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Endless Episodes of Thai Colonial Brutality

Thirty years after illegally having acquired and administered Patani, Thai imperialists transformed themselves into an ultra-nationalist entity that led to the 1932 coup as pretext for controlling the country, and in turn they left brutal legacy in the former Malay kingdom ever since.

Instead of strengthening their failing state's administration, with their new violent mindset and identity, the narrow-minded Thais seem to be happy and not enough in having come a long way in creating their gangster-like state in their own territorial but endlessly meddling with their subjugated Malay people affairs in the Patani region, wrongly wasting money and human resources.

Before looking at a particular latest incident, it is worth retrospective the May 2006 swarm attack on Kucing Lepas village elementary school by mostly brave women which unfortunately led to the death of the Northern Thai female teacher known as Khru Julin. All of Kucing Lepas villagers, located about five kilometres away of Narathiwat's Rangae district, have since then been collectively blacklisted by the Thai colonial authorities in light of the controversial 'Emergency Law' with arrest warrants on their heads.

Most men and women from this struggling village, the same as hundreds of other villages declared as 'Red Zone' by the Thais, are all in the situation of when each of them will get caught and then the countdown has finally come for both Mrs Che Mek Hayae (50) and her daughter Mrs Baldati Labo (25) who were gunned down while tapping in their rubber plantation located at the foot of Moktae hill, one kilometer away from their village. The killers were, the so called 'wild life hunting' Thai Buddhist militia from the nearby village who were seen passing the village heading towards Che Mek rubber plantation prior to the incident. The group is also related to the same network that attacked Al Furqan mosque last year.

Prior to Che Mek and her daughter brutally assassination on 15 February 2010, tens of their fellow villagers were also found dead and several others imprisoned as the village has closely been watched by the pretentious smiled Thai security-men, particularly the Thai Buddhist settlements nearby especially after the school incident which was biased by most Thai media and colonial propaganda without revealing the fact behind the scene what made the villagers took the matter in their own hands.

Most of rural government elementary schools teachers in the Thai-administered Patani region, especially in the wake of the present uprising sphere, they are also commonly functioned as helping hands for the security matters as they are so closed to the children and are often made unlawfully indirect informants and the source for monitoring their parents daily activities. This is one way that local people's data is gravely abused by the state apparatus.

Back to the case of Khru Julin, it was definitely with the Thai security-men instruction. She often sketched some sorts of weapons on the board or showed the arsenal photographs while teaching in class room and asked her pupils some stupid questions like 'Those who have ever seen these photo or knowing where they are kept, raise your hands'! While reporting school activities to their parents at home, the children also told their parents or relatives about this story. This is in fact some of the villagers noted her as a spy and her activities might have been closely monitored. So when the security-men made any operations afterwards, men and women were picked one after another and herefore the villagers were then under impression that khru Julin was behind this and caused some villagers to get caught. Although the brutal act itself is undeniably inappropriate but the main actor in this whole scenario is no doubt the Thai state who should bear responsibility.

One of latest brutal acts of which the Thai state took no responsibility, especially Deputy premier (Suthep Theuaksuban) for security matters who failed to promptly act was the case of a Patani's Parare district motorcycled-police squad who shot to kill the students of a private Islamic school while having after-class dinner at the restaurant opposite the school in November 2009 that left two dead and four others seriously injured. Witnesses said this act was a retaliation of another separate incident that took place at five kilometers' away in which their Pol. Senior Sgt. Maj. colleague was shot and seriously injured few hours earlier. What was the students' fault and why have the security-men, rangers and Thai Buddhist militia mostly ended up with revenge at the expense of innocent Malays?

Last but not least, about five hundred detainees, some of whom are innocent but with charges in light of 'Emergency Act' as tool. Others at least 10% were caught by using the ineffective and controversial GT200 explosive substance detector, among them students also not spared by the war-monger Thai colonialists who sometimes indiscriminately and forcefully subduing unarmed and innocents. The lost of their liberty and time have never been compensated, let alone an apology, especially for the case of Imam Ja'afar whose capture also through this ineffective device and was tortured to death at an army camp in Narathiwat's Rueso district and again this was flatly denied by Gen Anupong, the Army chief who still insists to carry on using the ineffective GT200 device, meaning he is still keen on preserving the nature of Thai brutality state.

While the situation is still tensed with the brutality committed by Thai state apparatus that the attention is being drawn in the field of empowerment for leading up many forms of Patani self-determination, Mr Taworn the vice-Interior Minister is still forwarding his half-billion-cost development project in an inappropriate time which is an opposite direction in diverting the course of empowerment. And worse still, Mr Kasit, the Foreign Minister, constantly brought foreign diplomats touring a village in Patani's Yaring district and again on 20th of February 2010. The same place as he previously did, he simlpy disregards the fact that his human rights abusing nation ranked 9th world chaotic and unstable country that it is in fact in need of remedy. Dare he enough to tour or appear in Narathiwat's Rangae district or Yala's Yaha district instead?

As once having had a welfare and peaceful Malay state, the Patani Malays are in no way justiable or deserve to be treated brutally and inhumanly by the selfish and ultra-nationalist Thais.