12.06.09 Govt to send more troops to South
Source: The Nation
Pulo claims attackers Thai; authorities to catch aggressors soon
The world's largest Islamic organisation and a separatist group have
condemned and blamed Thai authorities for the Narathiwat mosque
massacre - while the government has decided to send over a thousand
additional forces to the troubled South. A group of gunmen sprayed rifles into the crowded Al Pukon
mosque in Joh I Rong district Monday night, killing 11 Muslims at
prayer and injuring a dozen others.
The separatist Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo) said
a witness claimed to hear clearly the Thai accent of a gunman on a
walkie-talkie at the mosque gate - one of three positions where masked
gunners sprayed 105 bullets from a range of assault weapons. A Singha
beer bottle cap also was found at the scene.
"This shows that the Patani Malays' lives are in danger,
especially in the radiant of Thai enclaves heavily armed by Thai
authorities, protected and helped by Ranger squads who often terrorise
villagers," the Pulo statement said.
Secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, also condemned the armed assault.
"This tragic incident falls within a string of aggressions
conducted by armed and organised elements targeting worshippers and
venues in southern Thailand, in a bid to terrorise Muslims and restrain
them from demanding their legitimate rights," the OIC statement said.
Ihsanoglu called on the Thai government to undertake a probe
into the incident, apprehend its perpetrators in order to refer them to
justice, and deploy the necessary efforts to protect the lives and
property of Muslims in the deep South.
Army chief Anupong Paochinda earlier rejected allegations about
the government armed forces, saying they had nothing to do with the
massacre.
The authorities have claimed they will apprehend the culprits soon .
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called
a meeting yesterday at the Government House to study an operational
plan for the deep South for the next fiscal year, worth Bt18 billion.
He instructed officials to hunt down the culprits of the mosque
attack but insisted they not set up any scapegoats, which would create
more troubles, according to an official at the meeting.
Prime Minister's deputy secretary Panitan Wattanayagorn said the
government would send an additional 1,440 security volunteers to help
maintain law and order in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla
districts. The government would allocate a Bt400 million budget for the
volunteers, he said.
The meeting also approved a proposal by the National Economic
and Social Development Board to initiate more than 300 development
projects for the region, worth Bt54 billion, between 2010-2012, he
said.
In fresh violence in the deep South yesterday in Narathiwat, a
gun attack killed two vendors and injured one other while driving to
sell fresh food in Chanae district. Phongsakorn Amarin and his wife
Duangkamol Amarin died instantly in a pickup truck. His mother in law,
Yindee Polpakdi was injured.
A drive by shooting also killed Muhammad Ya-ip Salah in Rangae district.
Police believed the two incidents were part of a spate of
on-going violence in the predominantly Muslim region which has already
left 3,500 people dead since the beginning of 2004.
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