A new and brutal wave of insurgency looms in the deep South

[webfact]

A new and brutal wave of insurgency looms in the deep South

By Don Pathan 
Special to The Nation 
Yala 

 

 

Efforts to introduce humanitarian principles to separatist combatants in Thailand’s Malay-speaking far South have hit trouble, with the younger generation of fighters questioning the merit of these ideas.

 

According to political activists behind the efforts, a growing number of young separatist fighters appear more interested in humiliating Thailand’s security apparatus and believe that attacking non-military targets is an effective way to do so. 

 

They also vowed that insurgents would continue to hit “legitimate” military targets, but with greater intensity to inflict higher psychological impact. 

 

The vast majority of separatist combatants understand the need to embrace norms of civility in the conflict but the few hardliners who promote brutality appear to be gaining traction, the activists said.

 

The combatants in the southernmost provinces operate under the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), but the movement’s control over them is extremely fluid and untested. 

 

Decisions on attacks and targets are made at the cell level with information shared on a need-to-know basis. Simultaneous attacks, of course, require the participation of more than one cell, but these are rare.

 

Loose ground rules dictate that religious figures, women and children are not to be targeted. But nothing is written in stone and there exists no negotiated text between the security forces and the rebels. Perceived violations of the loose rules have provoked vicious responses from the insurgents’ side.

 

Early this year, a string of “soft” targets were hit, spurring talk that insurgents had adopted a “new normal” of attacking non-military targets – including civilians. January saw four school guards shot dead, a retired teacher hanged outside his Songkhla home and his vehicle used for car bomb, and two Buddhist monks killed in a shooting in Narathiwat.

 

Youth activists believe the absence of meaningful dialogue between the government and stakeholders, including the BRN, is partly to blame for the rise in brutality. If the two sides could communicate, they might at least agree on the rules of engagement, the activists said.

 

Instead the Thai government was too busy trying to occupy the moral high ground, ignoring issues such as international humanitarian law (IHL), that could help bring some degree of civility and predictability to the conflict. 

 

In fact, some senior military officers in the far South believe the introduction of IHL would legitimise the separatist conflict. With that legitimacy, members of the international community could interfere in what Thailand considered internal affairs, several military officers said.

 

Besides meaningful communication between Bangkok and the BRN leadership, there is more that could be done to help the movement’s leaders understand international norms and humanitarian principles. 

 

BRN operatives said their leaders are afraid to surface because they feel the atmosphere is not conducive for negotiation. They cite the ongoing political crisis, the lack of unity and continuity on the Thai side of negotiations and the absence of legal and political protections that would offer a “safe space” for rebels.

 

The BRN believes the international community can offer them this safety, but Bangkok has never been interested in permitting outside participation, much less mediation. 

 

There is also longstanding bitterness among the BRN leaders. In a statement released on March 13 to commemorate the movement’s founding 60 years ago, BRN said their historic homeland of Patani had been “abandoned by the world” and the “suffering” of its people has been ignored. 

 

Historical background

 

A full-fledged armed insurgency in the far South surfaced in the early 1960s before dying down in the 1980s. A new generation of fighters surfaced in late 2001 but the conflict intensified after more than 350 military-grade weapons were stolen in a raid on an Army camp on January 4, 2004. 

 

While the separatist insurgency has always been fuelled by ethno-nationalist motives, radical ideas creep in every now and then. A decade ago, there was talk among separatist militants of expanding the range of “legitimate targets” and also denying Islamic burials to Muslims who found themselves targeted. 

 

This period, in 2006-07, saw a rise in brutality with the bodies of Thai soldiers beheaded and castrated and corpses set on fire. It also saw 140 arson attacks on public schools, many burnt to the ground.

 

But the brutal excesses practically ended the following year after local activists and clerics spoke out against the vicious tactics, citing Islamic law and principles as a guide for rules of engagement. Separatist militants admitted it was the thought of losing public support that put a stop to the brutality. 

 

Today, however, the restless young generation of fighters are less likely to heed the advice of ordinary villagers and grassroots leaders. There is a dangerous sense of frustration with the unchanging status quo among the combatants, who see no disadvantage in committing acts of violence that aggravate the situation. 

 

Longstanding traditions and restrictions that helped shape the unofficial rules of engagement in this conflict may now be making way for more brutal 

tactics. – Special to The Nation, Yala

 

Don Pathan is a Thailand-based security and development consultant for international organisations, and a founding member of the Patani Forum (www.pataniforum.com), a civil society organisation dedicated to critical discussion on the conflict in Thailand’s far South.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30367579

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-12

[Puchaiyank]

A country with muslims in control have draconian cruel sharia laws which enslave women and severely punish law breakers...even unto death. 

