Muslims, Buddhists Stage Rival Demonstrations in Troubled Southern Thailand

March 11, 2007

Source: International Herald Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/11/asia/AS-GEN-Thailand-Southern-Violence.php

BANGKOK, Thailand: Muslims and Buddhists staged rival protests Sunday in southern Thailand, as violence in the troubled area continued with three more killings.

In Pattani province, about 60 veiled Muslim women blocked a main road to demand the release of three Muslim men arrested in connection with the theft of a motorcycle, which police suspected was linked to the region's Islamic insurgency, said police Col. Supawat Thapkhiew.

About 150 Buddhists staged a rally about 100 meters (328 feet) away from the Muslim protesters to express their opposition to their blocking the road, he said.

The Muslim protesters dispersed after relatives of the arrested men were allowed to visit them at the military camp where the they were being held, he said.

Drive-by shootings and bombings occur almost daily in Thailand's only three Muslim-majority provinces — Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani — where an Islamic separatist insurgency that flared up in January 2004 has led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people.