Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has apologized for the massacre of Muslims in the country's capital, the first public apology he has made for the "Tak Bai massacre." The apology comes nearly four months after seven suspects were acquitted of murder charges. AFP reports.
Thaksin Shinawatra, who was Thailand's prime minister at the time of the massacre, reportedly said he apologized for any actions that "may have made people feel uncomfortable." Asked about the massacre during his first visit to the area of Thailand known as the "Deep South" in 19 years, he said, "When I was prime minister, my main goal was to look after the local people. If I have caused any wrongdoing or any discontent, I want to apologize."
The killings took place on October 25, 2004, in Tak Bai, a city in the Muslim-majority southern region of Thailand. At that time, security forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters outside a police station in Tak Bai, Narathiwat province, near the Malaysian border, killing seven people. Later, 78 detainees were suffocated to death when their hands and feet were tied and crammed into the back of a military truck. It became known as the Tak Bai massacre and drew international criticism at the time.
