Ceasefire in limbo
The fragile ceasefire in the Deep South during the holy month of Ramadan was shattered Thursday morning when a roadside bomb detonated by suspected militants exploded on a road in Yala’s Raman district injuring eight troopers assigned to protect teachers.
The violence came one day after the beginning of the holy month on Wednesday which was unusually calm and free from any violent incident. It also came two days after the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) separatist group abruptly called off a press conference due to take place in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday July 9.
Lt-Gen Paradorn Pattanathabut, chief of the National Security Council and head of the Thai peace talk team, was optimistic however that the press conference could be held in the next few days in Kuala Lumpur.
The press conference was intended to confirm the commitment to ceasefire earlier agreed by the BRN and the government on June 13.
It was reported that the BRN’s abrupt cancellation of the press conference stemmed from their suspicion that the government might not ease security measures such as raids and searches during the Ramadan.
The government has rejected the separatist group’s demand for total troop withdrawal from the troubled Deep South. However, it agreed to ease conducting searches and raids during the holy month. Nevertheless, the 27 permanent checkpoints will remain functioning.
One day ahead of the start of Ramadan, anti-government banners written in Malay language suddenly popped up in 162 spots in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla. But the incidents were brushed aside by Colonel Banpot Poonpien, deputy spokesman of the Internal Security Operations Command, as just a minor disturbance.
Although there is still doubt about the peace process, attacks against "soft targets" which include teachers, women, children and elderly people have dropped.
During the period of March until June, there were 69 violent incidents resulting to the death of eight policemen and 43 civilians and 55 security personnel injured compared to the same period last year when 81 civilians and 20 security personnel were killed.
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Caption : Military truck was damaged by the roadside bomb on a road in Yala’s Raman district.