Thailand’s new weapon to beat deep-south insurgency: DNA swabs

Thailand’s military government has introduced a new strategy to curb the insurgency that has rumbled on in the country’s jungle-blanketed deep south for more than a decade: DNA swabbing.
It has been widely panned for mishandling the economy and undermining democracy, but the top brass that seized power a year ago can point to a drop of more than 50 percent in attacks by Muslim Malay rebels across the restive region.
The police chief put in charge by the junta of the southern provinces bordering Malaysia, told Reuters that DNA samples have now been taken from more than 40,000 people, making arrests and prosecutions easier.
Resistance to Buddhist rule in the south spilled over in 2004 and, since then, more than 6,500 people – most of them civilians – have died in violence, including shootings and bomb attacks. Successive governments have failed to quell the separatist trouble.
The Muslim Attorney Centre in the province of Pattani says security-related charges this year are set to exceed 2014’s, in part because more DNA evidence is being used. Last year 37 people were charged in the province while in the first four months of this year the figure was 22.
Reuters was denied entry to the DNA labs by police pending permission from the Royal Thai ArmyWhile the military credits DNA collecting for the decrease in violence, lawyers and activists say the forced sweeps are further alienating locals in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat that were annexed by Thailand a century ago.
Zawawee Pi, a 26-year-old community radio member in Pattani, said he had been DNA tested three times already. The fourth time, early this year, he refused.
Zaweewee, who has no criminal record, said a police officer came to his door asking for fingerprints and a saliva sample. When he refused, the officer threatened him with a gun.
“They said they wanted evidence in case I did something wrong in the future. Why test for a crime I have yet to commit?”
Lawyer Abdul Aziz, at the Muslim Attorney Centre, said DNA collections were fuelling distrust. “DNA does not lie, a match is a match, but the problem is the collection process. What is their technique?,” said Abdul.
Major General Anurut Kritsanakaraket, commander of the Southern Border Provinces Police Operation Centre, denied his forces were being heavy-handed.
He said that DNA testing, which includes saliva swabs of suspected rebels and analysis of post-blast explosive residues, was not arbitrary.