South Thailand Insurgency - Government Harassment of Suspected Insurgents

Government Harassment of Suspected Insurgents

The Asian Human Rights Commission accused the military of beating and torturing suspected insurgents by burning their genitals with cigarettes, smashing beer bottles over their knees, and chaining them to dogs. Such abuses were alleged to have occurred in October 2006, after the military seized power.

In December 2006, a group of 20 Muslims, 9 men and 11 women aged between 2 and 55, sought political asylum in Malaysia. They claimed that the post-coup regime was more aggressive against civilians and that they were continuously harassed by the Army. The Army admitted that the group sought refuge in Malaysia out of fear for their lives - but that the threat was from forces.

A group of Muslims from Narathiwat that fled to Malaysia in March 2007 claimed that they were escaping intimidation and brutality by the military. The group complained that they have been beaten and that their sons have been missing or detained since 2005. It also claimed that some youths had died after they were poisoned during detention.

In late January, 2012, an unknown number of insurgents ambushed a thahan pran base before retreating. The rangers chased the insurgents and were fired upon from a pick up truck. The rangers fired back in self-defence resulting for dead civilians in the truck with others wounded. The rangers found AK-47 assault rifles but also claimed that the four dead civilians were not affiliated with insurgents in anyway. Soldiers from the 4th army regiment are investigating.This killing has angered many Thai Muslims as the four dead persons are mosque leaders (an imam, a moulana,a khatib, and a bilai).

In early February, the ministry of interior porposed a 7.5 million baht to all victims of the insurgency including those from the Tak Bai Massacre and the Kru Se Mosque Incident.