Indonesia asks tough questions about deaths of Thai Muslims
Indonesia asks tough questions about deaths of Thai Muslims
Pennapa Hongthong, The Nation, Asia News Network,
Bangkok
"What happened in your country?" "How could your government
conduct this kind of violence against Muslims?" "Why have two
incidents of violence against Muslims occurred in the South in
just half a year?" Questions like these were directed to me from
Indonesians, ones I know and ones I met for the first time, last
week.
"I'm so angry with your government. Last time, at Krue Se
Mosque, was bad enough, how come a second time? If I'm in
Jakarta, I'll protest in front of your embassy," a receptionist
at a hotel in Yogyakarta immediately told me when he learned I am
warga Thailand, the Indonesian term for a Thai citizen.
As a Thai staying in Indonesia, the world's most populous
Muslim country, the tragic deaths of 85 Thai Muslims in
Narathiwat's Tak Bai district on Monday of last week created for
me an uneasy situation. The biggest problem is having to answer
so many questions flooding in from people here. I cannot give
clear answers, since I did not cause the violence myself.
Whenever I face these kinds of questions, I can only say, "I'm
sorry, Pak. I'm sorry, Ibu." But I cannot give them the answers
they want. I also ask myself: Why must I be responsible for
answering? Why doesn't the government who killed their own people
do so instead? I spend time on the Internet monitoring the Thai
media, looking for answers from the government that I can give to
people here. But there is nothing.
I am not the only Thai to become a target of Indonesian
Muslims, who are in the middle of Ramadhan. Udin Dalawy, a Thai
student from Pattani, is in the same boat. Udin, a senior at
Indonesian Islamic University (UIN), said that answering
questions from classmates and lecturers has become his main
activity since the violence took place.
"It's the same for all of us, and it's not the first time.
After the April 28 (Krue Se) tragedy, we faced the same
situation," he said, referring to approximately 50 Thai students
studying at UIN.
On Tuesday of last week, the Indonesian Society Network held
an emergency meeting to discuss the tragedy. The meeting ended
with a condemnation of the Thai government, urging Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra to tell the truth.
Since last Thursday, daily protests by different Muslim
organizations have been staged in front of the Thai Embassy
demanding that Thaksin take responsibility and resign. One of the
demands is for Thaksin to appear before the International
Criminal Court in The Hague.
"The protests will continue until there is a clear explanation
from your premier," said Syafii Anwar, executive director of the
International Centre for Islam and Pluralism, speaking to me in
his office. For Syafii, Thaksin's apology for this latest
incident is less important than an explanation would be.
"Saying sorry while continuing to cover up the truth and not
conducting an investigation is unacceptable. I don't understand
why the military used such violence against Muslim civilians in
the South. It is unacceptable. I have never seen this kind of
military action during previous (Thai) governments. There may be
a hidden agenda by the military or Thaksin himself," said Syafii,
who has closely monitored Muslim society in southern Thailand for
years.
He also warned me to take care of myself, because a radical
Islamic group in Solo, in central Java, recently declared that it
will "sweep" warga Thailand in Indonesia. He then gave me his
business card and said, "In any emergency, just give me a ring or
come to my office."
Newly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has announced
guarantees for the safety of all Thais, but Syafii said the
situation remains unpredictable.
This latest tragedy has caused Indonesian Muslims to be more
aware of Thais living here. The incident was all over the
Indonesian news. At least three national newspapers here led with
the tragedy in their Oct. 27 editions, the same day the incident
made headlines in Thailand. Video appeared on Indonesian
television, too.
"It shamed me," said Udin.
Unlike me, Udin said the tragedy makes him feel that staying
in Jakarta is safer than living in his home in Pattani. "I would
never know when I, a Muslim, would be killed by my own
government," he remarked bitterly.
As a non-Muslim Thai living here, the southern violence is
driving me into a corner. Not only must I shoulder the burden of
a shameful activity that I neither was involved with nor agree
with, but I must be on my guard all the time, lest I become the
victim of some Indonesians who cannot tolerate this violence the
Thai government has wrought on their fellow Muslims.
Why must I shoulder the consequences of a sin that I did
nothing to bring about or was even involved in? Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, can you answer me that?
The writer is a journalist with The Nation, covering
environmental issues. She is conducting research in Indonesia
through an Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship from the Nippon
Foundation.
