ID :
51326
Thu, 03/19/2009 - 12:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/51326
The shortlink copeid
ATTACK ON HUMAN RIGHT DEFENDERS A SETBACK
BANGKOK, March 19 (Bernama) -- The killing of a prominent Muslim women's rights activist by alleged separatist insurgents is a major setback to ending violence in Thailand's southern border provinces, as more human rights groups are targeted by both insurgents and security forces, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday.
Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW, said the murder of Laila Paaitae Daoh on
March 12 was a serious loss for those trying to find a peaceful solution to the
conflict in the south which has claimed more than 3,500 lives in the last five
years.
"Laila's brutal murder is part of ongoing efforts by insurgents to
intimidate and attack Muslims who oppose insurgency or have supported Thai
authorities," he said.
Laila and her family had long received threats and had been targets of
insurgent attacks. Alleged insurgents killed her eldest son in 2004 and her
husband and second son in 2006.
According to HRW, insurgents in government-declared "red zones" in the
southern border provinces have in recent years used violence and terror to try
to keep other Muslims under their control.
In Mu 1 village of Tambon Purong, Krongpenang district, Yala province, where
Laila lived, villagers were warned not to work with Thai authorities and not to
accept food or other assistance from the government, it said.
Despite these pressures, Laila promoted coexistence between ethnic Malay
Muslims and Buddhist Thais, HRW said, adding that she was also instrumental in
activities of the Women and Peace Group and Luk Riang, a prominent child rights
group, in the southern border provinces.
HRW said that for years, Laila and her family had received death threats
from insurgents, who accused the family of being munafig (hypocrites) or Muslims
who have sided with the occupying forces of infidels.
"The killings of Paaitae Daoh family members were undoubtedly meant as
punishment and as a warning to other Muslims. In this way, the insurgents spread
fear throughout the southern Muslim community," it said.
HRW said the Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani (Patani Liberation Fighters)
insurgents, separatists in the loose network of BRN-Coordinate (National
Revolution Front-Coordinate), maintained a presence in more than 200 Muslim
villages despite having suffered major losses from counterinsurgency operations.
It also said that since the outbreak of violence in January 2004, a number
of human rights defenders had been harassed, arrested, tortured, "disappeared,"
and murdered, allegedly by the security forces, but none of these case s had
been successfully investigated to bring the perpetrators to justice.
-- BERNAMA
Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW, said the murder of Laila Paaitae Daoh on
March 12 was a serious loss for those trying to find a peaceful solution to the
conflict in the south which has claimed more than 3,500 lives in the last five
years.
"Laila's brutal murder is part of ongoing efforts by insurgents to
intimidate and attack Muslims who oppose insurgency or have supported Thai
authorities," he said.
Laila and her family had long received threats and had been targets of
insurgent attacks. Alleged insurgents killed her eldest son in 2004 and her
husband and second son in 2006.
According to HRW, insurgents in government-declared "red zones" in the
southern border provinces have in recent years used violence and terror to try
to keep other Muslims under their control.
In Mu 1 village of Tambon Purong, Krongpenang district, Yala province, where
Laila lived, villagers were warned not to work with Thai authorities and not to
accept food or other assistance from the government, it said.
Despite these pressures, Laila promoted coexistence between ethnic Malay
Muslims and Buddhist Thais, HRW said, adding that she was also instrumental in
activities of the Women and Peace Group and Luk Riang, a prominent child rights
group, in the southern border provinces.
HRW said that for years, Laila and her family had received death threats
from insurgents, who accused the family of being munafig (hypocrites) or Muslims
who have sided with the occupying forces of infidels.
"The killings of Paaitae Daoh family members were undoubtedly meant as
punishment and as a warning to other Muslims. In this way, the insurgents spread
fear throughout the southern Muslim community," it said.
HRW said the Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani (Patani Liberation Fighters)
insurgents, separatists in the loose network of BRN-Coordinate (National
Revolution Front-Coordinate), maintained a presence in more than 200 Muslim
villages despite having suffered major losses from counterinsurgency operations.
It also said that since the outbreak of violence in January 2004, a number
of human rights defenders had been harassed, arrested, tortured, "disappeared,"
and murdered, allegedly by the security forces, but none of these case s had
been successfully investigated to bring the perpetrators to justice.
-- BERNAMA
