well.

Moreover, some of the universities also have

their own media. Thus, each city also has its

own media such as radio, newspaper, and TV.

These media outlets are very useful especially

in creating better understanding of local cul-

tures.

When a new media is established, it does

not mean that the existing one was not good

enough. Dont view it as a competition be-

cause the new media could be formed by a

someone with specialized skills, who has his/

her own view and targeting different groups.Therefore, Aman News Center may be point

out a different aspect of the news from Issara

News Center, Assistant Chidchanok Rahim-

mula explained on the issue of Aman News

overlap with Issara News Center and further

stated that

There will be more local alternative media

established in this area in the future. Dont

forget that there are so many communications

graduates from universities. And of course

these numbers will always increase and these

students will always look for some space to

present their work.

Local People are the Real

Mr. Abduroman Sailamun, Vice President of

External Affairs, a student administration or-

ganization, PSU. Pattani, team founder for

Bungaraya Peace News Center (www.bun-

garayanews.com ), and partner of Aman News

Center, said that there are not a lot of lo-

cal journalists in the southern provinces even

though a lot of outside journalists were in this

area. There is still no local media center which

was set up by local people. So its a good

thing that Aman News Center was established

because its made up of local journalists and

people from the area.

Local people can see the problems and pres-

ent it better than others. Issara News Center

always covers southern issues but we must

not forget that there it was controlled from

the central region by people who did not really

understand the problems like the local people.

I think that establishment of Aman News Cen-ter will show that southern journalists are as

capable as others.

I think its very promising that we now have

one more alternative media because it will

provide another forum for outsiders to view

the news. In the past, outsiders were served

the accurate and inaccurate information that

they are sometimes led to believe that they

are getting the right facts. The news media


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fails to discuss the repercussions

of such reporting. Therefore, a new

alternative media can fill the gaps

absent from the mainstream me-

dia. Moreover, Aman News Center

is established by native journalists

who were born, working and ready

to die here. I think this is very

good for us.

I dont think Issara News Center

and Aman News Centers goals are

any different because the journal-

ists aim to present the news and

facts from different sides. The only

difference is whether the journal-

ist is an insider or outsider, he

repeated.

This is a new step for news media

in southern Thailand and an im-

portant milestone for Aman News

Center.


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Nasyid: The Song of Peace in the Deep SouthThursday, 09 April 2009 15:59

-Abdulrahman Sailamu

-Areepeng Yeh

-Bungaraya Group

During five years of violence in the three south-

ern border provinces, all media outlets have fo-

cused only on reporting violent incidents rather

than the social and cultural issues that represent

the identity and way of life of the indigenous

people in these three provinces.

Although the unique culture and lifestyle of the

people in these areas may have been overlooked

or reduced in importance, a number of move-

ments have sprung up to restore peace amid the

explosions, gun shots, and violence by utilizing

the unique identity of the dignified Malayu Mus-

lim.

One such movement is the use of Nasyid

(anasyid), a sweet song in Yawi (local Muslim

language) with a melody similar to any string or

popular music. The Nasyid song does, however,

have a unique characteristic: its lyrics focus on

the teaching of Islam to bring peace.

With regard to Nasyid singing troupes, there is a

very famous and perhaps the most popular troupe

of all called RAIHAN, a group from Malaysia

who came to perform in Pattani 4 years ago. The

troupe uses Nasyid song to praise the power of

Allah and His messenger, Muhammad. Today in

Thailand, and especially in the southern border

provinces, there are a number of people forming

singing groups that compose and perform Nasyid-

styled songs to fulfill the need of entertainment

in the way of Islam. For example, Nurul Iman

and Fatihah Group, who are affiliated with Tepa

Electronics Company; Sarm-Pee-Nong Toh Bana

group, who used to affiliate with Tepa Electronics

but are now independent and produce their own

albums; and a Nasyid group of college students

from the Prince of Songkla University, Pattani

Campus (PSU, Pattani).

The most well-known Thai Nasyid group today is

the Fiklis troupe, which is the ensemble of the

Kumpulan Anasyid, a group of young Muslims

who love singing Nasyid.

Fiklis was founded in 2004 by three ustazs

(religious teachers at Islamic private schools) in

Narathiwat. The idea was to create a group of

young people and let them show their talents and

to unify them. These founders are Mr. Houseen

Abdul Rahman, Mr. Adul-ayi Yuno and Lana Si-

posamae, who trained and conducted the group.

They have been associated with Nasyid perfor-

mance for a long time and have served as judges

for many Nasyid singing contests. Fiklis (also

known as Naysid for Peace) aims to promote

good deeds, a faith in Allah, an awareness of

the virtue of the prophet Nabi Muhammad, and a

medium to spread the principle to all people that

Islam means peace.

Nasyid is an art of entertainment that is being

looked upon suspiciously by outsiders who are

not familiar with it, as well as those who lack

knowledge of Malayu Muslim society. The inter-

esting question is - can Nasyid bring about real

peace?

Houseen Abdul Rahman, one of the founders

revealed that the FIKLIS group, also known as


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Nasyid for peace, was established five years

ago with the collaboration of Adul-ayi Yuno

and Lana Siposamae. It aims to promote good

deeds, a faith in God Allah, an awareness of

the virtue of the prophet Nabi Muhammad, and

a medium to spread the principle of Islam to

all the people that Islam means peace.

When talking about peace, we shall look back

to the religion of Islam because the meaning

of Islam is peacefulness. Therefore, it is not

doubtful whether the Nasyid will bring peace

or not. The meanings of the lyrics are to invite

people to Al-Islam; in other words, an invita-

tion to peacefulness. It also helps to boost the

ability of the children and youth in the three

southern border provinces, Fiklis co-founder

Ustaz Houseen said.

He also added that the group was invited to

perform on stage in several places in Narathi-

wat, Yala and Pattani, as well as outside thearea in places like Phang Nga and Bangkok.

However, the management of the groups bud-

get is defrayed by the founders themselves.

I dont know how the government sees our

Nasyid group, but we have nothing to hide.

We do it openly without any hidden agenda

and with a good intention, answered the co-

founder of Nasyid for Peace in regards to the

governments views toward the group. Their

task is similar to Dawah or Islamic evange-

lism, because the singing of Nasyid song is the

propagation of Islamic principles and praise of

God.

