Published on August 13, 2005

A unique book has been released to commemorate Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday that conveys the sadness and torment she feels about the ongoing violence in the deep South.

“Our Queen: Stories from the Southern Land” focuses on the Queen’s feelings toward incidents in the deep South and real life stories of people affected by the violence.

The book, published by the Education Ministry, is divided into three main chapters – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

Stories told in “Yesterday” recall the deep South as a peaceful land and the history of Thaksin Rajaniwet Palace in Narathiwat, which was built in 1972. It details the Queen’s projects that have helped bring peace and harmony to the lives of those living in troubled areas.

In “Today”, two of the Queen’s close aides tell of her torment and anguish at the violence in the deep South, described in the book as a “crying land” and a “land of fire”.

General Na-phol Boontab, who has accompanied Their Majesties the King and Queen on trips to visit people affected by the violence in the three southernmost provinces, clarified the Queen’s intention when she launched the Village Defence Volunteer Project last year.

He said the Queen had no intention of promoting the use of weapons among villagers so they could kill each other, as some people rumoured.

The Queen often emphasises the fact that the weapons were only meant to help the villagers protect their lives and property, he said.

Thanpuying Jarungjit Theekhara, who has served the Queen for over 30 years, said she had been tormented by the violence in the deep South since the bloodshed began in January last year.

Jarungjit said the Queen extended her annual retreat to the South last year because she was concerned about the plight of the villagers.

“When [violent] incidents took place, [villagers] went to the Queen asking her to protect their lives and families. Normally, the Queen visits the South for one month, but she stayed for two months last year because she couldn’t leave them,” Jarungjit wrote in the book.

While the world community may have learned about the violence in the South from the Tak Bai and Krue Se incidents, Jarungjit said not much news is written when villagers, Buddhists or Muslims, are killed on a daily basis and the killers remain at large.

“They [the killers] have never been captured. They kill and then disappear. If [murders] occurred in other regions today, the murderers would be arrested tomorrow and brought to justice soon after. But in the South, no evidence has been found,” she wrote.

The Queen knows that these troublemakers are not the same as the Muslims she has known for the past 30 years, Jarungjit wrote. The Muslims she has known have not changed, these cowards are part of a minority group that attacks and causes trouble to attract the world’s attention, she said.

The book also features stories about some of the people who have lost their lives in the violence. It includes stories told by members of the victims’ families.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wrote the forward for the book, which was edited by Thawan Martcharas.

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation

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