Govt denies one of 131 Thais returned by M’sia

Published on December 02, 2005 - Malaysian media reports Foreign Minister Syed as saying man repatriated after Bangkok claimed to have arrest warrant One of 131 Muslims who fled to Malay-sia in August has been repatriated to Thailand, Malaysian media reported officials as saying, but Bangkok has denied the report.

The fate of the remaining 130 people remained unclear, with Thai officials sayiing they could not confirm Malaysia’s reports of their imminent return.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the Thai Muslim was deported after Thai officials claimed they had an arrest warrant for the man in connection with the violence in the deep South.

“They have information that the individual is involved with militants but they gave an assurance that they would follow legal procedures when dealing with the case,” Syed was quoted as saying by the state-run Bernama news agency.

The Thai Foreign Ministry denies the report, saying that none of the Muslims has been repatriated.

A military source said the man in question, Amsoh Sa-u, was a former village head who is suspected of being involved in a raid on a military camp in Narathiwat’s Joh I Rong district on January 4 last year when militants killed four soldiers and stole more than 300 war weapons.

The group of 131 Muslims from Narathiwat sought refuge in Malaysia due to fears for their safety. Attempts by Thai authorities to get them back have strained relations between the neighbouring countries as Kuala Lumpur’s stipulation that Bangkok must ensure the safety of the group on their return to the country was seen as an insult by Thailand.

Malaysian newspaper the New Straits Times reported yesterday that the Muslims who are now being held at the Immigration Department’s detention camp in Ajil, Terengganu state would be repatriated following a by-election in the northern state of Kelantan on December 6.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Malaysian counterpart reached the deal when they met on the sidelines of the Apec summit in South Korea recently, the paper said.

There were further positive developments made during the visit by Malaysian former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to Bangkok and his meeting with Thaksin and former premier Anand Panyarachun last month, it said. Thaksin told reporters briefly yesterday that he has yet to receive any the reports about the imminent return of the group.

Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the only information he had received about the deportation was from the Malaysian media’s websites, and there had been no official confirmation from Kuala Lumpur.

The Foreign Ministry said there had been no confirmed reports of any of the group’s return so far.

A ministry source said the deal to get the Muslims back to Thailand was proceeding at a snail’s pace due to problems concerning identifying the nationalities of the 131 people.

The group has refused to give its full cooperation to Thai authorities after officials released information to the media that claimed at least 64 of the group are militants who are partly responsible for the violence in the deep South.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

---------------------------------

Authorities parade 46 insurgent ‘spies’

Narathiwat Governor Pracha Therat yesterday paraded 46 villagers accused by authorities of having acted as spies for suspected Muslim insurgents.

Officials said the villagers had participated in clandestine meeting with militants and spied on officials’ movements for them.

No interviews of the villagers were allowed.

Of the 46, 11 are from Bacho district, 11 from Sungai Padi, 12 from Sungai Kolok, five from Rusoh, three from Tak Bai, two from Sri Sakhon, and two from the sub-district of Joh I Rong.

After being paraded in front of media representatives, the suspects were returned to the Fourth Army Forward Command in Pattani for further questioning.

Afterwards, the men will need to undergo a weeklong “re-education” course, including counselling and mandatory singing of the national anthem.

Meanwhile, eight men dressed in black last night raided the home of village security volunteer Abdulromae Hama, 35, in Pattani’s Mae Lan district.

The insurgents, armed with military assault rifles, arrived when Abdulromae was away from home.

They threatened his wife and made her show them where her husband kept his weapon.

The group fled after stealing the gun.

The Nation
Narathiwat