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.