US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK6104

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 006104 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, S/CT, INR 
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, TH, Southern Thailand 
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: TWO SOLDIERS KILLED AFTER BEING 
HELD BY VILLAGERS 
 
REF: BANGKOK 5706 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Susan M. Sutton. Reason 1.4(d) 
 
1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  On September 21, A Thai Navy officer and 
Marine were beaten and stabbed to death in Narathiwat 
province after being held overnight by Muslim villagers.  The 
soldiers, in plain clothes, had been sent to the village the 
previous evening to investigate a recent shooting incident. 
Villagers seized the pair and held them at a local mosque 
before they were killed.  Thai security forces were able to 
recover the bodies without incident.  The murders are another 
disturbing development in the ongoing violence and highlight 
the climate of fear that permeates the region.  Further 
violence is expected as a consequence of the incident.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
2.  (C)  The following information is derived from a mixture 
of government, local, and news sources.  It gives the story 
as we have it so far, but many details are still not clear: 
On September 20, at approximately 2000, there was a drive by 
shooting at a local tea shop in the Ra Ngae district of 
Narathiwat province. (NOTE: Press reports indicate that one 
person was killed, and four injured.  However, a local 
contact told Emboffs that three people were killed and four 
injured in the incident. END NOTE) Following the shooting, a 
Thai Navy ensign and Marine sergeant in plain clothes, were 
sent to investigate the shooting.  Villagers -- apparently 
seeing weapons in their vehicle and suspicious they might 
have been involved in the shooting -- seized the pair and 
moved them to a local mosque where they were held overnight. 
 
3.  (SBU)  After they were moved to the mosque several 
hundred to several thousand villagers surrounded the mosque 
to prevent Thai security forces from freeing the soldiers 
(NOTE: A local source told Emboffs that there were 
approximately 200 villagers directly in front of the mosque 
and 1-2,000 in the surrounding area. END NOTE) Sometime 
during the afternoon on September 21 the sailor and marine 
were beaten and stabbed to death, despite government efforts 
to negotiate for their release.  Following the murders, the 
villagers dispersed, allowing the military to recover the 
bodies. 
 
4.  (C)  Post has been in touch with contacts in the security 
forces to express concern and urge a careful response.  The 
Supreme Command assured us that they were aware of the need 
to handle this in a responsible manner. 
 
5.  (C)  COMMENT: The apparent mob murders of the Thai sailor 
and marine is another disturbing incident in the long running 
conflict in Thailand's far south and has the potential to 
further inflame the situation.  The incident highlights the 
climate of fear and suspicion that exist in the South, 
particularly in rural areas, created by daily incidents of 
violence that mostly go unexplained and unclaimed.  We do not 
yet know who killed the soldiers, but it is clear that within 
this tense atmosphere the villagers could have easily been 
manipulated (or mobilized) to commit violence by those 
seeking to create instability in the South (reftel).  Thai 
security forces have not as yet responded to the incident, 
but the circumstances of the murders are particularly galling 
and could provoke reprisals, feeding the ongoing cycle of 
violence in the region. END COMMENT 
ARVIZU