Thailand commission to investigate Muslim deaths

Facing new violence and harsh criticism, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has promised to set up an independent commission to investigate the deaths in southern Thailand of 85 accused Muslim rioters, including 78 who died in military detention.

In a televised address last night, Thaksin said he regretted the deaths in Narathiwat province on Monday, blaming bad decisions by lower-ranking military officers and a shortage of army trucks to transport 1,300 people who had been arrested for rioting.

His remarks came as violence continued unabated in the south, where two bomb blasts yesterday killed a police officer and wounded 19 other people.

Yesterday’s attacks targeted security forces, as have many this year. No one claimed responsibility for the blasts, and no arrests had been made.

The three Muslim-majority provinces in southern Thailand have been hit by a surge of violence that officials attribute to Islamic separatists. More than 400 people have been killed since January.

In his speech yesterday, Thaksin said the detainees were stacked on top of each other in the overcrowded trucks, face down, for the three-hour trip to a detention camp. He said 78 were crushed to death or had suffocated by the time the trucks arrived.

At least seven others died during the riot, apparently shot by security forces.

The prime minister, who previously insisted his security forces had acted appropriately, said he would appoint an independent commission to probe the incident. He offered brief regrets to the families of the victims.

“I believe that everything should be done in a transparent manner, and the people are entitled to the truth, and the government must not hide anything as it has no hidden agenda,” Thaksin said.

Abdulraman Abdulsamad, chairman of the Islamic Council of Narathiwat, said the compensation wouldn’t solve anything.

“He cannot buy the dead people back,” Abdulraman said. ”The violence will continue.”

Outraged Islamic leaders have warned that the deaths could ignite more sectarian violence.

The separatist group, PULO – the Pattani United Liberation Organisation - issued a harsh attack in a statement posted on its web site yesterday, saying that “Thaksin Shinawatra and his generals” hated the Muslim religion and wished to wipe out native Muslims from the land of their birth.