Pennapa Hongthong, The Nation, Asia News Network,
Bangkok
"What happened in your country?" "How could your government
conduct this kind of violence against Muslims?" "Why have two
incidents of violence against Muslims occurred in the South in
just half a year?" Questions like these were directed to me from
Indonesians, ones I know and ones I met for the first time, last
week.
"I'm so angry with your government. Last time, at Krue Se
Mosque, was bad enough, how come a second time? If I'm in
Jakarta, I'll protest in front of your embassy," a receptionist
at a hotel in Yogyakarta immediately told me when he learned I am
warga Thailand, the Indonesian term for a Thai citizen.
As a Thai staying in Indonesia, the world's most populous
Muslim country, the tragic deaths of 85 Thai Muslims in
Narathiwat's Tak Bai district on Monday of last week created for
me an uneasy situation. The biggest problem is having to answer
so many questions flooding in from people here. I cannot give
clear answers, since I did not cause the violence myself.
Whenever I face these kinds of questions, I can only say, "I'm
sorry, Pak. I'm sorry, Ibu." But I cannot give them the answers
they want. I also ask myself: Why must I be responsible for
answering? Why doesn't the government who killed their own people
do so instead? I spend time on the Internet monitoring the Thai
media, looking for answers from the government that I can give to
people here. But there is nothing.
I am not the only Thai to become a target of Indonesian
Muslims, who are in the middle of Ramadhan. Udin Dalawy, a Thai
student from Pattani, is in the same boat. Udin, a senior at
Indonesian Islamic University (UIN), said that answering
questions from classmates and lecturers has become his main
activity since the violence took place.
"It's the same for all of us, and it's not the first time.
After the April 28 (Krue Se) tragedy, we faced the same
situation," he said, referring to approximately 50 Thai students
studying at UIN.
On Tuesday of last week, the Indonesian Society Network held
an emergency meeting to discuss the tragedy. The meeting ended
with a condemnation of the Thai government, urging Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra to tell the truth.
Since last Thursday, daily protests by different Muslim
organizations have been staged in front of the Thai Embassy
demanding that Thaksin take responsibility and resign. One of the
demands is for Thaksin to appear before the International
Criminal Court in The Hague.
"The protests will continue until there is a clear explanation
from your premier," said Syafii Anwar, executive director of the
International Centre for Islam and Pluralism, speaking to me in
his office. For Syafii, Thaksin's apology for this latest
incident is less important than an explanation would be.
"Saying sorry while continuing to cover up the truth and not
conducting an investigation is unacceptable. I don't understand
why the military used such violence against Muslim civilians in
the South. It is unacceptable. I have never seen this kind of
military action during previous (Thai) governments. There may be
a hidden agenda by the military or Thaksin himself," said Syafii,
who has closely monitored Muslim society in southern Thailand for
years.
He also warned me to take care of myself, because a radical
Islamic group in Solo, in central Java, recently declared that it
will "sweep" warga Thailand in Indonesia. He then gave me his
business card and said, "In any emergency, just give me a ring or
come to my office."
Newly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has announced
guarantees for the safety of all Thais, but Syafii said the
situation remains unpredictable.
This latest tragedy has caused Indonesian Muslims to be more
aware of Thais living here. The incident was all over the
Indonesian news. At least three national newspapers here led with
the tragedy in their Oct. 27 editions, the same day the incident
made headlines in Thailand. Video appeared on Indonesian
television, too.
"It shamed me," said Udin.
Unlike me, Udin said the tragedy makes him feel that staying
in Jakarta is safer than living in his home in Pattani. "I would
never know when I, a Muslim, would be killed by my own
government," he remarked bitterly.
As a non-Muslim Thai living here, the southern violence is
driving me into a corner. Not only must I shoulder the burden of
a shameful activity that I neither was involved with nor agree
with, but I must be on my guard all the time, lest I become the
victim of some Indonesians who cannot tolerate this violence the
Thai government has wrought on their fellow Muslims.
Why must I shoulder the consequences of a sin that I did
nothing to bring about or was even involved in? Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, can you answer me that?
The writer is a journalist with The Nation, covering
environmental issues. She is conducting research in Indonesia
through an Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship from the Nippon
Foundation.