Violence in the south of Thailand

Abstract

This paper explores the possible reasons behind the current violence in southern Thailand with a focus on the violent events that took place on 28 April 2004, which resulted in the death of 107 Muslim militants in the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala and Songkhla.While the authorities seem to believe that the perpetrators of this violence are separatists the author argues that the recent violence is perpetrated by a new group or groups of individuals who are not connected to the old separatist groups that operated in the south until recent times. The very fact that this new movement perpetrating violence uses Islam as a rallying cry, by appealing to the recent international assaults on Muslim militants in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq,means that it is able to garner support for its cause among the Thai-Malays who have long given up their separatist fight against the Thai state.