The decapitated body of Boonjan Saiphet, 59, was found in a fruit orchard in Yala’s Yaha district early yesterday, while his head was placed in a box on the roadside apparently to attract the attention of pas-sers by, Police Major Suthas Nookhong said.

Boonjan’s severed head was accompanied by a note that said, “We want to get Pattani State back. You arrest innocents, we’ll kill innocents.”

The torso of the Si Sa Ket native had several machete cuts.

Yesterday’s incidents followed the shooting death on Sunday of three people, including a former village head and a civil servant, in the South, where more than 600 people have been killed in terror acts since January 2004.

In Narathiwat province, a bomb exploded in a public park injuring three policemen and two bystanders, one seriously. The bomb had been hidden in a motorcycle and concealed in the bushes of Sirindhorn Public Park. It was detonated by remote control with a mobile phone.

Witnesses told police that two teenagers, one holding a mobile phone, had been sitting on a motorcycle and staring at the bush where the bomb-laden motorcycle was parked. Ordnance experts said the bomb had been made of power gel explosives. Police said the motorcycle had been reported stolen in Songkhla province in 2001.

Narathiwat Governor Pracha Tayrat criticised officials for allowing a motorbike to be parked illegally in a public park despite the ready availability of designated parking spaces outside. Pracha was even more furious upon discovering that the security camera monitoring the park had been turned off as part of the government’s energy conservation efforts.

“What’s the use of having the cameras in the first place?” Pracha asked.
Army Commander General Prawit Wongsuwan condemned the bombing.

The use of motorcycles to conceal explosives to be set off by mobile phone has made it very difficult for security officials to track down terrorists, he said.

Also in Yala province, two bomb attacks in Yaha district destroyed two power poles and plunged an entire tambon in darkness for an hour.

Armed insurgents staged several ambushes on security outposts in the same district on Sunday night, but fled after officers returned fire and gave chase. Several trees were felled and laid across roads and spikes were scattered around to slow down the authorities. No casualties were reported.
Insurgents have also continued spray-painting pro-autonomy graffiti on road signs. Six local schools were closed because of security concerns until further notice.

The latest violence has coincided with the visit of six officials from the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to the region. They were touring the area to get a first-hand account of the alleged abuse by government officials against the local Muslim population.

OIC foreign ministers are scheduled to meet later this month in Yemen. Thailand, in its capacity as the organisation’s official observer, will dispatch Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon to defend Thailand’s treatment of the Muslim minority.