Ustaz Houseen finally said that the government

and private organizations should promote the

Fiklis troupes activities to continue and to be

successful. Nasyid Song for Peace promotes the

understanding of diversity in the areas and tries

to help the society to have peace.

The lead vocalist of Fiklis, Mr. Salman Sirako,

who is the student of Islamic Education in

the College of Islamic Study, PSU Pattani, said

Nasyid for Peace is a good activity for the

kids and youth to demonstrate their personal

capability and to contribute good things to the

society.

I am very glad to be part of the Fiklis family.

Ive never expected that I would be able to

get to this point. As a student, I dont think

the government has any negative idea about

us because what we did is to help bring peace

to the region.

Fiklis lead singer concluded that the society

in southern border provinces is multi-cultural,

with ethnic, religious, traditional, and culturaldiversity. Therefore, it is hopeful that Nasyid

song would be used as a medium to restore

peace in the region.

The reason is because Nasyid song is an em-

bodiment of Muslim faith, the propagation of

Islamic gospel via music and song in praise of

God. It reminds people of their faith to do good

deeds for Allah as well as to teach, in their

own ways, people of different religious faiths

to understand the good aspect of Muslims

thoughts and beliefs.

All in all, it is a promotion of peace in the

southern border provinces through the song

called Nasyid.


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Put out the Southern Fire Thai Govt.

to Step out of Its Shadow.Tuesday, 30 June 2009 11:54

Nattarawuth Muangsuk

Again the most recurring violence happened, when

gangsters shot indiscriminately inside a mosque

in Juab sub-district, Joh Irong district of Narathi-

wat province. The event resulted in the death of

11 Muslim and many were injured. Again, it was

an awesome period and severely hurt the feeling

of people in the 3 provinces because the victims

were Muslim people who were performing their

prayers in the mosque while the violent went on

without any sense of humanity or fear of God in

any way.

Although the identities of the bandits were still

unknown, one academician had analyzed that it

was an attempt by Jihad groups to ignite areligion war again. Looking back to the events

starting from the end of May, its seen that there

were some attempts to create new violations

again after its missing for quite a long time and

when most of Thai people were more interested

in central politics only.

Shooting the teachers and innocent people in

an inhuman way and the bomb blast in Yingo

district were considered as one of the biggest

issue. Furthermore, attacks on teachers security

units and indiscriminate shooting in the mosque

were said to be attempts to increase the level of

violation to be more serious or up to the level

of terrorism. Now, the daily killings are no longer

become the interesting things because the gov-

ernment itself always talks about something else,

not the south problems. Only when shooting of

teachers and explosion happened in the city, the

news became attractive to all people. Considering

the indiscriminate shooting in the mosque and

other events that had occurred since last month

to date, its seen that rate of violence are very

clear and indicates that the terrorists intended to

create a condition of violations to be more seri-

ous.

He added that the judgment delivered by the

Songkhla provincial court in the Tak Bai case

was also a very interesting point because it may

be an another important cause that could make

the situations even worst. That was an example

of a step which did not pass ones own shadow

that is honest justice without considering the

general effect of the judgment. Actually, the judg-

ment was only a few days before the shooting ofteachers happened.

All of conditions remain in full and only waits

for its impulsive. The judgment was very contrast

with the feeling of the Muslim in the area. In

fact, the former Prime Minister, Surayud Chula-

nont tried to stop the root cause of the problem.

Therefore, this time was truly an error of policy,

he stated.

Analysis of the violent nature of this trouble-

makers may be in consistent with was said by

Spokesman of the Internal Security Administrative

Division 4, Colonel Parinya Chaidilok who stated

that the troublemakers intended to see two things

- one was problem between the local people and

government officers and another was between

Muslim and Buddhists. The indiscriminate shoot-


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ing in the mosque when the Muslims were performing their prayers

was considered as a very severe thing and it might lead to the con-

dition to fulfill Jihad. However, the local said that the criminals came

by their motorbikes and walked into the mosque. Therefore, it should

be people who knew the way well and not soldiers as rumored.

Though there was rumors about the declination of governments ac-

tion but it could not deny rumors about its action. This is because

before the event took place, a Buddhist man was shot in Ruso district

and a teacher security car was bombed in the same district. Actually

these two places were very near to each other and it may cause a

vengeance. Villagers thought that when a severe case involved a Thai

Buddhist or to the authorities, the case will happen Muslims after

that. Therefore, its nothing to say than avenge.

The most interesting point is that the place is a red area where it is

always suspected about hiding of the incendiary and frequently raided

by the officers. Moreover, the shooting always occurred continuously

in this area. Thus, the area itself was surrounded by the other red

areas.

The local opinion, even its not with strong evidences, its powerful.

When it became the topic of the town and spread from one to an-other, at last it will be considered as true. Therefore, the government

must accelerate efforts to eliminate this ambiguity by investigation

and disclose the truth as soon as possible.

Dont forget about the Muslim brotherhood in these three provinces

and throughout the world. This is because when news was dissemi-

nated throughout the world that there was a shooting of innocent

people in a mosque while they were performing prayers and resulted

in 11 dead and many injured, of course they would feel very angry.

Acceleration of healing among the locals, especially their relatives as

soon as possible and break up all conditions which might lead to

the next violation, because this case might not stop as a lesson only,

Thai government can arrange all things, but the first thing is to step

out of its shadow


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Foreign Journalist in the Deep South

to International and ThailandWednesday, 04 March 2009 10:47

5 years the deep south violence

By Editorial

The deep south problem is the Thai internal

problem

South terrorists are the shoddy terrorists

5 December the south will be peace

These are the various opinion and words (in

the past) of the former leader of Thailand to-

wards the violence in the deep south of Thai-

land which ever past through both media of in

and out of country.

Before the event of firearm robbery at the

beginning of 2007 it was seen that the newsabout this extreme-ax of Thailand were not

much presented to the world, because at that

time the problems of the deep south were not

much interesting in the sight of foreign media,

even the conflict and violence have continu-

ingly happened since Pattani state was ruled

by Siam in 1786 and united to the country of

the Thais at 10th March, 1909 under the treaty

between Siam and England ( Treaty Anglo-

Siam) which will be the 100th anniversary at

this coming 10th March, 2009.

