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| Southeast Asia | ||||
| Separatists 'led Thai attacks' | ||||
| 2004-04-30 | ||||
Muslims in southern Thailand have held tense Friday prayers, amid mounting evidence Islamic militants were behind this week's bloody clashes. Thailand's prime minister insisted the attacks were carried out by criminals.
But a senior government security adviser and a man arrested after the fighting both said the attacks were the work of Islamic separatists. Security forces killed 108 people in the attacks in the Muslim south. Three police and two soldiers also died. Groups of young men launched apparently co-ordinated assaults on security posts throughout Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces on Wednesday. A senior security adviser, Gen Kitti Rattanchaya, told the AP news agency that the attackers had been trained in Thailand and overseas and were ready to sacrifice themselves. An arrested suspect, Mama Matiyoh, who police said took part in an attack in Yala, said he and his colleagues were willing to die for Allah, police told the Thai newspaper, the Bangkok Post. Mama Matiyoh said they took part in the uprising because they wanted to declare an Islamic state - comprising Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces.
Police said he was the leader of a group who wore green shirts with slogans such as "There are no other gods but Allah". He was believed to be a member of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional separatist movement, the newspaper said. Troops in the south remained on high alert after two extra battalions of soldiers were sent to step up security. A senior general said the army could face thousands more insurgents. A statement purporting to be from the local separatist group Pulo (Patani United Liberation Organisation) urged the Malay people in southern Thailand and Muslims throughout the country to follow Islamic teachings. The statement, which appeared on Pulo's website on Friday, warned Muslims not to go to venues such as bars, nightclubs and concerts, asking them instead to stay at home or in mosques. "If you follow this instruction you will live in happiness," the statement said.
Several governments have warned their nationals not to travel to the southern provinces. New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Thailand should launch an investigation into whether "such a high level of lethal force was necessary".
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| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Separatists, criminals, what's the difference? |
| Posted by: Tresho 2004-04-30 5:18:51 PM |