Narathiwat court seeks to arrest Pheu Thai MP over Tak Bai massacre

The Narathiwat Court has called on the House of Representatives to revoke the legal immunity of a Pheu Thai MP, so he can be arrested and tried over the Tak Bai massacre.

The court sent the request to House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha along with a summons for General Phisal Wattanawongkhiri, former 4th Army Area commander, to appear in court.

The court called on the House speaker to consider lifting the immunity granted to Phisal as MP, so he can be arrested and tried in Narathiwat Court.

Phisal was named the first defendant in a case filed by the families of 48 people who were killed and injured in the crackdown on a protest outside the Tak Bai Police Station in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district on October 25, 2004.

The families filed a lawsuit on August 23 against seven defendants, including Army and police officials, the former Narathiwat governor and the former chief of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPA).

The court accepted the lawsuit for trial and issued a summonses to the seven defendants to appear in court on Thursday to enter their plea against the charges of murder, attempted murder and unlawful detention that caused deaths and injuries. 

However, none of the defendants appeared in court on Thursday, prompting the judiciary to seek an arrest of Phisal and six other defendants, namely:  

• General Chalermchai Wiroonphet, former commander of the Fifth Infantry Division
• Pol General Wongkot Maneerin, former director of the Forward Command of the Royal Thai Police
• Pol Lt-General Manote Kraiwong, former commander of Provincial Police Bureau 9
• Pol Maj-General Saksommai Phutthakul, former chief of Tak Bai Police Station
• Siwa Saengmanee, former SBPAC chief
• Wichom Thongsom, former Narathiwat governor.

On Wednesday, People Party MP Rommadon Panjor urged the House to lift Phisal’s immunity, so he can be charged in court before the statute of limitations of the case expires on October 25.

To this Wan Noor said he had not received a court request, and noted that in his 40 years as a lawmaker, he has never seen the House ever approving the lifting of an MP’s immunity during a parliamentary session.

Pheu Thai MP Adisorn Piengket also told the House that his party was against the lifting of Phibul’s immunity.

The Tak Bai incident on October 25, 2004, was a tragic escalation of tensions in the region, which has been plagued by decades of insurgency primarily involving Malay Muslims seeking greater autonomy.

It started as a peaceful protest by some 1,500 unarmed Malay-Muslim protesters, who had gathered outside the Tak Bai Police Station to demand the release of six men who were being detained over suspicion of being involved in the insurgency.

The police then tried to disperse the crowd using teargas and water cannons, but the protesters responded by throwing rocks and bottles.
The situation deteriorated, leading to the use of lethal force by security forces. Seven protesters were killed on the spot, and more than 1,200 were arrested.

The detainees were forced to strip to the waist and lie on their stomachs on the floor of Army trucks. Many of them suffocated to death during the long journey to a military camp in Pattani province, resulting in a death toll of 85.

The Tak Bai massacre has had a profound impact on the region and the wider Thai society, fuelling anger and resentment among the Malay-Muslim population and further exacerbating the insurgency.