Militarization and Securatization in Thailand's Deep South
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Southern Thailand/Patani Understanding the Dimensions of Conflict and Peace Editors: Anders Engvall, Srisompob Jitpiromsri, Emma Potchapornkul, Norbert Ropers Bangkok: Peace Resource Collaborative 2020 Southern Thailand/Patani Understanding the Dimensions of Conict and Peace published by Peace Resource Collaborative © Peace Resource Collaborative www.peacesourcecollaborative.org All rights reserved. Contributing authors: Editorial team: Graphic designer: Printed by Parbpim Limited Partnership Printed in Thailand Contents 1 2 Violence in Southern Thailand´s Border Provinces. 3 4 The Administration of Justice in Thailand´s Southern Border 5 6 About the Authors Paul Chambers Anders Engvall 6 Southern Thailand/Patani: Understanding the Dimensions of Conflict and Peace Srisompob Jitpiromsri is a lecturer and research associate at the - Southern Region”. Recent publications include the introduction for “Quagmire of Violence in Thailand’s Southern Borderlands” in Asian peacebuilding organisation. Christopher M. Joll (Chris) Muslim Merit-making in Thailand's Far South 7 About the Authors Pindarica Malyrojsiri Studies under the Asian Peace Builders Scholarship Programme. She for multilingual policy and planning for the southern border region/ Patani. Emma Potchapornkul also conducted research and advocacy on politics and human rights 8 Southern Thailand/Patani: Understanding the Dimensions of Conflict and Peace Norbert Ropers the Berghof Foundation in Berlin and now serves as a senior advisor. Napisa Waitoolkiat Khaki Capital: The Political Economy of the Military in Southeast Asia 9 Chapter 1 The Southern Conflict and Its Transformation: An Overview Anders Engvall Norbert Ropers 1. Purpose to use the term “Patani” in reference to the former sultanate.1 development are contested between the parties. The fairest way to 1 There are two spellings of this historical word: The Thai “Pattani” refers to one of of Patani and is used by supporters of the Patani movement. Both terms are used the distinction. 10 Southern Thailand/Patani: Understanding the Dimensions of Conflict and Peace provinces and the resistance movement undermines this control by 2. The Southern Context they are a minority in Thailand as a whole. The southern border area is conform to the borders of modern day nation-states. of the three provinces. 11 Chapter 1 The Southern Conflict and Its Transformation: An Overview leaders from both sides have been the targets of violence perpetrated 3 This suggests that religious tolerance has declined in Southern Thailand and it has Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 3 Asian Studies Review border-provinces. Fishermen of South Thailand: The Malay Villagers 12 Southern Thailand/Patani: Understanding the Dimensions of Conflict and Peace resistance against the state. barrier in terms of interactions with the state and its representatives as Thai is the only accepted language. Conservative Thai language policy fails to create opportunities for mutual understanding. The failure of the Thai state to accommodate local language use has prevented the reverse holds true for areas with lower levels of violence. This gives weight to the commonly held view that one source of friction in the region is the conservative Thai language policy that is perceived as discriminatory towards the local minority language. Statistics further indicate the division between a large share of Linguistic Diversity and National Unity: Language Ecology in Thailand 13 Chapter 1 The Southern Conflict and Its Transformation: An Overview core part of the region corresponding to Pattani and northern parts of percent in most sub-districts. The share is lower in peripheral areas economic development and for integration of minorities throughout the country. 11 religious curriculum does not prepare these students for formal 11 Joseph Chinyong Liow and Don Pathan, Confronting Ghosts: Thailand’s Shapeless Southern Insurgency 14 Southern Thailand/Patani: Understanding the Dimensions of Conflict and Peace on a dual-curriculum basis. They provide both religious instruction and the government system may reinforce a perception that the Thai also increase a sense of perceived distance from the Thai state and its institutions. The region’s low levels of educational attainment are The region’s geographical diversity also has implications for livelihoods and economic opportunities. Coastal regions vary both in interior areas are dominated by a rubber monoculture that is highly insurgent and state strategies. The lowland areas have a higher population be reached at any of the border crossings and two larger border crossings connect the two countries’ railway systems. The southern border provinces are among the poorest regions of 2003 Census Project in the Southern Region 15 Chapter 1 The Southern Conflict and Its Transformation: An Overview Thailand together with some of the peripheral regions in the northeast and north. This is driven both by lower income among the economically active as well as the higher numbers of dependents within families. They are also much less economically developed than other parts of the 13 and household income is well below the average for rural Thailand. there are also persistent economic cleavages within the area. Sino-Thai division in economic activities among the ethnic groups creates a spatial structure for the ethnic settlements where urban locations provide higher income levels. 3. A History of Submission, Accommodation and Rebellion contested among the parties. The fairest way to engage with this reality 13 Getting back on track: reviving growth and securing prosperity for allhttp:// - ity-for-all. 16 Southern Thailand/Patani: Understanding the Dimensions of Conflict and Peace ethnolinguistic and political formations that have shaped the region now the region was obliged to pay tribute to the Kingdom of Siam although a certain level of self-rule was maintained. This period lasted until the region was formally integrated into the Kingdom of Siam via the Ghosts of the Past in Southern Thailand: Essays on the History and Historiography of Patani Ghosts of the Past in Southern Thailand: Essays on the History and Historiography of Patani, Ghosts of the Past in Southern Thailand: Essays on the History and Historiography of Patani 17 Chapter 1 The Southern Conflict and Its Transformation: An Overview - at the end of the nineteenth century. control of the southern provinces. Patani aristocracy. and gave traditional ruling families a greater role in governing the area.