Posted on 10/30/2004 10:01:14 AM PDT by knighthawk
Hundreds of Muslims will be prosecuted over a demonstration that led to the deaths of 87 people in southern Thailand last week, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said, in a move which could further raise tensions in the region.
"I have received a report from General Sirichai Tanyasiri, head of the Southern Provinces Peacekeeping Command, that 300 of the detainees will be prosecuted," Mr Thaksin said in his weekly radio address.
They will face charges including destruction of government property, staging a riot, and robbery, Gen Sirichai said.
Local television showed the first of 900 other detainees being released on Saturday afternoon.
Security forces arrested about 1,300 people after the demonstration in Tak Bai, Narathiwat province on Monday.
Of those, 78 were crushed to death or suffocated after being piled into trucks.
The Government said six were shot dead at the protest and three others were found drowned in a river near the protest site, the foreign ministry said.
Under martial law, suspects can be detained for up to seven days without charge.
Local television showed the first of some 900 detainees, wearing new white and blue t-shirts, being freed and receiving 200 baht ($US4.88 dollars).
Mr Thaksin had said the detainees would receive money and clothing "since their shirts were stripped off during the arrests".
At least two of the freed men removed their t-shirts once they boarded a bus, television pictures showed.
Faced with mounting domestic and international concern over the way security forces handled the incident, Mr Thaksin on Friday night announced an independent inquiry into the deaths.
"I will set up an independent commission headed by Pichet Sunthornpipit, ex-Parliamentary ombudsman, and comprised of legal and Muslim experts and experts on crowds, to investigate the correct and fair information," a sombre-looking Mr Thaksin said in a nationally televised address.
Mr Thaksin did not say when the investigation will begin, or what time frame it has to complete its work.
Thai media, quoting a senator just returned from the south, reported Saturday that the number of protesters shot dead during the demonstration could be far greater than the six reported by the Government of the Buddhist-majority kingdom.
Senator Nirand Pitakwatchara was quoted by The Nation as saying that witnesses alleged security forces loaded three army trucks with 14 or 15 bodies each at the protest site.
Many of the people detained may have been innocent bystanders not involved in the protest, the English-language daily also reported.
During his address, Mr Thaksin expressed "regret" at the demonstrators' deaths.
He said he was not prejudiced against Muslims and would compensate the victims while trying to restore stability in the south as soon as possible.
His words were greeted with scepticism on Saturday among Muslim residents of the predominantly Islamic region.
"Most people do not believe the Prime Minister's statements and absolutely don't believe his assurances about safety and justice that Muslim people will receive," a middle-aged Muslim man, in sarong and skull cap, said in Pattani province.
Thailand's deep south has been gripped by deadly unrest this year which officials blame on a resurgent Muslim separatist uprising. Mr Thaksin said the violence has claimed 459 lives.
At least six people have died in bombings and shootings since Thursday night, officials said.
Police in the Thai capital Bangkok, a major international tourist destination, said Saturday they are reinforcing security at foreign embassies and hotels following threats by Muslim separatists.
Ping
I hope they are convicted and executed. It is only by killing the Muslim terrorists around the globe that we will stop them killing innocent people around the globe.
Hey Europe & Israel, this means you too!
Kill them all.
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