[Tlc] T-Southern Thailand

[justinm at ucr.edu]

September 02, 2007 16:56 PM  	 
Crackdown On Villagers In Southern Thailand Causing More Fear
By D.Arul Rajoo

PATTANI, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- A major crackdown on suspected
strongholds of militants in the restive southern Thailand
which led to the arrest and continued detention of about 500
villagers is causing great concern to human rights groups and
tearing apart families and communities.

In the past two months, more than 500 villagers were detained
under the controversial Emergency Law, of whom close to 400
were sent to Surat Thani, Ranong and Chumphon for four months
of "job training".

In Narathiwat, human rights groups said 54 people were taken
from one village alone.

"My daughter was only a month old when the soldiers took away
my husband. I'm at a loss now," said Arissa Sapae, 24, whose
businessman husband has been sent to Surat Thani for job training.

"Job training for what? He has good income from his business
and now we are suffering because there's no one to take care
of the business," she said, as she waited with her daughter
and four-year-old son to narrate her ordeal to human rights
activists and lawyers at the recent fact-finding gathering at
the Prince of Songkhla University.

Sixty-one-year old Mat Kasoh Malik, who has difficulty
walking, said both he and his son-in-law were arrested a month
ago.

"I was released after one month. They just ask questions but
never torture me. But my son-in-law is still in custody," he
said, adding that two of his three grandchildren had to skip
class as there was no one to send them to the school, located
eight kilometres away.

The military launched the "sweeping" operation in view of the
rising violence in Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and four
districts of Songkhla, with the latest statistics showing that
almost 2,500 people have died since January 2004.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said militants seeking
independence for the Muslim majority provinces had carried out
more than 3,000 attacks on civilians and 1,000 on military and
police units, with 90 per cent being civilian casualties.

Yala-based Centre for Muslim Lawyers coordinator Adilan Al
Ishak said the arrests and subsequent forced-training were
creating chaos among affected families while resentment from
the local community towards the government was rising.

"This is not the way to win the hearts and minds of the
people," he said.

Adilan said the military operation aimed at winning the south
started in Bannang Satar district on June 18 and so far, more
than 500 people had been arrested in four provinces.

"First, they were held for seven days under the martial law
and another 30 days under the emergency law. But instead of
charging them in court or releasing the villagers, the
authorities are sending them for training which is against the
law and a violation of human rights," he said.

Adilan said that from accounts given by detained villages, the
detainees were given only two choices, either go for job
training or risk being charged in court for involvement in the
ongoing violence.

He said that though family members were allowed to see the
detainees, many could not afford to go as the training centres
are located in other provinces.

"But why is the military sending the villagers to undergo
handicraft skill or vehicle repair training when they have
steady jobs? We are not even sure now if they will be released
after four months," he said.

A social worker, Lamai Manalearn, said a 74-year-old man and a
17-year-old boy were arrested from a village in Nongchik, Patani.

"This was the first time people from the village were
arrested. The old man told me he was asked to sign a paper
before he can be released but instead of going home, he was
sent for job training in Surat Thani," she said.

Thai army spokesman Colonel Akara Tiproj, however, denied that
the villagers were being forced to attend the job training,
saying instead that it was for enhancing their labour skill
and proper teaching of religion.

"We didn't force them but explained the need for them to
attend the training. But we have released several under-age
detainees as we don't want to be criticised by human rights
groups," he said.

Akara said 100 villagers were sent for training in Surat
Thani, 100 in Ranong and 185 in Chumpon while another 85
suspects were being detained at the army camp in Patani and 45
waiting to be charged in the court.

While the authorities were clamping down on suspected militant
hideouts, some community leaders claimed that local
politicians were taking advantage of the situation to make
wild accusations or slander their rivals.

A government servant who wanted to be known only as Haji Ahmad
said that seven people were arrested at his village in Thepa,
Songkhla, but he insisted that they were all innocent.

"The current village head was worried that one of the arrested
men would challenge him for the Penghulu's post during the
election in three months. He won't have any rival now as his
likely challenger has been sent for four months' training," he
said.

A school headmaster in Sungai Padi district, a red area in
Narathiwat, said attendance had dropped sharply in the past
few weeks, largely due to the crackdown and fear of more
attacks on schools.

"The problem lies with soldiers who are coming from the north
and Isan (northeast) who don't understand the local culture.
People are so scared to tap rubber as the villages are
surrounded by soldiers," he said.

But the 52-year-old man said he was more worried with what
would happen when the detained villagers return home.

"We had seen many cases of people being killed after being
released. They are unfairly accused of being spies and
targeted by militants," he said.

-- BERNAMA 

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu