PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha is set to raise the issue of peace talks in the deep South with his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak, who will be in Bangkok on Friday, after a bomb attack killed a father and daughter and one other in Narathiwat yesterday.

A Muslim man and his five-year-old daughter were killed when a motorcycle bomb exploded outside a shop opposite the child’s school in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district yesterday morning. Four policemen who were directing traffic and several civilians were also wounded in the blast opposite Ban Taba School in Tambon Jeh He at 8.25am.

Mayeng Wohba, 36, and his daughter Mitra, who were riding a motorbike to school, were killed at the scene, while bystander Talmisi Mada-oh, 23, died later.

Investigators found that insurgents had detonated the bomb while policemen were directing traffic in front of the school.

Police said the motorcycle used in the attack was stolen from Ek Sunsakul and his wife Benjawan who were shot dead on June 19 in Tambon Bang Khun Thong of Tak Bai. A 20-kilogram cooking gas cylinder embedded in the motorcycle frame was |detonated by a communication radio.

Narathiwat 31 Special Task Force chief Kritsana Yuangsa-ard said the authorities believe the militant group led by Romlee Jehyee was behind the attack.

The blast targeting schoolchildren has been condemned by Thai authorities and civic groups. “It is of the utmost importance that children do not become victims of violent acts carried out by armed groups,” Allison Zelkowitz, country director of Save the Children, said.

The Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) deputy chief Boonrak Yodphetch said Obec would provide about Bt700,000 in compensation to the student’s family.

The office, in coordination with the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, has set up a system to provide security to teachers and students in the deep South during school term, he said. Obec has also installed security cameras, he added.

Separately, Army chief General Teerachai Nakwanich said yesterday he plans to go to the deep South on Friday to urge security officers to not be negligent, as it may lead to attacks like the one near Ban Taba School.

Ongoing peace talks

Recent attacks might be partially linked to the ongoing peace dialogue with Mara Patani, an umbrella organisation of insurgent groups, he said.

A Thai government delegation met Mara Patani in Kuala Lumpur last week to seek ways to kickstart peace talks. They said the two sides had agreed on the terms of reference, though many observers doubt whether the dialogue can go ahead as the government does not recognise Mara.

On Friday, Prayut and Najib are expected to announce that Kuala Lumpur cooperate in restoring peace in the deep South and will continue playing “facilitator” for the peace talks process.

The continued role was announced in a joint press statement after the Thai Cabinet approved it yesterday.

The two premiers will also discuss the exchange of intelligence in a move to cope with transnational terrorism and extremism, as well as transnational crime, cyber security, human trafficking, boundary management and maritime management with a focus on piracy issues.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said intelligence warnings about the Ban Taba incident and Saturday’s train-track bombing in the Khok Pho district, which killed one and injured three others, had been issued at the last moment. This prevented authorities from stopping the incidents.

In line with additional security measures ordered by the Fourth Army Region chief, police officers were spotted yesterday screening bags and travellers at Songkhla’s Hat Yai Train Station. This was being done in preparation for the resumption of train services to the deep South, expected on September 10 ahead of the Hari Raya Festival on September 12.

Prawit, who is also defence minister, said the government had special equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles and all armed forces were ready for operations in the insurgency-wracked area.

Prawit has instructed the Army and railway police to tighten security measures for train services connecting Hat Yai in Songkhla to the southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.

The move followed Saturday’s train-track bomb blast at Pattani’s Khok Pho district.

The explosion derailed a train heading from Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat to Hat Yai, killing one railway official and injuring three others.

The attack resulted in the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) suspending train services to the three southernmost provinces.

Prawit said the Army, police and SRT would cooperate more to better secure train services between Hat Yai and the deep South.

He also said Army chief General Teerachai Nakwanich, who is also deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command, would coordinate with related agencies to better guard services.

‘Only partial withdrawal’

He added that the Pattani bomb might have been planted a long time ago.

Prawit said the withdrawal of troops in the deep South would only be partial and the Army chief would ensure there were sufficient troops on the ground in every area, especially paramilitary rangers who had been recruited in great numbers.

He added that a plan to set up a command cabinet to tackle the unrest in the deep South was still under consideration.

The atmosphere at Hat Yai Train Station was relatively quiet yesterday with about 50 per cent fewer travellers as train services to the deep South remained suspended. Passengers who had made advance bookings were sent to their destinations in buses and vans.

The line hit by the bomb blast is expected to be reopened in 10 days with normal services expected to be resumed in time for Hari Raya on Monday, said Hat Yai railway inspector Saman Raksawong.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday condemned the attack, saying the train was a public space that should be safe.

The NHRC urged authorities to punish wrongdoers swiftly and provide aid to those affected by the blast.

It also expressed its condolences to the deceased worker’s family and families of those injured, labelling the attack a breach of international humanitarian principles and an act that aimed to create fear among the public and harm peace efforts.

The NHRC urged state officials and local residents to watch out for possible violence.

WHILE a peace process for the mainly Muslim far South is still mired in doubt, people in the deep South continue to endure regular violent attacks. Trains operating in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have been suspended for 10 days after another bomb blast on the railway line on Saturday.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) yesterday ordered temporary suspension of train services to the three southernmost provinces in the deep South after a bomb exploded on the train track in Pattani’s Khok Pho district.

Manop Muenpreecha, chief of Tanyongmas train station in Narathiwat’s, said his station alone would lose revenue of at least Bt30,000 a day due to the suspension of rail services. The loss of revenue for the entire region was not revealed.

Travelling by train is a regular mode of transport for residents here, he said, but parents would now have to rent a car to take their children to school.

Yala train station, which usually serves around 3,000 passengers a day, wore a deserted look on Sunday.

The bomb attack, which took place on Saturday evening, killed one railway official and wounded three others.

The blast led to the derailment of the train and the rear carriage was severely damaged. The local train was leaving Sungai Kolok district in Narathiwat and heading for Hat Yai in Songkhla province when the explosion occurred.

Officials said the train had been targeted by insurgents, who have orchestrated violence throughout the region since early 2004. More than 6,500 people have been killed since then.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday but Pattani provincial police chief Pol Maj-General Thanogsak Wangsupha said militants led by Seri Taemamu might be responsible for the attack.

Authorities had their names on a watchlist but the officer declined to give further details. He said officials were working on the case and would hunt for them.

The train attack happened just a day after peace talks in Kuala Lumpur between government representatives and separatist umbrella group MARA Patani.

The talks in Malaysia made little progress as both sides just agreed in principle on the terms of reference for the peace process but did not make any agreement in written form. This action has raised suspicion among observers on whether both sides really want to restore peace.

MARA Patani, an umbrella group of long-standing Malay separatist organisations in the Muslim-majority southern border provinces, established contact with the authorities last year to get a peace process started.

The military government under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was reluctant to recognise the role of the group and doubts if it really represents militants operating on the ground or has any capacity to control them.

Meanwhile, some analysts said MARA Patani also did not want to negotiate with the military government, which is due to leave office after an election late next year. This has caused uncertainty about the peace process.

However, with the junta showing an intention to stay in power longer and the possibility of Prime Minister Prayut retaining power after the election, the MARA Patani group had no choice but to maintain the momentum of the talks in Kuala Lumpur, an observer said.

Despite dispatching senior officer General Aksara Kerdphol to the talks, Prayut said last week his government would not accept any conditions set by the group to initiate talks unless peace was restored.

Another observer said the meeting in Malaysia last week yielded only one thing – that both sides would continue their contact. So, doubt remains and peace appears a long way off.