Muslims in Thai south mark 15 years since Tak Bai 'massacre'

Muslims in the conflict-blistered Thai south on Friday marked with prayers the 15th anniversary of the deaths of scores of protesters who suffocated in army trucks, an incident that galvanised an insurgency and remains an emblem of state impunity.

Known across the south as the "Tak Bai massacre", the October 25, 2004 incident remains the deadliest day in the rebellion by Malay-Muslims against rule by the Thai state, which colonised the southern provinces bordering Malaysia over a century ago.

Seventy-eight people died from suffocation after they were arrested and stacked face down and hands bound behind their backs on top of each other in Thai military trucks.

Seven more were shot dead as security forces used live rounds on a large crowd of protesters who had gathered outside a police station calling for the release of several detainees.

Since then more than 7,000 people -- the majority civilians, both Muslim and Buddhist -- have died in near-daily shootings, ambushes and bomb blasts as rebels fight for greater autonomy from Thailand.

Despite the high death toll, the highly localised unrest garners few international headlines.

No members of the Thai security forces have been prosecuted over the Tak Bai incident, despite a government inquiry condemning the actions of security forces on the day.

Instead, Tak Bai has become synonymous with the lack of accountability in a region governed by emergency laws and flooded with army and police units -- and a powerful recruiting tool for the insurgency.

"Tak Bai was a massacre and a great tragedy. However, after 15 years of armed conflict, no government officials have been charged," Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) which works extensively on rights in the so-called "deep south", told AFP.

"That has proved impunity in the Thai judicial system is the greater tragedy."