Bangkok, Thailand no. 29/2552
July 7, 2009
The shooting spree at Al Furakon Mosque, I-pa-yae village, Jor Airong District, Narathiwat the night of 8 June caused instantly ten deaths and a dozen of injuries. It took place while the villagers were praying at the mosque. One month past, on one hand, thanks to aid from the government, the suffering villagers and survivors of the casualties have received due help. But on the other hand, little progress has been made concerning the acquisition of evidence and identification of perpetrators. It fails to materialize the principle that everyone is equal under the laws. Until now, none of the suspects has been called to testify, though the area is subjected to emergency rule.
The mass shooting in a sacred and religious place has caused much trauma among local people. The shooting at Al Furakon Mosque was nonetheless not the first mayhem taking place inside the mosque. It happened first at the Kruese Mosque on 28 April 2004 causing 32 people to die. Then at Thungpoh Mosque, Nongchik district, Pattani, two more people were shot dead. Yet, the government has failed to bring to justice all those responsible for the crime.
Human rights organisations, inside and outside the country, have called on the Thai government to accelerate its efforts on the investigation and to set up an independent inquiry committee to look into the matter. The calls have been made in vain. The government claims that setting up such an inquiry committee shall slow down the process. But until now, there has been no sign that local authorities and the government are able to untangle the crime. It has led to questions among people whether the security authorities have the willing to ensure that all people have indiscriminate and equal access to justice system or not. The perpetrators in this case have to be brought to justice promptly regardless of who they are.
One month after the , the Working Group on Justice for Peace demands the government led by Mr. Abisit Vejjajiva that;
1. The government should second the proposal made by peoples sector and set up a working committee or an independent inquiry committee with proper involvement of peoples sector to join with the authorities to carry out investigation in the case and to expose the findings to public.
2. In response to enormous trauma, feeling of injustice and disappointment with impunity of the perpetrators in this case and others, the government must pledge to expedite the efforts to bring to justice promptly and indiscriminately the persons responsible for all criminal activities.
3. The government, particularly security agencies, should review the policy to arm villagers taking into consideration how short the time the officials have to train villagers on arms use. Most importantly, efforts should be made to help security officials and those having arms in possession to hinge primarily on the use of nonviolence as a solution and take arms use as their last resort.
“To address unrest in the Deep South, the state has to rely on truth, justice and public participation as the primary impetus to drive its implementation. It should demonstrate to people that justice belongs to them since justice is the only underlying force that helps to nurture trust between state and people. And without such mutual trust and if people feel the state is not reliable, it will be difficult for the state to seek cooperation from people in its attempts to solve the problems and restore peace in public in a long run. Angkhana Neelapaijit said
More information, please contact: Angkhna Neelapaijit 084-7280350 or Puttanee Kangkun 086-3321249
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