October 27, 2004
BY ALISA TANG
PATTANI, Thailand -- At least 78 Muslim detainees suffocated or were crushed to death after police rounded up 1,300 people and packed them into trucks after a riot in southern Thailand. Islamic leaders accused troops Tuesday of overreacting and warned the deaths could worsen sectarian violence.
The arrests came after a melee outside a police station, where protesters had demanded the release of six Muslim men accused of giving weapons to Islamic separatists. Six people were shot to death during the riot Monday, apparently by security forces.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, speaking to reporters as rumors of the suffocations circulated but before the 78 deaths were officially announced, tried to blame the casualties on dawn-to-dusk fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
''There are some who died because they were fasting, and they were crammed in tight,'' Thaksin said. ''It's a matter of their bodies becoming weak. Nobody did anything to them.'' Thaksin is himself Buddhist as are most Thais.
Violence has troubled Thailand's three Muslim-majority southern provinces for decades, but it has worsened this year. Residents claim they are discriminated against by the central government.
As news of the tragedy spread, six people were shot and seriously wounded in separate attacks Tuesday. The victims included an assistant village chief and her husband.