 

A country with muslims not in control...have muslims fighting lengthy terrorist style tactics where cowardly muslims attack productive law abiding citizens...

 

They are vermin...the world should unite and give them a choice...either assimilate into the country you reside in or be moved to a muslim country where your insane worldview and lifestyle is acceptable.

 

Once they are all safely together...go to plan B...???? 

[grego49]

1 hour ago, Puchaiyank said:

A country with muslims in control have draconian cruel sharia laws which enslave women and severely punish law breakers...even unto death. 

 

A country with muslims not in control...have muslims fighting lengthy terrorist style tactics where cowardly muslims attack productive law abiding citizens...

 

They are vermin...the world should unite and give them a choice...either assimilate into the country you reside in or be moved to a muslim country where your insane worldview and lifestyle is acceptable.

 

Once they are all safely together...go to plan B...???? 

Well said,,,

[Lungstib]

Having watched the present govts actions on human rights, freedoms and speech; seeing their introduction of sedition charges for disagreement and dissent and blatant misuse of laws to arrest and detain, I shudder to think what it must feel like to be an innocent citizen in the Southern conflict zone. If you cant get the majority of the population on your side there is no way you can deal with the minority insurgents. They have to be hated by the locals before they can be ousted and it would appear that no-one is in fact giving them up to the authorities. Considering the awful atrocities they have been associated with I find it difficult to understand why the locals would harbour them but that does seem to be the case. Is the Thai military hated so much that they are the equal and opposite or is naked violence just used to silence the ordinary citizen? Considering the scale of the problems affecting the rest of the country there doesn't seem to be a desire to take this Southern problem seriously.

[sammieuk1]

If only there was a well equipped army not to busy fiddling elections to take care of the problem????

[baansgr]

2 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

A country with muslims in control have draconian cruel sharia laws which enslave women and severely punish law breakers...even unto death. 

 

A country with muslims not in control...have muslims fighting lengthy terrorist style tactics where cowardly muslims attack productive law abiding citizens...

 

They are vermin...the world should unite and give them a choice...either assimilate into the country you reside in or be moved to a muslim country where your insane worldview and lifestyle is acceptable.

 

Once they are all safely together...go to plan B...???? 

Pattani was an independent state in the 18the century, so who is in who's country?

[humbug]

the way china is treating the urghurs will exagerate the death tills in the south as they already see the influence of the chinese state on junta land policies

[Puchaiyank]

22 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Pattani was an independent state in the 18the century, so who is in who's country?

You could say the same thing about most every country...just ask the American Indians or the Australian aborigines...

 

The ebb and flow of countries boundaries is ever in play...killing innocent civilians to make your point of malcontent is inhumane and unacceptable...

[canthai55]

2 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

They are vermin...

How are the Jackboots fitting ?

[bert bloggs]

The Muslim faith says that all are Muslims ,just some have strayed from the true path and must be brought back to the faith , with that mindset you cannot reason with them .they just wish to subjugate.

[boonrawdcnx]

After they have tried for more than 200 years now the Thais of Bangkok -who want to make everybody believe that this is a united country - should start to think again - only they won’t.

Most Northerners and North-easterners can not stand the Bangkok tribe which could be witnessed during recent times of conflict. Chinese influence in the North is growing quietly but steadily.

The Eesan people with a significantly different culture from Bangkok are looked down upon by many Thais as the “poor relative” and I don’t know how many times I had to listen to degrading, stupid comments about Eesan people from Bangkok Thais and even Northerners.

It is difficult to comprehend why - if this is such a wonderful united country - some groups from different parts of the country think of themselves as superior to people from other parts of the country they see as inferior and have no problem to openly show it. But then they all seem to have one thing in common - they all look down upon the people from the three Southern most provinces and most Thais I know do not even consider them Thai and part of the country.

Although authorities want us to believe otherwise there are huge cultural differences and underlying resentment towards the Bangkok ruling “elite” in every part of the country.

Most people who come from what used to be the Sultanate of Pattani will never identify themselves as Thai and for sure will not adapt the identity that Bangkok is trying to impose on them - period.
They have nothing in common with the Bangkok tribe, they have been annexed and then more or less abandoned to fend for themselves and one can feel the underlying dislike or even hatred of what they see as the Bangkok oppressors wherever you go.
Decades of misjudgment and mismanagement stemming from a total lack of understanding of cultural differences has fueled this conflict and there is no political will to an approach which would ultimately mean some kind of autonomy for the three southern most provinces.

Some even maintain that the security forces keep or at certain points in time kept stirring the conflict to justify military spending and “secret military funds” in the billions without any form of accountability.

