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| Southeast Asia |
| Policeman Killed in Thai South, Schools Under Guard |
| 2004-05-17 |
| A Thai policeman was killed and another wounded in separate shootings Monday in the country’s Muslim south where troops were on high alert for possible militant attacks on the first day of a new school year. The Muslim policeman died in hospital hours after he was shot in the head as he rode his motorcycle to work in Pattani province, police said. In a separate incident, gunmen shot a former drug-busting Muslim policeman in Narathiwat province as he walked to a tea shop. "He was shot three times in his cheek, chest and torso and is being treated," a police colonel said. "We suspect some drug gangs might want to take a revenge on him or Muslim militants might just want to cause havoc." The shootings came as thousands of heavily armed police and soldiers guarded about 1,000 schools in the restive region, where at least 200 people have died since January in a flare-up of separatist violence that had been dormant for two decades. Thai television showed armored vehicles bristling with machine guns parked inside playgrounds as students dressed in crisp, new uniforms greeted their teachers in the three southernmost provinces bordering Malaysia. State-run schools have been targeted by militants as symbols of government authority since the unrest began in January. Bomb blasts at three Buddhist temples in Narathiwat on Sunday threatened to escalate tensions between Buddhist Thailand and its Muslim minority, who make up 10 percent of the country’s 62 million population. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Monday the temple attacks had been carried out by the "same group of militants" who had raided police outposts on April 28. Thai troops and police crushed the uprising, killing more than 100 people, mostly young Muslims. "The majority of Muslims in the region disagree with this means and they never think of causing religious conflicts," Thaksin told reporters in Bangkok. "But the perpetrators never give up and they want to convince our society that there is such conflict," he added. Many within the predominantly Muslim local community were outraged at what they said was an excessive use of force on April 28. In the bloodiest incident, soldiers and police stormed a historic mosque in the town of Pattani and killed 32 militants hiding inside. Mystery still surrounds the mainly machete-wielding attackers. Officials say they were drug-crazed and manipulated by extremists, who gave them magic spells to recite and told them prayer beads would ward off bullets. Malaysia, which had earlier irritated Bangkok by offering temporary refuge to Thais fleeing the violence, has deployed an extra battalion to boost security along its border with Thailand, Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama reported on Sunday. Malaysia now has four battalions totaling 1,600 soldiers patrolling the border, Bernama quoted the army chief, General Azumi Mohamed, as saying. The Thai government has issued conflicting statements about the latest chapter of a conflict that dates back centuries, to when the kingdom of Pattani in southern Thailand ruled the south and parts of present-day northern Malaysia. Thaksin has blamed the violence on drug dealers, contraband smugglers and gunrunners, acting under the cover of separatism. But cabinet members and top military officials say they suspect the attacks are the work of Islamic radicals with support from foreign militant groups. Anger over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq may be a contributing cause. Last month, the Thai embassy in Sweden received a letter threatening attacks like those on Spain in retaliation for Thailand sending troops to Iraq. |
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