The firearm robbery at the fourth development

division camp or Pileng camp at 4th January,

2004 where the security units has specified

that it was the action of the separatists group

who want to separate the three deep south

provinces and four districts of Songkhla to be

independent. Thus, it was a word of shoddy

terrorists in the sight of Thaksin Shinnawatra,

the former leader of Thailand at that time.

However, the opposite sides stated that they

did not mean to separate the land of Thais

but to call back their land where the Thais

had occupied it for almost one hundred years,

and it was their right to do according to the

international law.

The event made the south known to the world

through foreign media. Besides, showing the

world knew that there were the Malayu Mus-

lim minority who have their own language and

culture in the south of Thailand.

The event of bloodshed at 28th April, 2004

or its known well as the Kreasek event

where it led to 106 deaths and the event of

integrating the demonstrators in front of the

Takbai police station, Narathiwat province of

which the tragedy of transporting the dem-

onstrators from Takbai to Ingkhayuthaborihan

camp, Nongchik district, Pattani province and

caused the deaths by the way of overlaying

and suffocation. Furthermore, the event of kill-

ing the 2 marines at Tanyonglimor villagae,

Rangea district, Narathiwat province also was

a phenomenon known as No Thai media

where the villagers asked for the Malay media

to come and present the news. These 3 im-

portant events were very attractive for foreign

journalists to come. So from the Thai internal


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of Thai media as well.

This is the result of opening the boarder of media in the modern-day world. And should we

look at this phenomenon without concern?

Or should we wait till it becomes as the second place of Iraq then the government and terror-

ists will try to find out the way to solve the problems?


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Inquiry into the Death of Yakariya Paohmanih-Dr.Pornthips Autopsy is Not consistent with the MilitaryWednesday, 03 June 2009 22:32

Kausar Alimamah.

Volunteer assistant attorney at Muslim At-

torney Centre, Yala (MACMUSLIM).

Khunying Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand testified

to Yala court on the controversial death of Ya-

kariya Paohmanih while he was under arrest.

The famous doctor indicated that he was shot

but she was not able to examine the car in

custody. Therefore she could not analyze the

bullet path and direction. However, the autopsy

result confirmed that his bones were fractured

as a result of being beaten and punched prior

to being shot. His wife and child continue to

struggle to survive following the lost of the

head of their family.

In the morning of Tuesday April 7, 2009, Yala

court investigated the cause of the death of

Zakariya or Yakariya Paohmanih which oc-

curred while he was put under official arrest

at the Department of Scout 41, Raman, Yala

on 28 June 2550. In the investigation, Khu-

nying Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, head of the

Central Institute of Forensic Science, Minis-

try of Justice, testified as the first and only

witness on behalf of relatives of the victim.

Khunying Pornthip testified based on autopsyresults. This was the first and possibly only

case related to the southern conflict where

autopsy was used to determine the cause of

death of a Muslim. The investigation occurred

in the presence of the victims relatives and

other observers.

During the inquiry, Dr. Pornthip discussed the

characteristics of two types of wounds, formed

as a result of shooting as well as bruises,

to take into consideration that Mr. Yakariyas

was the result of contusion or gun shots. Shealso talked about the kind of the bullets used

and the examination of the bullet to consider

the direction of the shooting. This piece of

evidence may be used to refute the testi-

mony of an officer who claimed earlier that

Mr.Yakariyas car was ambushed and that he

was shot by an AK-47.

Dr. Pornthip testified that her autopsy found

that the dead body had four bullet wounds.

The wounds were caused by two types of

bullets- an AK-47 and a presumably pistol

bullet. The testimony of Dr. Pornthip in this is-

sue contradicts with the officer who previously

testified that criminal only used an AK-47 in

the attack.

After the testimony, Mr.Sitthipong Chantrawiroj,

attorney for the opposition in this case said

to MACMUSLIM that There is a contradiction

between the words of Dr.Pornthip and the au-

topsy doctor at the hospital who examined the

direction of the bullet from the two wounds. As

a result of performing an autoposy, Dr.Pornthip


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she could determine more facts. She indicated

that the criminal was on the right side of the

deceased.However, the preceding official tes-

timony stated that the ambush occurred from

the left side of the deceased.

According to Dr. Porntip, the

police and military had not co-

operated with her in getting in-

formation about the custody car.

Therefore she could not examine

and collect evidence to prove

the bullet clues on the car and

was not able to determine how

the victim was shot. She added

that if she got the full informa-

tion, she could examine this is-

sue further, which is within the

capacity of the Central Institute

of Forensic Science.

Evidence of Torture All

Over the Dead Body.

In addition, the attorney of the

case also examined the wounds

on the dead body. Dr. Porn-

thip indicated that the bruised

wounds were around the body,

including a large chest wound,

which is approximately 20 cm

wide. Therefore, to determine

whether the deceased died from

shooting or the bruised wounds, she decided

to dissect him and found that the breastbonewas broken but did not cut through the lungs.

Therefore it could not be considered as the

cause of death. However, she speculated that

the bruised wounds especially on his chest

and broken breastbone was a result of having

been hit with a solid material, which occurred

before being shot. Dr. Pornthip indicated that

bruised wounds were often found in torture

cases.

Meanwhile, the attorney of the case, Sitthip-

ong, noted that He was likely to have been

tortured and might have died from mystery

bullets. Dr. Porntips autopsy results are in-


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consistent with the testimony of the custody

official.

Before this investigation, the prosecutor had

interrogated eight witnesses, including the wife

of the deceased, four military officials, and the

doctor who performed the autopsy from Yala

Hospital. The investigation is in accordance

with a law that allows for an investigation of

death that occurs while under official arrest.

The cause of Mr. Yakariyas death has been

investigated for over two years. The testimony

of Dr. Pornthip, the opposition witness, serves

as the final testimony before the Yala court is

expected to issue a verdict on June 12, 2009

at 9:00 am.

Investigation of death case

In the article, The Investiga-

tion in case of death in Tak Bai:

For justice and the Truth by

Benchamas Bunyarit, which was

published in deepsouthwatch.

org, discusses cases of extra-

judicial killings, such as in the

case where the deceased was

killed by the official who claims

to have done so in the name of

duty (such as a fight between

offender and officer and the of-

ficer shoots the offender dead or

he dies while in official custody

who claims that he performs his

duty). This includes cases of ar-

resting, detention or imprison-

ment under all circumstances, as

these are considered unnatural

deaths under the law. The cause

of death is not natural and asso-

ciated with authorizes therefore

it is necessary to perform an au-

topsy by the order of prosecutor,

administrative official from the

bailiff or the equivalent with the inquiry official

and autopsy doctor. Then the inquiry official

submits the case to prosecutor. The prosecutor

will then request the court to investigate the

death and issue an official document stating


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the identity of the deceased, place and time

of death, and the circumstances of death.

