Scapegoat: The Innocence’s Nightmare

Nine suspected men arrested in Muang Yala district of Lidon and Yala sub-district after the Yala city blast on Sunday 13, February, 2011 caused 18 injured and 12 commercial houses burnt to the ground, counted by security officials as the heaviest  and worst casualties of its kind in a single bomb attack ever. The nine suspects were brought to the head quarter of Yala special force No. 11 on the emergency decree enforcement  law,  the security officers say “for security questionings and some times later will release if found no guilty”. The  suspects including 2 religious teachers and a numbers of students in the Islamic private school situated in Lidon district and Lammai district, the name of the suspects are not disclose by the authority on an unknown reasons.

Religious teachers or Ustaz and the students in an Islamic private school become preliminary target of the security authority to suspect and  held for the investigation under the decree of emergency law. Almost every times after the bombings or the shootings happen, the suspects (scapegoat) will be escorted to the army camps(Inkayutthaboriharn army camp,  Patani province) or police camps (police special force head quarter)  for investigation.
Inkayuthaborihan Army Camp(Telaga bakong Army Camp)
The Inkayuthaborihan Army Camp or Telaga bakong army Camp in Malay language or Boathong Army camp in Thai words was re-named by King Rama IX or the present King Bhumiphol in 1968  in the memorial of Colonel Khun Inkayuthaborihan heroic fought against the Japanese invasion landing in Patani Province in 1941, located in Boathong sub-district, Muang district, Patani province, Inkayuthaborihan army camp is under the supervision of Pattani Military district, it was established to promote the police regiment in 4 southern border provinces to defense and fight the communist party of Malaya at first and later to defense and fight the communist party of Thailand and the separatist movement in the south.

Inkayuthaborihan army camp was well known of its fame as the concentration activities more than military defense activities, a lot of communist insurgents alleged in the 1970s and the 1980s were burnt alive in the “red barrel” if suspected and found any connection with communist party of Thailand, for the Muslim Malay of Patani also faced the same destiny if suspected and found any connection with the separatist movement. Now the Inkayuthaborihan army camp had once again played a very important role for the investigation of the suspected members of the separatist movement after the new round of insurgency launched in 2004, it was established as the center of investigation regarding the security cases under the emergency decree and army martial law. Many Muslim Malays of Patani who were arrested and investigated in the Inkayuthaborihan army camp had told that difference kinds of torture technique had been used to make the suspects suffice and surrender to the authority, many of the detainees told that after the release, their health become deteriorated, unhealthy and  weak  and some detainees were died not long after the release from the camp which  become  a rumor and  believe to be poisoned by the army camp during the time of investigation. The Inkayuthaborihan army camp had staunchly denied all the allegations of torturing the suspects by difference tools and techniques from past to present and ready to allow the human right organizations to check, supervise, meet, talk and examine  the camp if the complain were made. The Sulaiman Naesa suicide during the investigation in the camp in September 2010 was the latest toture case which strongly  critic to the working of the camp by the human right activists both in  and out side country  about the “torture to death” made to  the suspect. The army denied all the criticism and appointed the free committee(Outsiders) to further investigate the case, still now, yet not concluded.

Emergency Decree

Emergency  decree or the Executive Decree on Public Administration  in Emergency Situations took effect on 19 July 2005 in the province of Narathiwat, Patani, Yala and part of Songkhla was renewed for three months on 19 October 2005 had  become the target of criticism from human right activists and human right organizations, it become the invincible tools for the security authority to deal with the suspects and become the best guardian of the misbehave and inhuman security officials. The head of the  government-appointed National Reconciliation Commission in 2005 said that the decree gives security forces a "licence to kill".

“One particular problem that has emerged is blacklisting, where police and soldiers go to villages with lists of suspects, often based on  weak intelligence and weaker evidence. Those on the lists are told to surrender or face arrest or worse. While the government denies such lists are being used, village headmen confirm the practice”, report of  the international crisis group on November 18, 2005

The paramount power of the security officials licensed  by the law of emergency decree had created the problem of panic, fear, mistrusted and nightmare among the Muslims Malay, manifested  by the flight to Malaysia of 131 villagers  of Sungai Padi, Narathiwat province in 2005, inherit  the fled tradition of Muslim Malay of Patani people from Jarum, village, Betong district, Yala province to Kroh Malaysia in the 1980s, the fled after the Dusungnya crisis in 1948, many more flights because of the reason above is known and familiars with the local Muslim Malay of Patani for more than centuries beside, the individual flight are common practice of the Muslim Malay of Patani  when they were oppressed, suspected and feel unsafe from the Thai security officials, even in this day.

Emergency Decree and No Emergency Decree

The story of injustice, abusing, disappearance, extra-judicial killing and violation of human right, are  not new in the Patani conflict, but embed in the this society since the Kingdom of Patani  was in-cooperated  in to the Siamese state in 1902 when the last of Patani Sultan Tengku Abd. Kadir Kamaruddeen was  ordered to be arrest  by Siamese king Rama V and imprisoned  in one of the Pitsanulok temple well after the petition were made to the British high commissioner in Singapore  regarding the grievances of his people. The attack of Blukasamok and Dusungnyaa  people in 1948, Tuan Guru Haji Sulong Bin Abd.Kadir, the prominent Islamic Scholar and Muslim Malay leader, who started the movement for  Muslim Malay of Patani to self determination during  the second world war  by presenting the seven points demand, he  was mysteriously disappeared with his eldest son, Mohammad from the region in  1954, the killing of Narathiwat Muslim MP in ……,the killing of the innocents people at “Kotoa bridge” in Saiburi district, Patani province in 1975, the disappearance of the key Muslim demonstration leaders after the great  demonstration at  Patani mosque in 1975,  the arrest of To’deng head men on May 25, 2004, the shooting of former senator in Tanyongmas district on  August 2006, the suicide of Sulaiman Nasae in the Inkayuthaborihan army camp in 2010, the disappearance after an investigation of the 2 Muslim Malay of Patani conscript soldiers who survive after the raid and attack of the Maruebotok, Rangae district  38 army camp on January 19, 2010 by the insurgents etc. All these cases are marked as  the intended violation of  the basic human right,   basic human dignity  and  basic human to self politicized whether  in the time of imposition of emergency decree or not.