Monks and Muslim clerics are victims of senseless violence

The fatal attack of two Buddhist monks in Yaha district of Yala province on Monday May 16 was not the first of its kind and will not be the last given the continuing violence which has gripped the strife-torn region for the past seven years.

According to statistics compiled by the Isra news agency, there were altogether four attacks targeting against Buddhist monks in the past six months, including the latest one on May 16.  The followings are the incidents:

-    On December 18, 2010, suspected Islamic extremists attacked an army unit providing protection to monks in Muang district of Yala, killing two soldiers and injuring a monk.
-    On January 28, 2011, suspected extremists detonated a roadside bomb in Pattani downtown, targeting monks and their army guards.  One monk and five soldiers were wounded.
-    On March 5, 2011, suspected extremists opened fire with assault rifles at a group of monks in Kok Pho district of Pattani, killing one monk and injuring two novices.
-    On May 16, 2011, suspected extremists detonated a roadside bomb as a pick-up truck carrying two monks of Wat Suan Kaew and soldiers passed the spot on their way to collect alms.  The two monks who were the last of the temple were killed and two soldiers were badly injured.

On June 12, 2009, a group of monks who were on their way to collect alms in Muang district of Yala came under automatic gunfire.  One monk was killed and another seriously wounded.  And a year earlier on October 13, suspected extremists exploded a roadside as a pick-up truck carrying monks and soldiers passed by.  Fortunately, none of them were killed nor injured.  But two innocent villagers were wounded.

Since 2004, there have been more than ten attacks against monks in the three southernmost provinces with seven incidents recorded in 2005 and six the following year.  The most grisly incident occurred on October 16, 2005 when suspected extremists hacked to death an elderly monk and a temple boy at Wat Promprasit in Pattani’s Panareh district.

Observers however pointed out that there was a significant difference between the attacks against monks which took place during the first 4-5 years since 2004 and the attacks which occurred in the years afterward.  That is the earlier attacks appeared to be purely intended to intimidate and to strike fear among the monks so that they would be forced to move out or face the consequences.  The attacks appeared to achieve the intended goal – that is most of the temples in the region were abandoned as monks fled for their lives in horde.  The exodus prompted the government to introduce a programme to return monks to the region.  Volunteer monks were recruited and sent back to various temples in the three southernmost provinces.  Since 2008, most of the deserted temples have since been occupied and attacks against monks eased.

Until June 12, 2009, one monk was shot dead and another injured in a gun attack allegedly perpetrated by extremists.  The attack occurred four days after a fatal attack on the Al Furgon mosque in Cho-I-Rong district of Narathiwat in which 10 Muslims were killed and 12 others injured.  Several observers and analysts agreed that the attack against the monks was a symbolic revenge attack staged by the extremists to avenge the massacre at Al Furgon mosque.

Another suspected revenge attack was the incident on March 5 in Kok Pho district of Pattani in which one monk was killed and two novices wounded.  This violent incident took place two days after an imam in Ban Pa Oi, also in Kok Pho district, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.

It was not known whether the latest attack on monks on May 16 in which two monks were killed was linked to any violent incident in particular.  However, it was noted that one day earlier, a suspected drug dealer known to be linked with extremists was killed by security forces in Yaha district of Yala.  Also on May 3, unknown gunmen opened fire with assault rifles at a row of tea houses and groceries in Tambon Bannang Sata, Banang Sata district of Yala, killing four Muslims and injuring about ten others.

Mr Anusart Suwanmongkol, a senator representing Pattani, noted that several violent incidents which took place recently in the region were connencted with one another.  One incident led to another incident, he said and expressed concern that if these were allow to continue unchecked, mutual mistrust between Thai Buddhists and Malay Muslims would further widen and probably more revenge killings.

To end these senseless revenge killings, the senator said that it was imperative that justice must be done or seen to be done for all the people in the region regardless of their religious faiths.

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Caption : Wat Suan Kaew in Yaha district of Yala province