Posted on 05/29/2004 9:11:32 PM PDT by JimSEA
Suspected separatists beheaded an elderly villager in Narathiwat early yesterday, in an act security authorities believed was aimed at stirring up religious conflict between Buddhists and Muslims.
The head of the victim, identified as Sieng Pludkaew, was found by villagers on a dirt road behind the health office in tambon Todeng of Sungai Padi district of this southern border province. The body lay in a rubber plantation nearby, with a letter threatening to kill more ``innocent Buddhists''.
Sieng, 63, worked in a rubber plantation and his wife said he normally left home to tap rubber trees around 3am and had no conflicts with other villagers.
Police believe he was killed in the early hours of Saturday.
Pol Maj-Gen Manoj Kraiwong, acting chief of the Police in Region 9, denounced the killing as a cruel act.
Last night in neighbouring Yala, Pol Snr Sgt-Maj Channarong Saengtraichuk of Bannang Sata district police station was shot on his motorcycle while travelling to pick up his daughter from a wood-processing factory in the district. He died at the district hospital.
The killings come amid continuing violence in Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla and Yala, as officials prepare to hold talks with Bersatu leader Wan Kadir bin Che Man in the hope of improving security in the deep South.
Mr Wan Kadir has insisted his organisation was not behind the raid and firearms theft on an army camp in Narathiwat on Jan 4 and separate attacks on police and army outposts in Pattani, Songkhla and Yala highlighted by the storming of Krue Se Mosque by the army on April 28.
A security source said the Bersatu chief could return to Thailand after 14 years of self-exile as early as next month if Thai security officers guaranteed his safety and status at the talks this week.
The source said the timeframe for his return would be covered in the talks.
Mr Wan Kadir will choose the return route, with authorities waiting to ensure his safety at the Thai-Malaysian border, the source said.
Mr Wan Kadir, a native of Pattani's Sai Buri district, lives in the Malaysian state of Kelantan bordering Narathiwat with his wife and three sons.
Army chief Chaisit Shinawatra will lead the Thai team in the talks with Mr Wan Kadir. His delegation includes Gen Pisarn Wattanawongkeeree, the army's fourth region commander responsible for the South, and other senior army officers.
Gen Chaisit will leave Bangkok on Wednesday for Malaysia and Singapore to meet the army chiefs of those countries. He will arrive in the island state on Saturday. The talks with the Bersatu leader would be held during Gen Chaisit's stay in Singapore. Contacts between officials and Mr Wan Kadir will be arranged days earlier to prepare for his talks with Gen Chaisit in Singapore.
Too bad they just won't get it.
Obviously, the Thai Islam-o-crats cut of this Buddhist's head to protest Israeli oppression of Palestinians....
We're one terrorist attack away from "internment camps" - and I, for one, will welcome that awakening.
*** The body lay in a rubber plantation nearby, with a letter threatening to kill more ``innocent Buddhists''.***
Isn't it interesing that it is the moslems that instigate and begin the violence!
I used to think that too. But now I say the word "death" is a little to general.
Islam is a MURDER CULT!
Murders for their bloodthirsty god allah.
Buddhists there should stop being so "innocent" and start learning to fight again.
Good point, but I'd add that it's "their IMAGINARY bloodthirsty god Allah".
A good number are getting quite upset but not enough numbers yet. This is the last straw for a number of folks I know but they are not the "influential" people who make policy and, incidently make lots of money from tourists. Note-Tourism is down some 25% in Puket and as far north as Pattaya.
"Note-Tourism is down some 25% in Puket and as far north as Pattaya."
...bad for their economy, for now, but good for their people, perhaps, given the philosophy that many tourists bring?
The beginning...I am very afraid for the children of 20 years from now. We have to make sure that they are well prepared.
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