Southern bombing, child killing get global condemnation

The bomb attack that killed three people, including a father and his five-year-old daughter in Narathiwat's Tak Bai district has drawn domestic and international outrage.

Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning

Bombing, child's death spark global outrage

Achara Ashayagachat 
Wassana Nanuam  

Masan Wohbah, 6. Motherless, now an orphan

The bomb attack that killed three people, including a father and his five-year-old daughter in Narathiwat's Tak Bai district has drawn domestic and international condemnation as security agencies say insurgents are turning to "weak targets" such as schools, hotels and hospitals.

The bomb, hidden in a motorcycle, exploded on Tuesday morning when Mayeng Wohbah parked his motorcycle to drop off his five-year-old daughter Mitra at Ban Taba School in tambon Che He of Tak Bai district.

They were killed at the scene while Talmeesee Madao, 22, a street vendor who suffered serious injuries, was pronounced dead at Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Hospital.

And Tuesday's motorcycle bomb not only took the lives of Mayeng and Mitra. It left six-year-old Masan, Mitra's brother, an orphan. The already desperately poor schoolboy faces hardship no child should have to endure.

Four police officers and five other civilians were also injured in the blast. Six others, including a young boy, were taken to Tak Bai Hospital.

The Office of the Chularatchamontri, Thailand's most senior Muslim leader, issued a statement Wednesday condemning the bombing as inhumane, saying such a cruel act was against the religious teachings of Islam.

The office has urged the public to unite and oppose violence against innocent civilians, and for the state to take remedial measures to help the families of the victims and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The office also called for stepped up security in public areas.

More than 500 Islamic religious leaders, local officials, teachers, schoolchildren and local residents attended prayers held Wednesday at Ban Taba School in memory of those killed in the blast.

After the prayers, they paraded through the community and called on local residents to join in condemning the attack.

Tak Bai students joined a mosque-led demonstration on Wednesday condemning the bombing and demanding an end to violence. Protests against Tuesday's deadly bomb by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) supporters or their separatist allies now have spread worldwide.

Meanwhile New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a statement suggesting that "to help protect children in Thailand's armed conflict, the UN secretary-general should immediately put the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN)-Coordinate on the list of abusers".

This year's United Nations secretary-general's report on children caught up in armed conflict noted the unlawful attacks in the southernmost provinces, but did not specifically list the BRN-Coordinate as an abuser.

"Once a party to an armed conflict is placed on this list, it triggers an increased response from the UN – including intensified engagement by UN agencies in the affected country and potential Security Council sanctions," said the HRW statement.

A BRN-sympathetic activist from Narathiwat province who asked not to be named said the negative impacts of the BRN's change in attack targets have already been discussed periodically within the clandestine movement.

"After all, it's not the first time that soft targets, such as children, have been the victims. The BRN must also learn to adjust to be more politically appealing to the people," said the former Muslim student leader.

However, he noted that local residents, though not happy with the civilian deaths, would eventually blame the heavy military presence in the region.

สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/1081125/southern-bombing-child-killing-get-global-condemnation