Thai authorities carried out a massive search of student dormitories around Ramkhamhaeng University, an open university in Bangkok with large population of Muslim students from Southern Thailand. 

According to the Muslim Students Federation of Thailand (MUSTFETH), about 1,800 military and police officers in plain clothes and uniform on Saturday carried out a large-scale search of student dormitories around Ramkhamhaeng University in Bang Kapi District, eastern Bangkok, including student dormitories in adjacent areas along Lat Phrao Road and Wang Thonglang District.

The officers claimed that the operation was a part of a programme called ‘Peaceful Ramkhamhaeng’ and forced students to cooperate with the search.

The officers also asked 10 students to undergo urine tests to check for illicit drugs. However, no evidence of illicit drugs was found, MUSTFETH reported.

On Sunday, MUSTFETH issued a statement pointing out that the operation was a violation of human rights and contradicted the state’s attempts to foster political reconciliation and mend the conflicts in Thailand’s restive Muslim South.

In the statement, MUSTFETH gave indications that the search might be related to national security issues, concerning the troubled deep south.

The organisation demanded that the authorities clarify the purposes of the search operation and identify which articles of the constitution allow them to carry out such an operation.

The collection of DNA samples of suspects against their will should not be permitted because it violates human rights and might be abused by officers, MUSTFETH added.    

The Muslim student organisation concluded in the statement that this operation would deepen distrust between Muslim people and the authorities, which would create greater obstacles to the reconciliation and peace processes in the restive Deep South.