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Published on August 7, 2007

Subaidah Doloh, principal of Islam Burapha School in Narathiwat, met provincial governor Karan Supakitwilekhakan, who ordered the school's closure, and the chairman of the National Legislative Assembly's committee on southern affairs, General Panthep Puvanartnurak, to seek a solution to allow the school to reopen.

Authorities closed the school after a raid on July 2 netted seven suspects, including a 16-year-old male student, who might have been involved in violence in the predominantly Muslim region. Karan accused the school of breeding and sheltering militants who were helping the violence.

Subaidah rejected the allegation and told the Education Ministry that her school had nothing to do with violence in the region. Most of the suspects nabbed on the day were not school personnel. The male students unlikely knew anything, she said.

"The authorities might allow us to resume operations on condition that we admit the allegation, withdraw the appeal and terminate all executives," Subaidah said in a phone interview from Narathiwat after the meeting.

"The officials compared the case to the dissolution of Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai party, [saying] that all executives would be banned from running schools for six years," she said.

Subaidah said all executives were considering withdrawing the appeal if the school was allowed to reopen, as hundreds students were waiting to resume classes.

Authorities had allotted alternative schools for Islam Burapha's students and teachers, but only 43 students have taken up the offer.

Governor Karan said the authorities would allow the school executives time to think about the conditions to resume operation.

The authorities had no option but to shut the school as it provided training for militants since 2004, turning out hundreds of insurgents, he said.

Colonel Piraphol Wiriyakul, commander of Third Task Force in Narathiwat, said officials had not made up their allegations. All suspects confessed and gave tip-offs that at least seven schools under the Islam Burapha network were also breeding militants, he said.

Supalak G Khundee

The Nation