However, this investigation has nothing to do

with allegations around the cause of death or

whether they are guilty.

At the same time, relatives of the deceased

above have the right to seek other experts to

refute the courts expert opinions and provide

further evidence. This can provide justice to

the deceased and protect his rights, especially

in finding the cause of death. If no one chal-

lenges the investigation, it becomes one-sid-

ed. The court could potentially issue an order

that the death occurred by accident or other

causes that relieves the officials of any guilt.

However, when the adduction of witness is

completed and the court has issued an order,

the court order is considered final. The people

involved can no longer appeal to Court of Ap-

peal or the Supreme Court.

Retrace the death of Mr.Yakariya

Paohmanih

For the villagers of Kholor Balae,Bannangsta

district, Yala, memories of being blockaded by

the soldiers on early morning of June 23, 2007,

is still fresh in their minds as if it was yes-

terday, although nearly two years has passed.

That morning, villagers saw a large group of

soldiers jumping from a car which was parked

in the village. They heard the sound of boots

followed by a voice yelling orders to the vil-

lagers in the neighborhood to stay in theirhomes. At that time, it was the governments

policy to take over the southern border and

Bannangsta is one of 17 operations.

Out of fear of being arrested by the offi-

cers, villagers gathered together in the village

mosque. At that time, they believed that the

mosque is the safest place. Furthermore, the

performing religious rituals and the compan-

ionship of one another can help them build

morale. So more and more people sought ref-

uge at the mosque.

But later, officials enclosed the mosque area

and began to investigate. They did not find

anything illegal. When the examination was

completed, around 30-40 male and female vil-

lagers were rounded up into the officers car.

In addition, officers also confiscated the prop-

erty of the mosque such as pots, pans, dishes,

glasses and rice. The villagers were controlled

in several locations, such as Inkayut Boriharn

camp in Nongchick, Pattani, Scout camp at

Lampraya subdistrict Muang, Yala, the military

camp at golf links in Banglang Dam, a camp

at Bannangsta Indra Chat school and others.

Two days after the event, officers arrested

more people in the Korlorbalae village and

one of them was Mr. Yakariya Paohmanih.

He had been arrested at the same time asMr.Mayateng Marano, a janitor at Ban Bang-

lang School, Moo 3, Bachoh subdistrict, Ban-

nangsta district, who has since gone missing.

After Mr. Yakariya was arrested, his

family was not able to visit him. One of the

reasons was that no one knew where he was.

The officers also did not allow people to leave

the village, due to the curfew under martial

law. On the day he was arrested, his young-

est son requested to accompany him, but of-


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23

ficials did not allow it. Since then, the young-

est son called out to his father all the time.

He refused to eat and told his mother that he

will only eat when the father comes back. The

mother told him that the father had just gone

out to work, and that he would come back

again soon. But this only kept him temporarily

quiet because when the dawn came, the boy

would cry for his father again.

On June 29, 2007, Mr.Yakariyas neigh-

bor who is a member of Tambon Administra-

tive Organization told his family that he was

dead. His body was found in Yala hospital.

Upon hearing the news, Hasnah, the wife of

Yakariya became unconscious. After she woke

up, everyone in the house went to the hospital

to bring the body home in order to conduct a

religious ceremony. At the hospital, a hospital

staff notified the relatives of Mr.Yakariya that

there would be an autopsy performed on his

body to find the facts behind his death. Then

the relatives brought the body back home.

When they saw the condition of the body

which showed traces of injury and an autopsy

already having been performed on it, they

suspected abnormalities around this death.

A Family Without a Leader

Following the death of Mr. Yakariya, his

family faced many difficulties. They did not

have a breadwinner. This caused the eldest

daughter and the second son leave school

halfway to help the mother earn a living.

However, before his death, Yakariya had start-

ed to build a small house. With the support

of the neighbors, construction of the house

was finished. A month following his death, his

wife requested the eldest daughter to get mar-

ried in order for the family to have a leader.

The daughter finally agreed because she had

pity on her mother and her brothers, leaving

behind her dreams to continue her study and

was not ready to get married. From visiting

Mr. Yakariyas family, it is clear that they

need a head of household. The mother said

that if someone mentions the dead farther, the

youngest son would still cry. He often asks

when his father would be home.

With regard to Mr.Yakariyas death while in

official custody, the Muslim Attorney Centre

(MAC) and Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF)

have been providing Mr. Yakariyas family with

legal assistance. When the court appointed

them to investigate the cause of his death,

his wife and children listened to the investi-

gation thoroughly. His children said that they

want to hear everything involving investigation

because they want to know Who killed our

father?........


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Education Problems in the Deep South

provinces an inviolable Problem.Sunday, 21 June 2009 07:48

Nattharawuth Muangsuk

If the education in the deep south provinces is

deemed substandard because students Thai

language is not good that caused weaknesses

in other subjects. This statement, the speakers

themselves did not understand the problems

than the others. Thus, It seemed that they

did not understand what were the problems

of secular education in the deep south, and

its standard?

Last week, Mr. Jurin Laksanawisit, the Minister

of Education came to Pattani province. The

main aim was to offer a 15-year free education

policy schools in the deep south. He also took

the opportunity to meet with administrators of

Islamic private school in the border southern

provinces, together with their students and

parents, and also explained the governments

free education policy.

During his proclamation, he stated that cur-

rently, the education standard in the deep

south provinces is the lowest in term of edu-

cational success in the country. This must be

solved urgently. The result of the O-net test

showed that students in the three southern

border provinces were ranked between 74 and

76 in the county. Therefore, he outlined three

things that needed to done urgently, namely

development budget for Thai language because

students in the deep south provinces are weak

in the language which led to the weaknesses

in other subjects as well.

The second thing is to develop the teach-

ers because we must pay attention to both

secular and religious education. There must be

measurements for both educations, secular and

Islamic courses. We will set the plan and its

indicators next time.

There was nothing wrong with the statement

made by the Education Minister and his idea

should be given due consideration. However,

when asked is the problem affecting children

in the southern provinces at the moment, his

answer was not the cause but its a result

of the inviolable problems where the ministry

of education could not answer for all the time.

