This past week the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has recommended that the army and criminal prosecutors take legal action against Sub Lt Sirikhet Wanitbamrung over the alleged killing of a Narathiwat imam seven years ago.
Imam Yapa Kaseng was beaten to death in front of his son while he was being kept at a Narathiwat military detention site in March 2008. He was accused of being part of a local militant separatist cell bent on carving out a separate homeland for the Malay Muslims in the southernmost provinces.
According to the autopsy report, Yapa's ribs were fractured and the broken bones punctured his lungs.
Sub Lt Sirikhet was attached to the 39th Special Taskforce Unit in Rueso district in Narathiwat, an area with a high concentration of militant activity.
Yapa's death drew an outcry from the local and international community, especially human right organisations, who accused the government of turning a blind eye to the culture of impunity in this highly contested region, where more than 6,500 have been killed over 10 to 11 years, most of them Malay Muslims.
Even some foreign embassies in Bangkok inquired into this death and urged the Thai government and the Army to uphold its principles of law and order.
Many feared that the killing of Islamic leaders, be it Imam Yapa or others who have been shot dead by government or pro-government death squads, would radicalise the insurgents, who have over the past 11 years pretty much kept their campaign of violence against the state to the Malay-speaking region.
In response to the growing pressure, the Army has promised a thorough investigation into the case. Some observers said the vow from the top brass at the time was to get foreign governments off their back for the time being.
Seven years later, the NACC has got around to making a recommendation as to what legal action should be taken. The fact it took this long to come to this point reflects poorly on Thailand's justice system, which this and previous governments consistently vowed to improve and made accessible to all parties and stakeholders.
But from the look of how the state treats this and other similar cases, such promises appear to be little more than lip service.
The attitude of Thai state agencies have always been "let bygones be bygones". But can the Malays of Patani, or anybody for that matter, move on as one nation with a shared destiny with the rest of the people in Thailand without first addressing the historical wounds between the two sides?
The suggestion to let bygones be bygones is nothing less than wishful thinking on the country's part and the handling of Imam Yapa's case is a testimony of the lack of commitment on the country's part.
Sad to say, most Thai people could not care less about Imam Yapa's case because of their blind support for the government's action in the deep South. We blindly embrace nationalism to the point that we paint the Malays of Patani as an ungrateful minority who can't appreciate the goodness and generosity of the state.
That racist attitude lies at the base of Thailand’s policy of failed assimilation, which Malays in the deep South say comes at the expense of their cultural, historical and religious identity.
Because they do not want to embrace our state-constructed narrative, we become indifferent to their historic grievances and the obvious injustice and illegal action by our officers, in episodes such as the Tak Bai massacre and the fatal beating of Imam Yapa.
Seriously, did any Thai people weep with the Patani Malays when 78 of their sons suffocated to death on the back of military trucks in late 2004? And let's not forget the seven shot dead at the protest site.
Security officials and state agencies tend to see the years of tit-for-tat killings and murders as acceptable. 'They may be Thai citizens but they are not on "our side" - so what's the big deal?' That appears to be the attitude of our officials and society.
The culture of impunity and the systematic violation of human rights are not acceptable because these things have been done in the name of the state. The fact that we indifferent to this reflects poorly on our society.
We have rules, laws and regulations. And if they are going to be selective about how they are imposed, then the government should withdraw from all the international conventions against illegal killings, kidnapping and torture of suspected criminals and insurgents.
The international community and watchdog organisations have a moral obligation to remind Thailand of its commitment to these conventions and protocol.
In some countries, these obligations are legal, which would mean legal and political action must be considered and/or taken up.
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