Thailand Repatriates Lost Malaysian Army Patrol.

Perhaps in a spirit of good neighbor, Thailand has repatriated six Malaysian commandos who strayed into Thai territory.

Lieutenant General Ongkorn Thongprasom, commander of Thailand's Fourth Army Area Command, confirmed the repatriation took place on Tuesday after interrogations concluded the soldiers had become lost while patrolling the border separating the two neighbouring countries. They are definitely not spies," said Ongkorn. "If they were, they would not have worn uniforms. He said the six soldiers were low ranking army personnel who had limited knowledge of maps.

Thai police arrested the lost patrol on Monday in Sukirin district in Narathiwat, and sent them to the Fourth Army Command for investigation.

Thai Refugees Not Willing To Return Home.

Most of the 130 Thai Muslims who fled to Malaysia from a southern province last year were not willing to return home for the time being despite an assurance by the government to guarantee their safety. Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said the Thai government respected their decision and would not force them to return.

In August 2005, they crossed the border into Kelantan and claimed their lives were in danger following the escalation of violence in the three southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.

More than 1,000 people were killed since the outbreak of violence in January 2004 in the Muslim-majority south.

The refugee incident caused a diplomatic row between Malaysia and Thailand. One of the refugees, who were believed to be involved in the ongoing unrest, was handed over to the Thai authorities by Malaysia in December.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees interviewed the refugees, who are currently being held in an immigration detention camp in Terengganu, but the UN body later left the matter to be resolved by both countries through negotiation. Malaysia also allowed Thai officials to interview the refugees and persuade them to return.

Bomb In Thailand's Restive South Injures 13, Including 11 Police.

AP via The Star: Eleven policemen and two villagers were injured by a bomb Friday Feb 17 in southern Thailand.

The bombing in Narathiwat appeared to be the latest violence in the country's Muslim-dominated southernmost provinces that has led to about 1,300 deaths in the last two years.

The 5-kilogram [11-pound] bomb, hidden in a fertilizer sack by the side of a road, exploded as police were investigating the shooting of a villager, said police Sub. Lt. Sonphet Tanthi-amonkun.

The victims, including two civilian passers-by on a motorcycle, suffered mild injuries.

Attacks Intensify In South Thailand

According to BBC News: Thailand Justice Minister Chidchai Vansathidya disclosed the insurgents in the south have intensified attacks to take advantage of the political crisis in Bangkok. More than 100 schools have closed for the week in the province of Yala after three teachers were shot and seriously injured.

Since the latest wave of violence began in the Muslim-majority south two years ago, separatist rebels have attacked Buddhist teachers at local schools.

He admits teachers are now a soft target for insurgents. They, together with monks and police, are considered symbols of the Bangkok government. The army has moved to provide them with better protection as they travel to and from their schools.

Last Friday Feb 3, 2006, three teachers were shot and injured as they waited for military officers to escort them home. Despite the school closures, another Buddhist teacher was shot and killed on Tuesday Feb 7, 2006 morning in Yala.

On Monday Feb 6, 2006, suspected militants killed two police officers and a defence volunteer in the market in Yala.

The justice minister described the attacks as opportunistic and linked to demonstrations against the prime minister in the capital.

Amnesty Slams "Immune" Thai Police in Muslim South.

Amnesty International,the global human rights watchdog, in a report released on January 4, 2006, as the unrest enters its third year, urged Thailand to investigate alleged abuses by security forces in the restive Muslim majority southern provinces and end their immunity from prosecution.

Amnesty said that Bangkok needed to remove the immunity granted to security forces under a controversial emergency decree in order to win the trust of conflict-weary villagers. The emergency decree, which was enacted in July 2005, was renewed for three months in October and is set to expire on January 19, 2006.

Since the unrest renewed with a raid on a weapons depot by suspected Muslims on January 4, 2004, the Thai authorities’ response has included "arbitrary detention, torture, and excessive lethal force”. Several international and local rights groups have condemned the heavy handed policy of police in the south. Their harsh and militarized policies have generated spiraling dynamic of violence and revenge in the area, leaving Thai Muslims living in fear and horror.

Bangkok must also investigate "all reports of human rights abuses, whether attacks on civilians by armed groups or violations committed by the security forces."They have also failed to properly investigate attacks against both Buddhist and Muslim civilians. Young Muslim men have been 'blacklisted' and assumed guilty with no reason given while people detained are often denied access to a lawyer or interpreter. Those found responsible must be brought to justice.

Current laws which give complete immunity to security forces must be changed to allow for prosecution.

Residents increasingly felt unprotected from the ongoing violence which has claimed more than 1,000 lives in two years, including 20 people who were beheaded.

The Thai government is facing a great challenge in dealing with the violence, but it has responsibilities towards its citizens and needs to ensure justice is done.

Thailand is a predominantly a Buddhist nation but Muslims make up about five percent of the population and mostly lives in the five southern provinces bordering Malaysia. Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are the only Muslim majority provinces in Thailand, where Muslims particularly the Malays have long complained of the gross discrimination, albeit in jobs and education and business opportunities.