It seems that since the southern violence be-

gan, every government and ministers could not

settle this problem. In contrast, they used a

cursory method of assessment to evaluate the

students in the southern provinces and con-

cluded that they had a lower standard than

the others in this country.

Evaluation criteria that emphasize on knowl-

edge of Thai was not the right answer for the

people in this area since most of them did not

use Thai language in their daily lives. Students

only use Thai language in front of the class or

only to present their works to their teachers.

Therefore, Thai language was not necessary forthem. The word official language was very

far off them.


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26

I agreed with the way to add more Thai

teachers in this area and upgrade the capabil-

ity of the students in the southern provinces.

However, if its expected that the whole sys-

tems should be successful I have to say thatsuch method cannot resolve the problems.

Thus, locals should not be evaluated by O-

net standard because most of the schools are

using two systems where the students must

learn both secular and religious subjects. Reli-

gious or Ponok school was considered as the

school where most of the students should go

through because the religious knowledge was

more important than the secular knowledge.

Students outside the 3 provinces or others

who use Thai language in their daily lives

have more chances to practice Thai language

compared to Malay students. If the same stan-

dard of evaluation was used, definitely the

answer would be different and its not the

right standard.

Teachers in the southern provinces, although

could not indicate the standard, but by the

way of studying two system of education,

where the students must study harder thanthe others who study in one system only. Its

a belief that the ministry of education should

understand it as well.

If the students were weak in Science, Social

or Mathematics and concluded that its be-

cause of weaknesses in Thai language, its

wrong. This conclusion seemed too rude to

accept.

Can the setting systems and all standards

be used to all groups of people or should it

create a new specific standard thats some-

thing the government should think about.

Dont let the children in the southern prov-

inces to be evaluated as weak or low

standard than the standard of central educa-

tion while they must bear both styles of edu-

cations, secular and religious studies. Nobody

can answer about their capabilities but for

them its a duty to do and perform it as the

best as they can.

The result of evaluation led to a prejudice in

some groups and judged that they lacked ca-

pability and should not be accepted to further

their educations. The comments from a leader

of the country had affected their opportunity

to do something in their lives.

As a result, the important question is where

the real problem is?

In the morning of May 13, where it was the


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1st day of semester, about hundred students

of Bukit Pracha Uppatham School, Cho I Rong

district, Narathiwat province, had to stand in

front of two ruined buildings which were set

on arson on April 27. The students must use atemporary place to study, and almost without

any education equipments. Moreover, they had

to sit on the mats for lunch because all their

tables and chairs were burnt as well.

And at the Yala special shooting range 15,

at Yilapan village, Moo 11 Talingchan, Ban-

nangsata district, Yala province, Lieutenant

General Chalemphorn Khamkeow, Yala special

commander 15 together with Police General

Sompiarn Phuwaphongphithak, Bannang Sata

police superintendent and Narin Saro, director

of Yala Educational Area 2, led teachers and

educational officers who had worked in Ban-

nangsata district. Sixty people participated in

a shooting training course. The training was

divided into 2 rounds. In the morning, the

training was about understanding how to use

a gun or firearm, the related laws with gun,

the direction of semiautomatic pistol (maga-

zine) and revolver. In the afternoon, the train-

ing involved practice session using real bullets.

The project was set up in this area due to

its high risk and violence always happen to

these officer groups and affected their con-

fidence. The security unit, therefore, created

this shooting project in order to increase theirconfidence level to protect themselves.

This is the real problem of education in the

southern provinces.

The schools were burnt as a natural thing.

Thus, the teachers lives were also put to risk.

Some of them asked to move to safer area

and some went for shooting training. Their

activities reflected that the educational offi-

cers could not use their full capabilities be-

cause they had to be responsible for teaching

and safety. In contrast, the government itself

did not look for solutions, and instead gave

the teachers shooting training with hopes that

they would continue their teaching completely.

Since one of their hands had to hold the pen

and a pistol on their wrist, should we hope

that they could perform their duties completely

or perfect as the teachers in Bangkok did?

This was the only problem where the leader ofthe country never got the answer.


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We are All Relatives: Ismail Lutfi Japakiya

Friday, 24 July 2009 22:54

Nattrawut Muangsuk

Violence has again flared up in the three

southern provinces of Thailand with the mas-

sacre of ten Muslims praying at the Al-furkon

mosque in I-Payae village, Cho Ai Rong dis-

trict, Narathiwat and the killing of a Buddhist

monk in Muang district, Yala. Analysts and se-

curity officers hinted that the incidents could

be an attempt to provoke a religious confronta-

tion between Muslims and Buddhists.

While the motives for the crimes are not yet

known, the violence has inflamed feelings and

increased distrust in the region. This is per-

haps a time to bring back the idea of a plu-

ralist society, of being different yet having no

divisions, of society as consisting of flowers

of many colors.

Speaking at the event of the promotion of

the idea of the kampong takwa or village of

respect, in Yala on July 20, Dr. Ismail Lutfi

Japakiya, rector of the Yala Islamic University

and a well-respected expert on Islam, touched

upon the sensitive issue of the differences be-

tween the two religions, Buddhism and Islam.

A village without respect could bring prob-

lems, said Dr Lufti. Anyone using the word

Kampong Taqwa should be very careful since

the word is music to the ears, but the idea

behind it is very difficult to implement.

The word taqwa, to respect or to believe in,

is being used to promote projects whose de-

velopment ideology rested on religious values.

The first kampong taqwa was built in Me-

dina. The prophet Mohammad led his follow-

ers to construct the village. It was built for

a cause and I think the conditions which al-

lowed it to happen should be learned. It is not

necessary that everyone needs to be taqwa,

respected. Although the others have their own

families to taqwa, we all have to accept the

conditions.

If we think the goodness of Islam is still a

necessary thing for us then we should taqwa

Islam, said Dr Lutfi. He emphasized on the

differences of taqwa of each individual which

represents different beliefs.

He then explained that all religions have five

elements in common.

First is humanity. We are all human beings.

We are all equal and all created by Allah. In

the eyes of Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and

Muslims alike are created by God. They think

everyone is Gods servant. The fact that many

people do not believe this doesnt in any way

change Gods status as our creator.

Secondly, according to Islam, all men are thechildren of Adam who fathered us all.

