Tak Bai "What’s wrong with that?"

There has been a media storm over Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's comments that the violent crack-down by ultra-nationalist militias, police, and the military on students at Thammasat University in 1976 didnt really happen. Countering the official death count of 46, and witness accounts that claim that hundreds died, Samak has claimed it was 'one unlucky guy' who was killed. Of course, the photos do tell a different story.

Although the PM's shameful distortion is being questioned in Thai and international media it is curious that Samak's comments about a more recent tragedy have gone virtually unchallenged.

On October 25th, 2004 in the southern border town of Tak Bai, Thai security forces killed 76 Muslim protesters while in police custody. You can also watch the video here.

Samak's recent comments about Tak Bai claim that the Muslim protesters died not because of grotesque negligence or violent collective punishment by security forces, but they died because they had been observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. In other words, they died because they were Muslim.

Samak:

“…if they strong enough when they standing in the truck, it’s ok. But they spent the whole day, doesn’t eat, doesn’t drink water, doesn’t even swallow any kind of thing, because in the month of that thing, so, they just fall on each other. And 78 die…So that’s it…Nobody intend to kill them. They die because of their physical. So, so what’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with that?”

A transcript of the interview can be found at Rule of Lords.

One of the main barriers to reconciling the conflict in Southern Thailand is the issue of injustice committed by security forces and the Tak Bai incident - arguably, along with a long long list of human rights abuses by authorities - is an infamous example.

During the time when the Tak Bai incident happened, the Thaksin government seriously inflamed long simmering southern discontent and, through belligerent commentary by the Prime Minister and reliance on force, nurtured that discontent with the government into a full-blown insurgency.

After Thaksin, junta-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont apologized to Thailand's southern Muslims in November 2006 for the violence committed by Thaksin's government. Although it was a small first step, it was still a step towards resolution rather than a step towards further violence.

But now, any past goodwill created or future efforts by Bangkok to win 'hearts and minds' in the South will be challenged by Samak's combative and unapologetic comments.

By asking rhetorically "whats wrong with that?", when talking about the killing of 76 unarmed Muslim protesters while in police custody, Samak has just added more fuel to the fire burning in Southern Thailand.

The Tragedy of Tak Bai

"For anyone willing to spend 100 Baht (€ 2) they could watch uniformed Thai security forces shoot, beat, and ultimately murder 76 Malay-Muslim citizens of Thailand." Although the soldiers pictured here were not involved in the Tak Bai incident they, and the whole armed forces, have a more difficult job assuring citizens that they are there to protect them. Fourth Army soldiers guarding a Buddhist Wat, Pattani - 2005.

If claims of abuse by the military and police had been hard to substantiate in the past, the events of October 25, 2004 turned suspicion into fact.

Malay-Muslims had gathered in protest at a police station in the far Southern border town of Tak Bai.

The protesters were angry over the arrest of local village defense volunteers whom, the police had claimed, had surrendered their government supplied firearms to suspected Islamic insurgents.

Water cannons were initially used to break the lines of protesters yet non-lethal tactics were quickly abandoned when protesters responded by throwing rocks and a firearm was rumored to have been discharged.

The security forces, comprised of both police and Thailand’s Fourth Army, trained their new American made M-16 rifles on the crowd and opened fire.

In the ensuing violence seven protesters died from gunshot wounds while hundreds were handcuffed, dragged into the police station compound, and “stacked like bricks” onto waiting trucks (BBC – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3954587.stm).

As news began to emerge from the confrontation it was revealed that 76 protestors died in the protest - the majority suffocating will stacked on the military trucks awaiting transportation.

The incident in Tak Bai drew global protest from Islamic groups, human rights organizations, foreign governments, the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, and considerable wrath from the Malaysian government.

Yet most damaging for Thaksin’s government was the fact that Thai security forces had filmed the whole violent episode.

The video footage was leaked to the public and cheap VCD's of the incident were sold in the markets across the country. For anyone willing to spend 100 Baht (€ 2) they could watch uniformed Thai security forces shoot, beat, and ultimately murder 76 Malay-Muslim citizens of Thailand.

As the video footage was replayed across Thai TV screens the country was both shocked and outraged.

Anger at the government and sympathy for the victims were common sentiments expressed in Bangkok. Yet the way the video was perceived in the deep South was a little different.

Obviously shock and anger were felt but many Southern residents looked at the video as proof to claims that the Thai state was actively persecuting Malay-Muslims.

It is not hard to imagine that the video created a new flood recruits into the ranks of militant organizations.

Although the video was a clear public relations disaster in the effort to pacify the South, Prime Minister Thaksin further enraged Southern residents, and arguably the country, by refusing to at least offer a public apology.