By Editorial Staff (www.voicepeace.org)
The Government, a few days ago announced to extend a special law for 3 months. While the vague of the Al-Furqan mosque has not been breaking and the fact does not appear to the people. The sound of comment was throughout over the three southern border provinces. The important thing was because the government announced the renewal the special legislation and Center for Conflict Studies and Cultural Diversity (CSCC) PSU Pattani had just disclosed the data of research on evaluating the use of special laws to the Deep South Watch. There were so many suggestions such as to abort and select the law. Most interesting is to stop using the special law for 3-month period to see the overall situation.
In addition to not receiving any response from the government who ordered to do the research but also announced a special law to be used without any changes. Thus, it cause the 3 provincial people feel that the democratic government is performing sham than to resolve the issue.
Now (18 July), the civil society Network jointly organized forum remembering the 40 day- victims of violence at Al- Furqan mosque, Ipayae with the topic of “Whether the politic lead the military and political process can resolve violence in the South?”. So many suggestions had been giving but the opinion of lawyer Anukul Awaeputeh, from Muslim Lawyer Center, Pattani was the most interesting.
‘Anukul Waeputeh’ said that the events had occurred in the three southern border provinces many years ago. It bring damages to lives and property both in public and private side. The very important thing was the minds of those relatives which could not heal. He was as a person who works as a lawyer in the area and found so many legal insecurity cases. He has done his job since before 2005 and used to work together with lawyer Somchai Nilaphaicit at Bangkok. At that time the cases in three provinces were very different with the current case both in terms of form and the case styles.
The lawyer from Muslim Lawyer Center, Pattani stated that recently the Muslim Lawyer Center has to responsible a hundred of cases as a helping without any charges. Especially for those who were far from the justice process, giving them an opportunity to complain and notify the facts.
Lawyer Anukul said that many of his cases were the case about the affection of the spcial law in the three southern provinces. He furthered that in the past the case could held by using the criminal procedure law but not now because in the present day, we are under the special law where its contexts has so many defects.
“I don’t mean to abort it but we must consider the problem about it. The special law and martial law have created the people to be more down than it used to. I can see the problems and know where it is. I could not answer our topic today, whether the politic lead the military and political process can resolve violence in the South?. But if the question was how the political which has been using by the officers in order to manage the lower people. It doesn’t matter whether you are the person who was prosecuted or making a complain. The fact is that it must take for 3-4 years per case. It’s a very long time. Some of them were detained in jail and the family was in trouble. He was in prison where he felt that he was not wrong. The guilty as a terrorist and giving a place for bandits are the cases where it must have many of elements. Killing and burglary case have a very clear principle but conspiracy case is different and it create the problems later especially with those who do not understand with it”.
He furthered his opinion that today we are under the special law and still could not find the person who did the violation. At first, there were so many people were detained under police custody. Many of useful information came out from the people. However, at last, it’s used as an evidence to arrest the people themselves. It is the people's pain.
“We have many of laws but we didn’t get any benefit or lesson from it. We’d lost our lawyer Somchai but do we improve our justice system? We also faced with the event in Takbai and Kruse mosque but we also don’t have any conclusion about it. So, the question is whether we still want to be in the same situation like this?. He said and continued that
“Terrorism laws imposed with JI case,2004 during Thaksin government. Thaksin cooperated with George W. Bush. However, such laws has no principle and true frame. Now, Thaksin was chased by the PAD . And the PAD themselves also were prosecuted under this law”.
He continued so many people were arrested, the people in jail were just like the people in the super market. They catch all of the village people. Some of them were
Suspected and it effect them. Tok Imam himself also was asked to be investigated. Even he was not arrested but the people thought that he was arrested at the moment he was asked to go to the police station. Then, the people starting to talk about it and effected to the family. Thus, the family themselves also were not brave to go to see them fearing to be counted as a conspicuous.
“I heard that security case is about the legal concept. We have to require policies to manage not the justice process. Here I worried about that people. I don’t mean to abort it but it’s very dangerous since 2005. We have to understand that we need the system and a very clear policy to manage the frame”. Lawyer from Pattani Muslim center said and said that “ We must use the equal Law in order to use the military to politics.