This conflict will never be solved by force and also not by the current Thai generation in power because they have no vision for the future at all, nationalism, protectionism and extensive brain washing prevents any forward thinking - only maintaining the status quo for fear of losing their grip on power and the countries wealth which they try very hard to divide between the “selected few” and their henchmen.

It does not help either in this conflict that beyond the borders ASEAN is not going anywhere because besides the fake smiles at meetings - mistrust, underlying jealousy, dislike and hatred of each other amounts to nothing else but each country trying to take advantage of the other.

Only a certain degree of autonomy can resolve the conflict in the South ( see the recent call by Northerners for the Bangkok appointed Chiang Mai governor to be sacked and have a governor elected) but with what is going on in Bangkok right now and the top down authoritarian approach they have adopted we will very likely see an increase in atrocities and violence as resentment grows.



Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[bert bloggs]

3 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

And all because of some kinky man way back in the 7th century

 

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

And they still follow his ways , even now ,and not just his faith ,but his abnormal practices.

[boonrawdcnx]

destroy them and eradicate them as they only believe in one cause ..... to kill as many non believers as they can.

If you could be bothered to visit the Southern most provinces you would actually see that probably 99 % of the people there are lovely, hospitable,caring people and it has surely never crossed their mind to kill somebody!


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[malagateddy]

Yes..sadly that's the norm.
The evil 1% <deleted> it up for everyone!!

If you could be bothered to visit the Southern most provinces you would actually see that probably 99 % of the people there are lovely, hospitable,caring people and it has surely never crossed their mind to kill somebody!


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Bluespunk]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

In fact, some senior military officers in the far South believe the introduction of IHL would legitimise the separatist conflict. With that legitimacy, members of the international community could interfere in what Thailand considered internal affairs, several military officers said.

Good. 

 

That may help end this violent and bloody separatist conflict. 

[bert bloggs]

9 minutes ago, boonrawdcnx said:

If you could be bothered to visit the Southern most provinces you would actually see that probably 99 % of the people there are lovely, hospitable,caring people and it has surely never crossed their mind to kill somebody!


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Yes but they are Bhuddists .

[Bluespunk]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

A full-fledged armed insurgency in the far South surfaced in the early 1960s before dying down in the 1980s.

It didn’t “settle down”.

 

It was ended by a peace settlement that gave autonomy to the South within Thailand’s political structures. A settlement that worked and ended the conflict. 

 

This agreement that was later ignored by politicians in separate political manoeuvring to obtain power.  

 

This has led to the current situation. 

[Dumbastheycome]

2 hours ago, steven100 said:

destroy them and eradicate them as they only believe in one cause ..... to kill as many non believers as they can.

I doubt that s the motivation. They are also targeting Muslims. Just like other sectors of the worlds population there is a deterioration of social responsibility which by being designated "radical" exacerbates the appeal for notoriety amongst the disenfranchised. Martyrdom would only encourage and legitimize.

There is no easy answer given the way the world insists on operating.

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, Dumbastheycome said:

Just like other sectors of the worlds population there is a deterioration of social responsibility

LOL. How much history did you study in school?

[Dumbastheycome]

1 minute ago, ThaiBunny said:

LOL. How much history did you study in school?

I am old enough to be a part of recent history. That said, ancient history or modern does indicate repeats of mistakes. And?

[Scott]

Troll post reported and removed.  

[baansgr]

2 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

You could say the same thing about most every country...just ask the American Indians or the Australian aborigines...

 

The ebb and flow of countries boundaries is ever in play...killing innocent civilians to make your point of malcontent is inhumane and unacceptable...

Of course it is and killing anyone let alone innocent civilians is an evil act. However, how many Pattanis were killed when Siam incorporated them to the Kingdom. Negotionan and agreement is the way forward to a suitable comprimise for all involved. The mass slaughter of 2004 has never "officially" been apologised for so that resentment will always be there. A third of the world population are Muslims, you cant tar all with the same brush.

[from the home of CC]

Originally an ill conceived division of land by a clueless country, the geographic problem evolved into a religious one full time with the aid of Thaksin. By the time the last origami hit the ground hatred and religion were swirling together. The South know that the army is here to stay so of course strategy is changed. My fear is that they eventually go north to grab the worlds attention.  

[connda]

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

Pattani was an independent state in the 18the century, so who is in who's country?

It was a Sultanate which paid tribute to the Kingdom of Siam which decided to absorb it in 1785.  'Legitimacy' was added in 1826 when the British Empire through their East India Company agents brokered a 'treaty' with the Kingdom of Siam which ceded control of Pattani to Siam, and then again in 1909 when Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Siam signed another treaty establishing the "modern Malaysia-Thailand border."
Notice that the Malay stakeholders had no say in their inclusion into what is now Thailand through 'treaties' in which the once autonomous region and it's people had no say.

