In remembrance of the Tak Bai victims
NARATHIWAT - Hundreds of villagers of Ban Jaroh, Tambon Praiwan of Tak Bai district attended a merit-making event on Thursday August 11 which coincided with the 11th day of the month of Ramadan to commemorate the Tak Bai massacre seven years ago which took place on October 25 or, coincidentally, on the 11th day of the fasting month or Ramadan.
The villagers, many of them lost their loved ones in the tragedy, brought with them food to make merit in remembrance of the 85 people killed that day – seven of them were shot dead by security forces and 78 others died of suffocation after they were piled up- one on top of the other – on military trucks as they were transported from Tak Bai district office to Ingkayuth camp in Nong Chik district of Pattani. They were joined by representatives of several non-governmental organizations, including the women’s network for southern border peace.
Mrs Naree Charoenpholpiriya, a peace advocate from Mahidol University’s Peace Study and Development Centre, said that the gathering of the villagers was intended to demonstrate the importance of fasting (because this is a month of fasting), to commemorate the dead victims and to underscore the value of life.
“We came here to tell that every life is not alone. We want to convey a message that such tragedy will not happen again – here or anywhere. If we acknowledge the importance of life, then we must not violate on the rights of the other people,” said Mrs Naree.
She further said that she didn’t want the families of those killed to be discouraged and to lose their spirit in the pursuit of criminal litigation against the perpetrators “because we are in a country which is governed by laws so we can ask for justice. “We are entitled to pursue legal proceedings for our children,” she added.
Mr Abdulasiz Taday-in from the Muslim Youth Association of Thailand admitted that many families of the dead victims were discouraged after the court ruled two years ago that 78 victims died of suffocation. However, he said that legal action must be pursued against the wrongdoers.
Mrs Pornpen Kongkachornkiat from the Cross Cultural Foundation warned that unless the Tak Bai incident was resolved in a way that the real truth was exposed and justice delivered, the incident would be used as a pretext of more violence and unrest.
As far as legal proceedings are concerned, the public prosecutors have dropped charges against 59 protesters on November 6, 2006. Out of court settlement has been reached between families of the dead victims and state authorities on seven civil cases during 2005-2006.
On May 29, 2009, the Songkhla provincial court ruled that all the 78 victims died of suffocation and acquitted all the officials responsible for their deaths on the ground that they were simply performing their duties.
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Caption : Merit-making event at Ban Jaroh, Tambon Praiwan of Tak Bai district in Narathiwat province