Muslims in Thai south mark 15 years since Tak Bai ‘massacre’
Muslims in the conflict-blistered Thai south yesterday marked with prayers the 15th anniversary of the deaths of scores of protesters who suffocated in army trucks -- an incident that galvanised an insurgency and remains an emblem of state impunity.
Known across Thailand’s “deep south” as the “Tak Bai massacre”, the October 25, 2004 incident remains one of the deadliest days in the rebellion by Malay-Muslims against rule by the Thai state, which colonised the provinces bordering Malaysia over a century ago.
Seventy-eight people suffocated after they were arrested and stacked on top of each other in the back of Thai military trucks, face down and with their hands tied behind their backs.
Seven more were shot dead as security forces used live rounds on a large crowd of protesters who had gathered outside a police station calling for the release of several detainees.
Yaena Salaemae, 60, remembers the day with startling clarity -- of how police used water cannon and warning shots, and later kicked protesters after forcing them at gunpoint to crawl along the ground.
“They were forced to crawl with their hands tied behind their backs,” Yaena, who organised the yearly prayer marking the anniversary, told AFP. “I will never forget this day.”
The low-profile service, attended by about 100 people, included a tribute to the dead and a peace blessing.
Hajeeding Maiseng, who took part in the protest, still bears the scars -- a long gash trailing his right rib and a bullet wound right below it.
“I still cannot work in my rubber plantation properly,” the 64-year-old told AFP.
Since the incident, more than 7,000 people -- the majority civilians, both Muslim and Buddhist -- have died in near-daily shootings, ambushes and bomb blasts as rebels fight for greater autonomy from Thailand.
Despite the high death toll, the highly localised unrest garners few international headlines.
No members of the Thai security forces have been prosecuted over the Tak Bai incident, despite a government inquiry condemning the actions of security forces on the day.
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