Third, we are all living in the period of the


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prophet Mohammad. We are all in the same

era and are the prophets people whether

we believe in it or not. It is like Thailand

now being under Prime Minister Apisit Ve-

jajiva. The Yellows like him but the Reds

do not accept him, but still we have him

as our prime minister and no one else. The

Prophet Mohammad is the leader of all the

people and it doesnt matter if some of

them do not follow or respect him.

Fourth, the Prophet Mohammad received

the commandment from Allah that all people

are relatives to each other. The prayer says,

I maintain that all men are brothers and

hence we should not quarrel and even if

we do we should do it like relatives would.

There are different kinds of relatives, those

from other mothers or fathers, and relatives

from different religions. But Islam accepts

these differences. It is not that people from

different religion cannot be regarded as their

relatives.

The last point is that every religion has a

similar teaching, that we are all enemies to

the devils no matter in what form. If they

are bad, then all the religions say those arethe enemies.

Dr. Lutfis comment was from an expert

on Islam. Such a warning from someone

of his caliber should be listened to by ev-

eryone in the area. But above all, it falls

directly on the security officers to

bring out the truth and to do it fast.


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Stop Torture and Protect Victims on the Occasion

of International Day in Support of Victims of TortureFriday, 26 June 2009 21:44

Statement

Mr.Makta Harong and others were ar-

rested and allegedly tortured after a raid on

an army camp on the 4th January 2004. The

prosecutor subsequently decided not to pursue

the case. Mr. Eakkawat Seemanta was severely

tortured by a police officer at a police station

in Phra Nakhonsriayuttaya Province on the 2-3

November 2004. Mr. Kietisak Thitboonkrong

was made disappeared from a police station

in Kalasin province in July 2004 and couple

days later found death with bruises all over

the body. These are only a few examples of

numerous torture cases that have taken place

throughout Thailand, particularly in minority

areas.One reason these abuses continue to

occur is the fact that Thai society has little

awareness of their rights which are protected

by the constitution and numerous international

human rights covenants to which Thailand is

a signatory.

Today, Thais have learned that tor-

ture is a crime at the international level. The

United Nations (UN) has recognized this and

created several international mechanisms, in-

cluding the Convention against Torture and

Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment

or Punishment (CAT) and the Special Rappor-

teur on Torture. Through the campaigning ef-

forts of non-governmental organizations (NGO)

and civil society, Thais are now more aware

that torture is a severe human right violation.

The Thai government ratified the convention

against torture or CAT on November 2007

but still requires more efforts to implement its

obligations.

Recent developments have led to several

cases of torture are being investigated and

brought to the justice system: 1) Mr.Makta

Harongs case is currently in the process of

investigation by the National Anti-Corruption

Commission, 2) the Department of Special In-

vestigation (DSI) is filing a case against non-

commissioned and commissioned officers at

Uthai Police Station in Phra Nakhonsriayuttaya

Province regarding Mr. Eakkawats case, 3) a

post-mortem trial on the death by torture of

Imam Yapa Kaseng at Ruesoh District in Nara-

thiwat Province concluded with the courts

ruling that the prosecutor should determine

the perpetrator, 4) The DSI has filed an ar-

rest warrant to couple of police officers from

Kalasin police station regarding the case of

Mr. Kietisaks and giving witness protection to

Mr Kietisaks relatives, and 5) other cases in

the southern border provinces where abusive

officers were found guilty and received both

disciplinary punishment and charges under the

criminal code.

Many countries have been campaigning

to stop torture, to end the culture of impunity,

to protect witnesses, to appropriate reparations

to the victims and to make torture a crime

by law.


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On occasion of the UN declared Inter-

national Day in Support of Victim of Torture,

commemorated every year on June 26, the

Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP)

has the following demands to the Thai gov-

ernment:

1. Make torture a crime under domestic

law and bring perpetrators to the justice

system.

2. Establish an effective agency to pro-

tect victims for testimony according to the

justice process.

3. Create mechanisms and agencies, with

independent budgets, to investigate allega-

tions, pursue cases according to the law

and provide reparations for the victims.

4. Ratify the Optional Protocol on Tor-

ture, including permission of regular visit

to the places of detention and individual

complaints.

WGJP urges the Thai Government

and Thai society to place greater importance

on the elimination of torture and to push

forward in creating the mechanisms needed

to permanently stop torture in Thailand andreturn human dignity to everyone with the

basis of equality under the law.

Working Group on Justice for Peace

24/158 Soi. Ladpharo 21, Ladphrao Rd., Lad-

phrao, Jatujak, BKK 10900 Tel. 0 2975 9975

email: [email protected]


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Clearing the Dust.. Democrat GovernmentSignals at Negotiation as a Way to PeaceWednesday, 29 April 2009 17:47

Nattravut Muangsuk

Amidst the conflict and violence in the south-

ern provinces during the past five years, peace

negotiations from time to time by security

units, the media, academicians, and local peo-

ple in the deep south. However there have

been different reactions by opposing sides,

namely the Thai government and undergroundinsurgents, alleged as terrorists.

Some underground groups may seem to accept

negotiation as a means of ending violence

and creating peace. However, they are also

reluctant because the governments actions are

different. The government not only refuses to

open up a dialogue but refuse to mention it.

On March 30th, the Extraordinary Education-

al Commission Considering the Issue of the

Southern Border Provinces, the House of Rep-

resentatives held a seminar at the Royal River

hotel, Bangkok, on the topic of How the will

the violence in the deep south end?. The

main objective of seminar was to present the

summary report of studying the problems of

unrest in the deep south by the seven sub-

committees, set up a year ago, each respon-

sible for a different issue. PM Aphisit Vejja-

jiva attended seminar and addressed a special

speech laying out the policy for solving the

problems in the southern provinces.

Another interesting aspect of this conference

was the morning session, held prior to the

discussion of the report findings, which was

attended by academics from Thailand and oth-

er countries, especially the negotiators of the

Aceh conflict from the Indonesia government

who shared their experiences with conference

participants on the negotiation process. Par-

ticipants included community leaders, local

government officials and academic experts of

southern Thailand provinces.

Mr. Yuhar Christense, from Finland, who was a

coordinator of the peace process in Aceh was

of particular interest. He stated that although

the problems in Aceh were different than

those of southern Thailand, there were some

common themes, especially on the issues of

race, ethnicity, and religion which were also

apparent in both Aceh and Northern Ireland.

