1.

CONFLICTS OF SOUTHERN THAILAND (RELIGION)

 The Muslim, mainly concentrated in the southern provinces, have continued to reject what
they believe to be a hegemonization of Thai culture based on Buddhism. The rejection has
partly contribution to the conflict and revived secessionism in the south of Thailand.
 The recent instance of conflict in the south of Thailand are result of a combination of
political, economic, and social factors. The Muslim feel that their religious and culture
identity is being lost in the face of mainstream Buddhism.
 Due to Thaksin’s heavy-handed policy, poverty, economic inequality, lack of political
participation and discontent among local Muslim have contributed to the escalating violence
in the area. The post-coup government of General Surayud Chulanont implemented, although
unsuccessfully, a wide range of measure to alleviate the tension between the Muslim and the
Buddhist state and reached out to neighbouring countries in order to promote a moderate
Islam.
 Thailand’s relations with its neighbours have not always been smooth. For example, bilateral
ties with Malaysia turned sour following the emergence of conflict in Thailand’s south.
Malaysia come into the picture on the allegation that the militants had crossed into the
country after conducting attacks, and especially after 131 Malay-Muslim fleeing to Malaysia
claimed persecution by the Thai authorities. Being aware that the incident could lead to a
deterioration in its ties with Malaysia, the Thai government has sought its counterpart’s
cooperation, such as in tracking the issue of dual nationality and tightening security along the
border.
RELIGION

 The significant of the conflict seems relevance to the differences in beliefs, including
influenced by an extremism of the anti-other religion sentiment.
 Malay Muslims do not generally trust anybody who is not from their ethnic group, and
 consider themselves distinct from the larger Thai Muslim community.
 This group has a distinctive ethno-religious identity and history that predates the modern
establishment of Thailand by several hundred years.
 The region has seen incidents of violence on a daily basis from 2004 to 2013, including
assassinations, bombings, roadside attacks, arson attacks, and occasional attacks on
military installations.
 The state school system has played an important historical role as a medium for the
linguistic and cultural assimilation of the Malay Muslim community into the Thai (or
Thai Muslim) identity.
 The focus on teachers and the particularly brutal character of the violence used against
them which includes immolation, beheading and beatings has prompted condemnation
from human rights organizations.
 The justification for separatist violence is generally based on long-running grievances of
the Malay Muslim community with the Thai state.
 Malay Muslim grievances are based on perceptions of systematic discrimination in local
governance, political marginalization, forced assimilation to the national Thai identity,
and abuses of the local population by security forces and state officials.
 Efforts to accommodate Malay Muslim identity, particularly in the education system,
may help undercut militant claims the government is trying to destroy or dilute Malay
culture and Islam.
 However, attempts to introduce the Patani Malay dialect as an additional language in
state primary schools and to promote its use in government offices have fallen flat in the
absence of high-level political support.
 CONFLICT OF SOUTHEST THAILAND

Issue: Politics (Issue in Reconciling Pattani Conflict in Southern Thailand)

1. Factors of outbreak
 Struggle for independence in the Pattani conflict
 Identity and cultural issues

2. Parties involved
 Thailand Government
 Patani Liberation Movement (GPP)
 Malay Muslim Patani (OMIP)
 Malaysia

3. Impact
 The unrest in Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala region is still shackled with some
incidents of violence.
 Events like guerrilla attacks, roadside bombs, stealing, motorcycle bombing,
school burning, abduction and sabotage is still happening.
 The level of conflict in these three regions is still critical and
 No security guarantees
 Administrative and political situation in all three regions of South Thailand is still
haunted by acts like bullying, discrimination, murder and corruption until today
 The struggle by Malay Muslim Patani (OMIP) various scenes of violence with
death and destruction increased day by day.
 Cases of missing persons and deaths among political leaders become common in
this group and often cause tension which culminates in a large number of deaths
at a time incident

4. Lesson learned
 Should keep the country safe and freedom
 Identity and culture should be maintained
Conflict of Southern Thailand in Politics
a) Simmering Insurgency

Small Malay state of Patani wracked by insurgency

More than 4200 people have died in Southern Thailand in 2004 where’s third
most intensive insurgency after Iraq and Afghanistan.
Including the deployment of around 40 000 troops from all over the country to the
region where it has failed to quell the violence, and serious attacks.
The central problem with the reconciliation discourse it its blindness to politics.
In South, talk of reconciliation involves ignoring the political aspirations of Malay
Muslim population
Southern Thailand border province elect fewer than a dozen members of national
parliament, and will never able to speak with loud enough voice to effect any
substantive changes.
It involved former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with his political allies and
United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) red shirt movement.
Spate of grenade and arson attacks on buildings in central parts of the city.

b) Conflicts illustrate the limits of Military force.

In South, heavy handed security tactics have failed, while in Bangkok the military
has cleared the streets of Bangkok, but at cost of scores of lives and also using
tactics that clearly violated international law.
Discourse about justice and reconciliation.
Newly established reform and reconciliation committees do not bring together
both sides of Thailand’s political divide and stand very limited chance of success.
It involved Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva pledged to reclaim policy on the
southern insurgency from military.
The weakness of the government and its reliance on the military for political
support have meant the top brass still dominates policymaking.
Harsh and counterproductive laws remain in force and there are no effective
checks on abuses by the security forces.
ECONONY CONFLICT IN SOUTHERN THAILAND
 Persistant inequalities
 Inequalities between ethnic groups contribute to deep-seated grievances in Southern
Thailand. Economic disparities are one aspect that needs to be seen in the wider context
of injustice and marginalization
 Malay Muslims have shared some of the economic benefits of Thailand’s rapid
development and modernization.
 they remain worse off on average when compared to Thai Buddhists in the Deep South,
populations in neighboring provinces, inhabitants of Bangkok, and people living across
the border in Malaysia.
 On average, Malay Muslims are more rural and poorer than Thai Buddhists in the Deep
South or in neighboring songkhla , a wealthier and predominantly Thai-Buddhist
province.
 A Survey have made in 2016 results show an income gap between Buddhists and
Muslims in the Deep South.Over twice as many Muslims as Buddhists reported that they
were sometimes unable to purchase food; by contrast, over twice as many Buddhists as
Muslims reported that they were able to afford necessities as well as durable goods. Other
evidence confirms the perception survey’s findings. A survey conducted in 2016 found
that Malay Muslims are generally over-represented in lower income groups: in urban
areas, one in five (21%) Muslim households reported income of less than 8,000 baht
(US$ 250) per month, compared with only 11% of Buddhist households.Socio-economic
statistics reveal further inequalities. Data on the prevalence of underweight children
under 5 years old show that Muslim children in the Deep South are again disadvantaged
in comparison with their Buddhist neighbors, as well as against the overall national
average