Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday apologised for the tragedy of the Tak Bai massacre in Narathiwat in 2004, which occurred during his tenure as prime minister.
He said that while serving as prime minister, he was deeply concerned for the people, but mistakes were made in work procedures.
"If I made any mistakes that upset you, I apologise... Muslims are taught to love peace and forgive, so I would like to apologise for the mistake," Thaksin said during his visit to Narathiwat yesterday.
On Oct 25, 2004, seven Muslim protesters were killed during a rally in front of the Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat province.
Another 78 later died from suffocation or organ failure while being transported in trucks to a military camp in Pattani province, about 150 kilometres away.
Before the dispersal, protesters had been demanding the release of six detainees. The Tak Bai tragedy occurred during the tenure of then-prime minister Thaksin.
Thaksin also said he was not concerned about bombings in the deep South during his visit to the region, as four previous assassination attempts had failed to intimidate him. He was responding to a series of bombings in Yala province on Saturday night and at Narathiwat airport yesterday morning, just as his plane was about to land.
"Someone might want to frighten me, but my heart is strong. I was unfazed by four previous assassination attempts. Regardless of the kind of reception I receive, I can take it all," Thaksin said in Narathiwat.
He described the bombing at Narathiwat airport as a symbolic act.
Thaksin said the people in the southern border provinces gave him a warmer welcome during his visit yesterday compared to the tense reception he received at private schools in the region two decades ago. He viewed the current attitude of local people as a positive sign for resolving issues in the southern border provinces.
He also said international cooperation to address the region's problems would increase, with Indonesia promising to assist.
"I expect progress this year," said Thaksin, who is the father of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
He added that more international cooperation would help address the issue of individuals holding multiple citizenships who cross the border to launch terror attacks. He said there would also be negotiations to persuade wrongdoers to return to Thailand and contribute to national development.
Bombs exploded in the southern border provinces just before Thaksin's visit yesterday. In Yala province, a civilian was killed and seven policemen injured when a bomb went off in front of a supermarket in Bannang Sata district on Saturday night.
The incident occurred on Highway 10 in front of a Mini Big C in Moo 2 village, tambon Bannang Sata, at about 8.20pm, as seven local police officers were patrolling the area.
The blast killed a man identified as Tuan Ibrawheng Nimi and wounded the officers, along with four other civilians, said Pol Maj Worawit Na Nakhon, an investigative inspector at Bannang Sata police station.
The scene was cordoned off as bomb disposal experts and forensic officers gathered evidence. Bomb experts found that the explosive was packed with steel shrapnel inside a fire extinguisher. The impact also damaged several vehicles.
In Narathiwat province, a bomb exploded on a firefighters' pickup truck parked near the air traffic control tower at Narathiwat airport in Muang district, just before Thaksin's delegation landed yesterday morning.
The explosion, which occurred at 8.50am -- about an hour before Thaksin's arrival -- injured four airport security guards. Officials moved all suspicious vehicles away from the airport before his landing.
Thaksin arrived in Narathiwat with Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong. It was his first visit to the deep South in about two decades.
