Forces on alert for Tak Bai anniversary
Authorities in the South have been instructed to be on full alert for possible violence as the eighth anniversary of the Tak Bai massacre approaches, Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa said yesterday.
Security would be tightened in the run-up to October 25, he said.
It was on that day in 2004 when hundreds of protesters were arrested as they demonstrated against the arrest of six local men in Tak Bai, Narathiwat. The detainees were stripped of their shirts, handcuffed and forced to lie face down on the ground.
They were then thrown into trucks to be taken to an army camp in nearby Pattani province. At least 85 of them were found to have suffocated during the journey.
General Yuthasak said that the insurgents are distorting facts about the situation in the South through a website registered in Malaysia.
Their purpose is to create misunderstanding among southern people, he said, adding that the Foreign Ministry and National Intelligence Bureau are working closely to solve the problem.
The deputy premier said the National Security Council has almost concluded a revised structure for the Southern Resolution Operations Centre to be submitted to the prime minister for final approval.
Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said units responsible for security in the South are reorganising their personnel in order to more closely coordinate with the police and civilians in maintaining peace. Police forces will be increased as military units cannot be stationed there indefinitely, he said.