In 2002 I used to work with a private or-

ganization and had to travel to Aceh. I met

a representative of the Free Aceh Movement

(GAM). His name was Salim Abdullah. I dis-

cussed the idea of peace negotiation with him

and he agreed with. Then, we moved to talk

in Stockholm, Sweden. After that I went to

Indonesia and met an Indonesian minister and

told him that I had already met the GAM rep-

resentative. He looked shocked but then I got

a very good cooperation from the Indonesian

government.


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Mr. Yuhar Christense, the General Manager for

PACTA Finland and PACTA Asia and a mem-

ber of the Crisis Management Initiative CMI in

Aceh and also was a mediator for both sides,

stated after his visit to Thailand that he was

glad to see that the government and military

are sending a positive signal by taking a pro-

active role in solving the problem.

In addition, the Finish coordinator for peace

negotiations further stated that he also had

met the members of southern Thailands sep-

aratist movement but did not mention the

groups name or any details about the dis-

cussion besides that the discussion aimed at

negotiating peace. He also stated that the pro-

cess would take time and perseverance from

all parties involved, as in the Aceh case which

was not achieved in a short period of time

but required multiple procedures. They also

held talks at Stockholm (Sweden) and Helsinki

(Finland) for seven days. After that, they had

to coordinate for more than 7 months before

having success.

Besides Mr. Yuhar, there was also H.E Daniel

Pruce, Amabssador of the United Kingdom

to Thailand, who talked about the peace ne-gotiation process in northern Ireland joined

by Assistant Professor Dr. Chanthana Banpha-

sirishoti Wankaew, an academician from the

Faculty of Political Science, at Chulalongkorn

University. The seminar concluded with a

This was the first time that this kind of semi-

nar of was organized by the House of Rep-

resentatives led by the Democrat government

specifically discussing the issue of negotiation.

Although it was still not an official policy put

forward from the national security unit, it sent

a signal.

Assistant Professor Dr.Mark Tamthai, Director

of Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace,

from Payab University, stated that procedure

of peace negotiation was very important and

it was the time to start such a procedure in

the southern provinces. This not be affected

by the change of government or shuffling of

power within the military.

The academician from Payab University again

compared the peace procedure to that of build-

ing a house that isnt available on the market

and the person that would coordinate the

peace negotiation process is the architect. Al-

though they have coordinated such a process

elsewhere, we can use the same architect but

not the structure of the house that they had

build previously because the environment and

context are different.

Our case is very different and our political

system has not developed to the level of the

British government that used to deal with

Northern Ireland. We should ask the peoplewho lived in the architects building and ask

the academics who were there when the

house was built. If we want to learn we must

listen to different sides, he stated and further

added,

There are four steps of negotiation: 1). Before

negotiating, where we must talk to all groups,

including those that incite violence or may be

we had already talked with this group with-


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out knowing; 2). Formal negotiation towards

creating a road map to lead to the process of

negotiating peace; 3) The most difficult thing

for us is making society accept such a road

map. In other words, we must sell it out to

Thai society and 4) Operate according to the

road map.

That was the opinion from Thai academics on

the peace negotiation process. Actually, dur-

ing the last five years, the PULO group whose

leaders reside abroad, made many offers to

negotiate both on and off record.

The PULO organization took on the leading

role to coordinate with other groups in the

southern provinces and represent them in ne-

gotiating with the Thai government, although

they are aware that the BRN coordinate group

outnumbered them in military strength. How-

ever, previous negotiations only increased trust

between the groups.

There were some efforts by the security units

to negotiate with the representatives of the

insurgency. However it did not appear in the

news because the government itself would not

cooperate, except last year when there was adeception that became the talk of the town.

Government representatives appeared on tele-

vision to announce a cease-fire. It is believed

that there were a former high-ranking military

officers behind the scenes. After that incident,

however, the violence didnt decrease even for

a day.

In the past, there had appeared to be

a third party intermediary, such as the case of

Langkawi Island where Dr. Mahadir Moham-

mad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia gave

an offered to assist with the negotiation. How-

ever, it was not any response from the Thai

government. But towards the end of General

Surayuth Julanonthas government, the Prime

Minister visited the Middle East with former

Commander-in-Chief of the ground forces at

that time and the current Commander-in-Chief

of the ground forces, to meet with Kasturi

Mahkota, spokesperson and head of Pulos

foreign affairs, to try and find a permanent

solution to the crisis in Pattani. This meeting

was coordinated by a third party intermediary,

HDC, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

HDCs role was accepted as an attempt by a

third party to seek a permanent peace solu-

tion, who also played a role in the previous

negotiation.

Therefore, it is interesting that the government

would bring up the idea of negotiation and to

see how it would proceed and whether the

Democrat government would such a policy

seriously. Or is it just a way to explore how

such a policy would affect political stability?

If so, the peace process in the southern prov-

inces would be just another political tool, or a

fallen doll that the next government can also

use to its advantage.


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HRW Called on The Thai Government to

Take Care the Deep South Teachers.

Friday, 19 June 2009 14:54

Aman News Center

(New York, June 18, 2009) Separatist in-

surgents should immediately cease their at-

tacks on teachers in Thailands conflict-rid-

den southern border provinces, Human Rights

Watch (HWR) said today. Five teachers have

been killed by insurgents in the south since

the beginning of the new school term in May

2009.

Human Rights Watch also called on the Thai

authorities to hold accountable those respon-

sible in a lawful manner and take measures to

bolster security at schools.

In a sickening trend, separatist insurgents are

increasingly attacking teachers, who they con-

sider a symbol of government authority and

Buddhist Thai culture, said Brad Adams, Asia

director at Human Rights Watch. There is no

excuse for such brutality.

On June 16, insurgents shot dead Lekha Is-

sara, a teacher at Ban Poh Maeng school,

while she was riding on a motorcycle from

home to work in Raman district of Yala prov-

ince.

On June 6, insurgents killed Matohe Yama, ateacher at Ban Palukasamo in Bajoh district of

Narathiwat province.

On June 2, insurgents attacked a pickup truck

transporting six teachers from their schools in

Ja Nae district of Narathiwat province. Two

Buddhist Thai teachers were singled out and

killed: Atcharaporn Thepsorn, a teacher at Ban

Dusung Ngor school who was eight months

pregnant, and Warunee Navaka, a teacher at

Ban Ri Nge school.

