Buddhist teacher beheaded in Thai Muslim south
Wed 15 Jun 2005
BANGKOK, June 15 (Reuters) - Muslim militants have beheaded a retired Buddhist teacher in Muslim-majority southern Thailand, the latest killing in a sustained violent campaign against government and Buddhist targets, police said on Wednesday.
Police found a note near the severed head of the 65-year-old man at a deserted police booth in Pattani province late on Tuesday that warned the government against arresting more Muslim suspects.
The victim's body was found at a hut less than 100 metres (yards) away.
The note said the militants would kill two civilians for every innocent Muslim detained by the authorities without evidence, police said.
The murder was the fifth known decapitation of a Buddhist since violence erupted 18 months ago in the region which has a century-long history of violent separatism from Bangkok.
More than 700 people have died in the Malay-speaking region bordering Malaysia since January 2004.
Muslim militants have carried out almost daily bomb attacks, arson and ambushes despite Bangkok's olive-branch approach in recent months.
The government of the mostly Buddhist country has imposed martial law in parts of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, at the same time as offering lavish development aid and regional assistance.
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