Published on January 18, 2006

The Cabinet yesterday set up a commission to monitor the justice system in the three southernmost provinces, following widespread complaints from Muslims in the region that their civil rights have been trampled on.

The commission will advise Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cabinet on the state of law enforcement and the justice system in the region, where more than 1,100 people have been killed over the past two years.

Local Muslims have accused authorities of failing to ensure justice. Several people have disappeared and police are dragging their feet in investigating violent incidents, they say.

Prominent lawyer and former senate president Professor Ukrit Mongkolnawin will lead the Independent Commission on Justice and Civil Liberties for the Southern Border Provinces. Deputy Prime Ministers Chidchai Vanasatidya and Wissanu Kreu-ngam will be his deputies.

The government also yesterday extended its contentious emergency decree in the three southernmost provinces for another three months.

Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya said that although the situation had improved in the region local officials had insisted that the decree – which gives sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies – was vital for restoring peace.

The Cabinet approved the decree last July, saying it was necessary to cope with the violence that has rocked the region over the past two years. The three-month decree was extended in October.

The decree, which includes several disturbing provisions, sparked an outcry. It allows suspects to be detained for up to 30 days without being charged and gives police the power to search and arrest without warrants as well as tap phones.

Despite these extra powers, police and the military have been unable to contain the violence in the region.

Another person was killed yesterday. Pathayadej Sae-wea was shot dead in Yala’s Betong district while tapping rubber yesterday morning, police said.

They said the killer used a home-made gun to shoot the 28-year-old villager through the heart.

Police suspect the murder resulted from a personal conflict, but they did not rule out the possibility that the man was another victim of the insurgency. In another incident, more than 50 police and soldiers yesterday arrested a suspect in the killing of a merchant last year.

Police said that they had enough evidence to prove that Sulkibplee Sarehbasor, 36, was involved in the murder of Nui Kaewsam-ang, 60, on October 20 last year.

Sulkibplee was arrested in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district. He was charged with murder with intent and possession of an illegal weapon, police said. Sulkibplee would be transferred to the military for interrogation, they added.

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