BANGKOK: An opinion survey found that most Thais want to see an end to the crisis involving the Tak Bai massacre 20 years ago but want relatives of victims of surviving victims to receive continued remedies from the state.
The survey was carried out by The Super Poll of Mahidol University’s Faculty of Public Health among 1,089 respondents from October 24 to 26.
Asked whether they think the crisis should be ended and people should cooperate to seek a peaceful solution related to the Tak Bai case, 80.1% of the respondents agreed while 11.4% disagreed and 8.5% had no comment.
The Tak Bai massacre occurred on October 25, 2004, when troops were deployed to disperse a protest by local Muslims over the arrest of their peers on suspicion of being insurgents or their supporters.
Seven protesters died at the scene and 78 more died of suffocation during transport from Tak Bai district in Narathiwat to an army camp in Pattani.
Two lawsuits were filed against 14 defendants by public prosecutors and the relatives of 48 slain victims, but none of them were brought to court, causing the case to expire on Friday (Oct 25) midnight with no one brought to justice.
Asked whether they think survivors and families of the slain victims should receive remedies from the government, 83.9% agreed, while 1.3% disagreed and 14.8% had no comment.
Asked whether they felt sad over the Tak Bai massacre, 69.7% said yes while 7.8% said no and 22.5% had no comment. - The Nation/ANN
