Security has been tightened in the deep South following intelligence reports of insurgent groups planning to instigate violence from Oct 24-28, after the statute of limitations for the Tak Bai massacre case expired at midnight last night.
Based on the reports, ill-intentioned groups are prepared to incite violence simultaneously in four provinces to mark the 20th anniversary of the incident in which 85 people died.
In Narathiwat, security officials have been alerted to possible bomb attacks after two explosive devices were reportedly moved from Tak Bai district to Muang district.
Key locations are under heightened security.
In the early hours of Thursday, a bomb exploded on a road near the Panare police station and the same district office in Pattani, injuring two defence volunteers and damaging state property.
On Wednesday afternoon, a bomb blast injured three soldiers in Narathiwat’s Rangae district. The explosive was hidden in an underground drainage pipe and detonated as a group of soldiers was passing by.
The victims of the Tak Bai massacre and their relatives yesterday gathered at a grave site in Bacho district to remember those lost and mark the 20th anniversary. The site is where 22 unidentified victims were buried.
The massacre took place in 2004 in the events following an Oct 25 crackdown on protesters in Tak Bai district.
Seven demonstrators died at the scene, and 78 others later died from suffocation or organ failure while being transported in trucks to a military camp in Pattani province 140 kilometres away.
The Tak Bai lawsuit was filed by the victims’ families in late April this year with the Narathiwat provincial court against nine former top officials, accusing them of murder and other crimes.
In August, the court accepted the lawsuit against seven of them including former Pheu Thai list MP Gen Pisal Wattanawongkiri, who served as commander of the Fourth Army Region; Pol Lt Gen Wongkot Maneerin, then assistant national police chief; and Maj Gen Chalermchai Wirunpeth, the 5th Infantry Regiment’s commander at the time.
Meanwhile, the attorney-general also filed a lawsuit against eight suspects with the Pattani Provincial Court on Sept 12. Maj Gen Chalermchai is a suspect in both cases.
A total of 14 individuals were identified as suspects in the case.
The case will be dismissed by the court on Oct 28.
Muhamadsavari Useng, one of the participants in the activity marking the 20th anniversary, said authorities have not done enough to bring justice to the victims and their families.
Pol Col Supachat na Phatthalung, chief of Tak Bai police station, on Friday joined the activity at a local mosque and attempted to address any inaccurate information regarding the incident that could lead to renewed violence.
In Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai expressed regret that the suspects could not be brought to the court before the expiry of the statute of limitations.
He assured that the government would review the situation to find ways to prevent this happening again in the future.
During a House meeting on Friday, People’s Party (PP) MP Romdon Panjor and Prachachart MP for Narathiwat Kamolsak Leewamoh proposed motions urging the House to brainstorm solutions to help the victims’ families heal.
The MPs said those affected by the violence may lose trust in the government.
Democrat MP for Narathiwat, Yoonaidee Waba, said compensation alone cannot alleviate people’s yearning for justice.
He urged the government to ensure the case would not hinder efforts to foster peace in the region and to do more to demonstrate its sincerity in addressing the issue.
The House voted to send the motions to its committee on legal affairs, justice, and human rights and to the government for study.