Border killing probes mired in doubts
Source : Perspective, Bangkok Post(Mar 04)
SCAPEGOATS?: Did God's Army junior guerrillas really kill six Thais in Ban Huay Sud in December last year? Or are the children the police have detained in connection with the case merely being used as defenceless scapegoats?
A long the mountainous terrain of Ratchaburi where the Thai-Burmese border lies, only the Tenasserim (or Tanaosri) range marks the demarcation between Thailand and Burma.
But nothing marks the differences between the Thais and the Karens who live in villages scattered along the border in Suan Phung district. They breathe the same air, their children play the same games, and they share nature's bounty. They have lived in relative peace for a long time, and it seems as if nothing could disturb the serenity.
But along the border opposite Suan Phung are the remnants of God's Army.
Villagers of Baan Huay Sud and Baan Ta Go Lang, a Karen immigrant village about 400 metres from Huay Sud, say that God's Army guerrillas often cross the mountain to buy food and necessities from their villages.
However, they do not believe that the God's Army members who surrendered to Thai authorities in January were the killers of six Thais in December last year.
BEYOND BELIEF
A Karen resident in Ta Go Lang could not believe press reports that the six Thais were killed by a God's Army leader named Rambo. He cannot believe that the God's Army was even involved in the matter.
"Many of us doubt if those who surrendered are the killers," he said. "We know they are not.""They cross the mountain often to buy food and necessities from Thais, there's no reason for them to kill Thais," he added. "Had we known they would kill Thais, we would not have given them food and water."The Karen residents in the village deplored the killings, saying it will attract more violence and fighting. "There's peace now, but how long will it last?"Press reports that God's Army members killed the six Thais elicited hundreds of demands for the relocation of Thamhin Refugee Camp, about 15 kilometres from Baan Huay Sud, which houses thousands of Karens.
After the killing, more Thai soldiers were sent to the area. The soldiers moved over 80 Karens from Pha Pok, Ta Go Lang and Tanaosri villages to refugee camps in Kanchanaburi. The soldiers demolished at least 20 of the Karen's bamboo cottages.
At the same time, the military ordered the Thai villagers of Baan Huay Sud to keep their lips sealed about the incident.
CHILD'S PLAY?
What really happened that night? What did the villagers see? Why the disbelief about the involvement of God's Army members?A villager in Huay Sud said she saw three Karen men, aged between 20 and 30, at about 8 p.m. on the night of the shooting. There were no children with the men.
The men had been there before, usually to buy food at a shop located off the Phapok-Suan Phung-Ratchaburi road. This time, they went to the shop, but it was closed and all food sold out. They then went to another shop which was located in the inner mountainous area, where the killing took place.
The second food shop stands alone in a mountainous area, about 400 metres from the first shop. It is a new bamboo cottage, villagers say, as the owner moved in only two months ago.
"I don't believe the children killed them," said the villager. "How can children do that? There were no children with them that night." "Actually," she said, "the two shops share customers who are mostly Karen.
"Because of its location, the inner shop usually sells food to Karens from across the mountain.
"They might have had some conflicts, but if so, I am confident that it was not the children who killed them," a village housewife insisted.
PIECING THE EVENTS TOGETHER
Meanwhile, many details in press reports remain unclear. Police have yet to prove a) the motive for the killing, b) Rambo's involvement in the killing, and c) that Rambo's death was due to a grenade that allegedly exploded in his hand.
There are many versions of the incident.
According to reports from state officials connected with the investigations, Rambo traded wild products with the shopowner, but after being unable to collect payment twice, he shot at some Thais sitting around a table in front of the shop. The shop owner reportedly saw four God's Army members standing in front of her shop with guns. They did not behave like buyers and they spoke English, which she could not understand. Feeling the situation was unusual, she left through the back door with her child and hid in a brook behind the shop. Le Bi, one of the four accused of the killing, testified that he and his fellows had 500 baht to buy rice. At first, they bypassed the shop where the killing occurred because there were too many people. They went to the outer shop but there was no rice there, so they returned to the first shop where villagers were drinking whisky.
Rambo stayed outside while the rest bought food. "A drunken man then asked where we got the guns from, so Rambo shot at them. We ran and hid in a thick clump of grass. Then we heard a grenade explode. We thought it was the Thai police but it was Rambo," Le Bi was quoted as saying.
DIFFERENT VERSIONS
Interviewed by Perspective, Mr Sophee Sopha who survived the shooting and Mrs Watchareewan Yaphuang, the owner of the shop, gave different versions of the story. But they both said there were two survivors that night-Mr Sophee and Mr Somnuek (last name unknown).
