Protest at Mosque in Pattani still Continues

 Protest in Pattani continues into its fifth day since May 31. Hundreds of protesters including students and local people still remain at the town's central mosque.

 

On May 31, 2007, about 3,000 people including university students and mostly women, gathered at the central mosque of Pattani.   Hundreds of police and military troops including female army rangers were deployed outside. Checkpoints were set up to examine vehicles heading into the town, and the cell phone network was shut down.

 

The protesters hung banners and released statements concerning sufferings of local people in the southernmost predominantly-Muslim provinces due to the government's harsh policy and measures that allowed the police, military, and army rangers to abuse the innocent.

 

The students who led the protest reportedly came from Ramkamhang University in Bangkok and the Pattani campus of Prince of Songkla University.  

 

On June 2, authorities and representatives of local people had a meeting with protest leaders.  Mr.Tuandaneeya Tuwaemaengae, a leader, said that their demands to the government included withdrawing all armed forces, lifting the curfew and the Emergency Executive Decree, releasing the detained innocent, and prosecuting the state officials who abused their power.

 

Ms Soraya Jamjuri, an activist participating in the meeting, said that what probably had triggered the protest was the rape and murder of 4 women by some 10 unknown assailants in Yaha district, Yala province on May 22. An investigating panel was thus proposed and agreed in the meeting to probe the case and other alleged abuses.

 

Deputy Governor of Pattani Mr.Winai Kuruwannapat agreed to report to the government to appoint the panel, and asked them to end the protest, and the cell phone network could resume.   The protest leaders asked the authorities not to prosecute them later, and wanted the government to meet their demands.

 

During the negotiation, local people brought rice, bottled drinking water and fire woods to give to the protesters.    

 

In that morning, there were local people trying to block the roads in three separate spots as they were not allowed to travel to join the protesters at the mosque.

 

On June 3, the protesters held activities including speeches and music performances, and a demonstration to downtown.   They insisted to continue the protest until the agreed fact-finding panel materialized.

 

In the afternoon, there were a few hundred urban people including Muslims and Buddhists gathering in front of the King Rama V statue opposite to the provincial hall, demanding the protesters to disperse.   They then paraded through the streets of the town, venting their frustration against those protesters at the mosque.  According to them, those protesters were outsiders, causing troubles.   Streets and shops had to be closed.

 

ISOC denied the rape allegation

 

Head of Public Relations of the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC) Region Four, Col Acra Tiproj said that the protesters alleged army rangers as the culprits for the rape and murder in Yaha district on May 22 that claimed four lives and one injury.   According to local police and doctor, he said, the murdered woman was not raped.

 

Those students tried to distort the fact and caused rifts between authorities and the people, he said.

 


 

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