Think that this issue will ever be resolved?  I wouldn't bet on it. 

[Oxx]

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

Pattani was an independent state in the 18the century, so who is in who's country?

 

Not true.  It was a tributary state of the Ayutthaya kingdom for centuries before that; it was not independent.

[connda]

2 hours ago, malagateddy said:

Also..it appears that crowds of iranian males are enjoying holidays in the very south of Thailand.
Just saying

Considering that the religious makeup of Muslims in the southern-most provinces is 99% Sunni Muslim and 1% Shia Muslim, then those "crowds of iranian males" are in a very, very, very tiny minority. and based on the schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims, they probably are not very well received either.  But Iranians are now the Western world's new Boogie-men, right up their with Russia, and China.   So the statement should probably read:
"Also..it appears that crowds of iranian, Russian, and Chinese males are enjoying holidays in the very south of Thailand."

 

Just saying.

[connda]

32 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

Not true.  It was a tributary state of the Ayutthaya kingdom for centuries before that; it was not independent.

Back in that era, weaker countries and autonomously ruled geographic areas paid 'tribute' to stay independent.  So we're all simply mincing words here.  They were an autonomous, independent region that paid tribute to Ayutthaya/Siam/Old Thailand in order to stay autonomous and independent.  Then, Buddhist/Animist/Pagan Ayutthaya/Siam/Old Thailand decided to absorb the Sunni Muslim Malay region governed by a Sultanate, and place it under the control and governance of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya/Siam/Old Thailand. 

I'd say in retrospect that was not the smartest idea in the world.  History tends to bear witness. 

 

 

[geoffbezoz]

2 hours ago, boonrawdcnx said:

After they have tried for more than 200 years now the Thais of Bangkok -who want to make everybody believe that this is a united country - should start to think again - only they won’t.

Most Northerners and North-easterners can not stand the Bangkok tribe which could be witnessed during recent times of conflict. Chinese influence in the North is growing quietly but steadily.

The Eesan people with a significantly different culture from Bangkok are looked down upon by many Thais as the “poor relative” and I don’t know how many times I had to listen to degrading, stupid comments about Eesan people from Bangkok Thais and even Northerners.

It is difficult to comprehend why - if this is such a wonderful united country - some groups from different parts of the country think of themselves as superior to people from other parts of the country they see as inferior and have no problem to openly show it. But then they all seem to have one thing in common - they all look down upon the people from the three Southern most provinces and most Thais I know do not even consider them Thai and part of the country.

Although authorities want us to believe otherwise there are huge cultural differences and underlying resentment towards the Bangkok ruling “elite” in every part of the country.

Most people who come from what used to be the Sultanate of Pattani will never identify themselves as Thai and for sure will not adapt the identity that Bangkok is trying to impose on them - period.
They have nothing in common with the Bangkok tribe, they have been annexed and then more or less abandoned to fend for themselves and one can feel the underlying dislike or even hatred of what they see as the Bangkok oppressors wherever you go.
Decades of misjudgment and mismanagement stemming from a total lack of understanding of cultural differences has fueled this conflict and there is no political will to an approach which would ultimately mean some kind of autonomy for the three southern most provinces.

Some even maintain that the security forces keep or at certain points in time kept stirring the conflict to justify military spending and “secret military funds” in the billions without any form of accountability.

This conflict will never be solved by force and also not by the current Thai generation in power because they have no vision for the future at all, nationalism, protectionism and extensive brain washing prevents any forward thinking - only maintaining the status quo for fear of losing their grip on power and the countries wealth which they try very hard to divide between the “selected few” and their henchmen.

It does not help either in this conflict that beyond the borders ASEAN is not going anywhere because besides the fake smiles at meetings - mistrust, underlying jealousy, dislike and hatred of each other amounts to nothing else but each country trying to take advantage of the other.

Only a certain degree of autonomy can resolve the conflict in the South ( see the recent call by Northerners for the Bangkok appointed Chiang Mai governor to be sacked and have a governor elected) but with what is going on in Bangkok right now and the top down authoritarian approach they have adopted we will very likely see an increase in atrocities and violence as resentment grows.



Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

What a well written and accurately perceptive article.

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

The ebb and flow of countries boundaries is ever in play

There was never any "ebb and flow" in the boundaries of the Kingdom of Patanni. One day it existed and the next day it didn't.

[metisdead]

Off topic trolling posts and replies have been removed.