Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has apologised for the massacre at Tak Bai during his administration but stopped short of accepting responsibility, saying the operation was under then-army chief Gen Prawit Wongsuwon.
Eigthteen years after the tragedy that took 84 civilian lives, Thaksin on Tuesday offered an apology to all those families who suffered.
"I was not the one who ordered the operation. But as the prime minister [at the time], I would like to apologise to all the families of those who lost their loved ones and those who have endured the suffering," he said on the Care ClubHouse online forum.
The tragedy began with a protest rally outside Tak Bai police station in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province on Oct 25, 2004. Subsequent events claimed 84 lives, 78 of them people suffocated when they were packed onto the back of army trucks, stacked like logs, to be taken to Ingkhayuthaborihan camp in Nong Chik district of Pattani province, about 140 kilometres away.
About 15,000 Muslim villagers had converged at the police station, demanding the release of six village defence volunteers arrested over the alleged theft of weapons.
Thaksin was the prime minister at the time and the army commander-in-chief was Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, who is now a deputy prime minister in the present government. (continues below)
The fugitive former prime minister said he was playing golf in the Bang Na area of Bangkok at the time and was informed only of the protest. He said he was unaware that the army had moved in and taken over the situation, which culminated in one of the country's most tragic events.
"I was only informed about what happened in front of the police station. That was all I knew," he said.
Thaksin called the soldiers' decision to stack the exhausted protesters on the back of lorries, leading to the deaths, a "dumb" decision and said the army should be held accountable and make compensation.
"Go and ask the present deputy prime minister about compensation, as he was the army commander at the time," the former prime minister said.
Gen Prawit gave a short answer on Wednesday when asked about the army's responsibility for compensation. "Ask Mr Thaksin," he said.
The statute of limitations in the criminal case over the massacre at Tak Bai expires in two years - and so far nobody has been brought to trial.
Human rights activist and Magsaysay award winner Angkhana Neelapaijit said on Tuesday that the brutality at Tak Bai was "crime of atrocity" and urged all parties not to allow those responsible to walk free. Justice was still due to the families of the victims.
"I would like to see some courage in the ethics of the justice system of Thailand. I would like to see some courage by those who committed this atrocity, and see them stand up and take responsibility," she said.
