Thailand should immediately act to punish those responsible for gross human rights violations against Muslims in the southern province, told Human Rights Watch, warned that the lack of justice will make peace impossible to achieve."There has been no serious attempt to hold the perpetrators of abuse in the province's southern border," said group based in New York said in a statement on the website.
"The Prime Minister of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, must show progress in prosecuting the security personnel who commit human rights violations seriously in the southern border provinces."
The group accused the government reluctant to blame those involved in serious human rights violations against Muslims in the south.
It is said that they failed to hold pro-government militants involved in a massacre in the mosque of Al Furquan in Narathiwat province last June in which 10 ethnic Malay Muslims were killed and 12 others wounded.
A police investigation found that the shooter was from a volunteer paramilitary army and village defense volunteers who are trained in the military.
However, it took two months for police to issue an arrest warrant and the government has not made the effort required to bring the perpetrators to justice.
"Failure to detain and prosecute those responsible for the massacre at the Masjid Al Furquan has made promises pepesan Abhisit of justice becomes vacant," said Elaine Pearson, deputy director of HRW's Asia.
"This triggers the suspicion of the Muslim community that the shooter could not be touched by law."
Nearly 3,900 people have been killed since the unrest began to burst in the region's Muslim population in 2004.
Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat are the only Muslim-dominated provinces in Thailand and is an independent Muslim sultanate before it was formally annexed a century ago.
HRW highlighted the widespread ignorance about the violations committed against Muslims by government forces.
"Abhisit Government has not made progress in the cases of other serious human rights violations involving the Thai security forces."
For example, there has been no progress in the criminal trial of the soldiers of the Army's Task Force 39, the torture and killing of Imam Yapa Kaseng of Narathiwat on March 21, 2008.
In February, the General Attorney's Office decided not to press charges against the soldiers involved in the killings at Krue Se mosque in 2004.
A provincial court on 16 Agus security forces freed from charges of killing 78 ethnic Malay Muslim protesters in Tak Bai on October 25, 2004.
"Attempts by human rights groups and families of victims to seek justice in cases of other, less publicized has encountered a number of obstacles," says HRW.
The group accused the government provide legal immunity to the persecutors of Muslims.
"The frustration, marginalization, and anger among the ethnic Malay Muslim community has been exacerbated by the implementation of the Emergency Decree on Government Administration in Emergency Situation, 2005, which gives security forces an extensive powers and immunity for human rights violations and criminal acts."
By the authority to do the sweeping, often security forces raided Muslim villages and detained hundreds of people on charges of helping rebels in the south.
Thai Muslims, who form a five per cent of the total population of this Buddhist country, saying that an end to martial law and practice of violence by the military is the key to peace.
(Coverage In The World)
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