Mrs Watchareewan denied that her shop sold rice and bought wild products from God's Army.
"I've never sold rice or bought wild food from them. My usual customers live nearby," she said.
On the night of the shooting, Watchareewan was in the hut. A group of men appeared and pointed their guns at Sophee and others celebrating New Year in front of the hut.
Sensing something amiss, Watchareewan held her daughter and called to her mother who was in the toilet to leave the hut immediately.
"I took my mom's hand and we ran out through the back door to a hut where my husband was playing cards with other villagers," she said.
Two God's Army members allegedly involved in the shooting were later taken to re-enact the crime. Watchareewan said she recognised only one of them.
Sophee, whose younger sisters were killed in the shooting, told a different story. He said five strangers aged between 15-16 years showed up that night while he and his friends were celebrating New Year. "I think the God's Army members who surrendered were in the same group as those who appeared that night," he said.
"Two of the men pointed their guns at us, while the other three rushed into the shop to pack food into their bags. They said nothing. As they were leaving, they turned back and fired at us," said Sophee, who said he pretended to be dead.
Sophee said the biggest man, believed to be Rambo, pulled out the pin of a grenade and walked away. An explosion was heard moments later. Perspective visited the spot where the grenade allegedly exploded. It is about 30 metres from the hut where the six were shot. A couple living near the spot said the attack was carried out by adults, not children.
Somnuek, the other survivor, also told them that the killers were adult not children.
Sophee's mother told Perspective that she saw at least ten men in military uniform emerge from a small track as she was walking from her house to the shop to take care of her nephew, who was injured in the attack, that night.
YOUNGSTERS IN DETENTION
Suan Phung police have yet to identify the "three boys" who allegedly accompanied Rambo. However, three boys are being detained at Suan Phung Police Station without access to lawyers or the press.
They are charged with murder, illegal possession of war weapons and illegal entry.
Chalida Tajaroensuk, programme coordinator for the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, said attempts by the organisation to provide a lawyer for the three boys were turned down by police and officials.
Thai Criminal Law says that youths under 18 years of age must have a lawyer with them when they testify to police.
"We wonder why the officials did not allow us or the press to meet them," she said. "Everything is done in a clandestine manner."
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
About two weeks after the incident, human rights activists and Forum Asia took a fact-finding trip to the site of the killings. Most do not believe that Rambo shot villagers and died from a grenade exploding in his hand.
Pensak Chagsuchinda, vice chairwoman on the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, said what she found did not fit with the press reports. She did not see anything to support the official reports either.
"From what I saw, the killing was well planned. I do not believe that Rambo shot the villagers or died because a grenade exploded in his hand," she said.
The senator said the killing seemed premeditated. "The bamboo shop had only been open for two months. Its location was questionable. It stands alone in an elevated area, where there is a track leading into the forest.
"I wonder why the shop was located in such a desolate spot. Who are its regular customers?" she asked. "Moreover," she added, "it is surprising that the shopowner has another shop in town but keeps another shop open in that remote area."The fact-finding team was also surprised that villagers confirmed they saw Rambo and could remember him, when the house closest to the shop is some 30 metres away.
"The shooting happened at night," said Wasant Panich, a human rights activist. "How could the villagers see Rambo's face? The store is quite far off and only has a small battery operated neon light."The fact-finding team raised several questions.
- Did Rambo kill the six Thais?- Did he die because of the grenade explosion or did someone try to make it look like he died of the grenade explosion?- Was he dead before the grenade went off?Photos of the incident show a cadaver, claimed to be Rambo's, with the right arm severed and a fist-sized cavity in the chest.
"If he really died when the grenade fell and exploded, his leg should have been severed, not his arm," commented a fact-finding member.
Could he have fallen while the grenade was in his hand? If so, how could the combat-hardened Rambo allow a grenade to explode near him?" he asked.
"Actually, a grenade will not explode even if its safety pin is pulled out as long as the safety lever is not pulled out," explained Mr Wasant.
"Is it possible that he was dead before the explosion?" he asked.
Amporn Wongsaeng, another fact-finding member, said she did not think Rambo was killed by a grenade explosion or was involved in the shooting.
"If they just wanted to loot the shop, they need not have shot at the children and women," she said.
Mr Wasant added that the members of God's Army are not cruel or inhumane, as shown from past incidents, including the siege of Ratchaburi Hospital last year.