A
total of 87 people died after troops broke up a protest at Tak Bai in
the southern province of Narathiwat with tear gas, water cannon and
gunfire.
The
majority of victims suffocated or were crushed after being bound and
left for hours on trucks.
Failed
Policy
Since
the tragedy, Thaksin has continued to take a hard line in dealing with
separatist Muslim groups calling for an independent Muslim south,
further reinforcing the harsh image of Thai security forces, accused
of applying excessive means in curbing protests.
Thai
authorities have been accused of heavy-handed tactics to quell
violence in the deprived south, including unwarranted detentions and
excessive interrogations.
In
their letter, the academics said the government had failed in its
tough policy of suppression.
"We
totally disagree with the policy of using force to solve the problem
and we call for the government to change its policies," they
said.
"We
also agree the prime minister should consider his mistakes and express
his responsibility."
Thaksin
has said the deaths should not have happened but stopped short of a
full apology.
Replying
to the academics' letter, Thaksin said he was prepared to meet them to
discuss their concerns.
"I
am ready to do anything if it helps to stop the problem. I could
apologize if it will help, I can walk to every single house if it
helps," he told reporters Monday.
"The
government has to do many things to heal people's feelings after the
incident."
Hitting
Back
 |
|
Thai authorities are accused of using heavy-handed tactics to control the deprived south
|
His
Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula , meanwhile, hit back at his
critics.
He
said Thaksin's expression of "regret" had, in fact, more
resonance than just saying "sorry", according to the Thai
news agency TNA.
Speaking
in response to the academics' call, the minister claimed the issue was
purely one of semantics.
"Everything
that has been said is greater than an apology. What does a single word
signify? I've been there to Tak Bai, and have told the people that if
there were any mistakes made, we apologize and regret them. These are
normal words. But what is important is actions. Words with no
actions…have no benefit", he said.
Bhalakula
further denied charges of using force to make arrests in the southern
border region without first collecting sufficient evidence.
He
questioned the fact that the academics were heaping blame on Thaksin,
rather than the armed forces, alleging the criticism was politically
motivated.
Thailand
's 5 million Muslims, about four percent of the population of
predominantly Buddhist Thailand, resent the country's refusal to
recognize their language, culture and Malay ethnicity.
Most
Thai Muslims live in the five southern provinces bordering Malaysia.
Pattani,
Yala and Narathiwat are the only Muslim majority provinces in the
majority-Buddhist kingdom.
Muslims
in these provinces have long complained
of discrimination in jobs and education and business
opportunities.
The
South was a rich Malay kingdom until it was overrun by the Buddhist
kingdom of Siam in the late 16th century when it declared its full
independence from its earlier status of semi-independence under the
rule of the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya.
In
1909, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Siam as part of a treaty
negotiated with the British Empire.
Both
Yala and Narathiwat were originally part of Pattani, but were split
off and became provinces of their own.
Former
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged Thailand to consider autonomy
for its Muslim south, and called on separatist groups to drop their
goal of independence.