On May 19, Natthapol Janae, a teacher at

Nikhom Pattana Park Tai school, was shot

dead as he was riding a motorcycle from his

home to his school in Bannang Sta district of

Yala province.

After each attack, schools in affected ar-

eas were closed down for security reasons.

Hundreds of teachers have requested trans-

fers from the region. The attacks on teachers

not only violate international law prohibitions

against targeting civilians, but also threaten

childrens basic right to education.

The most recent killings were only the lat-

est attacks on teachers and education in

southern Thailand. A new generation of sepa-

ratist insurgents called the Patani Liberation

Fighters (Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani) is be-

lieved responsible for killing 115 teachers and

wounding more than 100 others since January

2004, when the insurgency escalated. They

have also burned more than 200 schools in

the same period.


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The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has promised

to give special attention to measures that would make schools

safe and teachers secure in their work. Human Rights Watch

urged the government to take appropriate steps to ensure the

safety of schools and teachers, but also expressed concern about

vigilantism allegedly carried out by local security units in revenge

for insurgent attacks on Buddhist Thai officials and civilians.

Over the past five years, there have been many reported assas-

sinations of imams and Muslim religious teachers (ustadz) and

attacks on mosques and Muslim schools (ponoh). There have

been no successful criminal investigations of these cases, leading

many in the ethnic Malay Muslim population to conclude that

the Thai government has been involved in a cover-up and has

made it clear to the perpetrators that they can act without fear

of punishment.

Tensions flared up on June 8 after six masked gunmen opened

fire with assault rifles and shotguns on a crowd of worship-

ers as they were performing the evening prayer at Al-Furquan

mosque in Joh Ai Rong district of Narathiwat province. Ten

people died at the scene, including the imam. At least another

12 people were seriously wounded. On June 15, separatist insur-

gents stabbed to death Kimsiang Sae-tang, a Thai rubber tapper

of Chinese descent, then cut off his head, arms, and legs before

setting his body on fire. A leaflet, found near Kimsiangs head,

claimed the killing was in retaliation for the previous weeks mas-

sacre of ethnic Malay Muslims at Al-Furquan mosque in Joh AiRong district of Narathiwat province.

Separatist insurgents claim that abuses by the security forces

justify their attacks, but the Thai government should not allow

its troops to adopt the same logic, Adams said. Any attempt

to cover up the misconduct of security forces, or to protect them

from criminal responsibility, will further escalate a cycle of reprisal

violence. It is time for the Thai government to deal with the root

causes of the conflict.


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Air Payae Villagers and Friends honor the

victims of Al-furqon Mosque TragedyFriday, 26 June 2009 18:02

Volunteer of the Peace Media to End Violence

Project

On Thursday, 16 June 2009, at least 5,000 to

6,000 guests including state officials, security

officers, civil servants, NGOs, and students

from different villages and provinces from

Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, all traveled to

I-Payae Village in solidarity to honor the vic-

tims killed on Wednesday, 08 June 2009 at

Alfurgon Mosque in I-Payae Village, Joh-irong

District, Narathiwat province, Thailand.

12 people have been killed and 19 injured

after armed men opened fire on Alfurgon

mosque during evening prayers. The police

said at least five gunmen carried out the at-

tack. This come as Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai

prime minister held talks with Najib Razak, his

Malaysian counterpart, on efforts to halt the

insurgency in southern Thailand.

Despite the grievances and despair that sur-

rounded the village, everyone that came lend a

helping hand to organize this memorial service

for the victims. Men were in charge of cook-

ing rice, grating the coconuts, cutting trees

and welcoming the guests while the women

did the dishes and cooked the meals for the

guests. Teenagers also helped in welcoming

the guests. Villagers from nearby villages also

contributed by bringing in food, fruits and

drinks. In total, the villagers prepared 300 ki-

lograms of beef and 100 kilograms offish for

the meals. All the money used was the ones

donated by the guests visiting the mosque.

For security purposes, police, military and gov-

ernment officials were guarding the village as

well.

Despite obstacles faced by many of the guests

while traveling to the village, they still man-

age to come in order to give support to the

villagers, making them feel that they are not

alone. Many people even left their daily work

to come help with the memorial service. Sev-

eral obstacles includes going through check

points, road spikes and gashed trees on the

roads For instance, while the host villagers

were welcoming guests, when it was nearly

noon and time for the prayer and feast, they

were concerned when few people had arrived.

It was later discovered when they received

a phone call from nearby villagers informing

them that the authorities at the check point

did not allow them to go through the checkpoint to the village. Many of the villagers had

to negotiate with the authorities for a long

time before they received permission to go

through. Some, were told to returned home,

therefore several of the planned activities were

canceled or postponed when

the guests had to arrive late.

Despite obstacles faced by the hosting villag-

ers themselves, they still managed to organize


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the memorial services with success. According to one of the villag-

ers, the night before the memorial, a group of villagers from 20:00 to

02:00 am made a stage for the event. However, by the next morn-

ing, the village head man asked that all activities on the stage be

canceled, he told the villagers that, everyone, no matter students,

NGOs, or other villagers can conduct any activities on the stage, but

when the activities are over, who can guarantee our safety? If the

security forces place pressure on us, who will help us? We will be

left alone and have to protect ourselves on our own. How can we

do that? We have the example of Tanyounlimo Villager where the

women and children were left in the village because of the security

forces place a lot of pressure on them.

Many of the villagers were very upset that they could not use the

stage, but were still motivated to continue with the memorial ser-

vice.

One villager also expressed how she and the other villagers were so

grateful of how many villagers from other places and students had

came to join this memorial service because the tragedy of Alfurgon

Mosque has made many of the villagers upset as they never thought

that this would ever happen to them. This villager was also im-

pressed by the number of people who came especially since the vil-

lagers themselves had no time to invite people but still many came.

The villagers also said that some Malaysian and Singaporean friends

told them that if the villagers are hurt, they will hurt more because

they are united through brotherhood.

With so many support received by friends, family and strangers, the

villagers feel that they a stronger because they know that if they go

through any problems, there will always be a lot of people giving

them support and helping hands.

* Remarks: Volunteers of the Peace Media to End Violence Project

is the young Muslim people in Narathiwat who join the project of

alternative media


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aman book: new media in southern thailand issue 1

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