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Published on April 29, 2008

The Nation

Insurgent leader Masae Useng has vowed violent reprisals in the region in commemoration of the April 28 uprising in 2004, according to Fourth Army Region spokesman Acra Thiproch. A miltary raid on that day killed 106 Muslims, including 32 in the ancient Kru Se Mosque.

The military warned local residents to beware of possible violence and to cooperate with the authorities, Acra said. Residents were urged to inform officials about any suspicious movements, he added.

Waduramae Mamingji, chairman of the Pattana Provincial Islamic Committee, urged the media not to give wide coverage to the event as nobody wanted to be reminded of the tragedy.

"The bloody incident, notably at Kru Se Mosque, is a deep wound in our community. Nobody wants to remember it, especially those who lost family members," he said.

Human-rights advocates in Bangkok have urged the authorities to bring justice to all victims of the April 28 incident as they were killed by government officials.

The Justice for Peace group headed by Angkana Neelapaijit, the wife of missing Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, accused officials of using excessive force in handling the situation. Some Muslims in Songkhla's Sabayoi district were intentionally shot in the head, she said in a statement.

A committee set up by the then government under Thaksin Shinawatra to investigate the case concluded that the military had used excessive force and named several senior officials as responsible.

However, justice has been  slow as the Attorney-General has not yet brought the case to the court, Angkana said.