Patani
18 Sep 2023
The Constitutional Court has dismissed a complaint filed against the Move Forward party, the Fair Party, and the Prachachat Party over a mock referendum on the right to self-determination held by a student group at the Prince of Songkla University.
1 Sep 2023
With the breaking of the 8-party coalition under the Move Forward Party and the formation of a new government headed by Pheu Thai, questions have been raised about how the peace process will progress in Thailand's Deep South. Hara Shintaro writes about the prospects of peace in the Deep South under the new government.
13 May 2022
An inquest by the Songkhla Provincial Court found that Abdullah Isomuso, who was found unconscious in his cell while in military custody and died after a month in intensive care, found that his cause of death was oxygen deprivation but ruled that it was inconclusive whether he was assaulted.
30 May 2018
Media coverage on the conflict region in southern Thailand, historically referred to as Patani1, reports on acts of violence such as bombings and shootings which are assumed to be carried out by separatist groups from the Patani Malay population despite no one ever officially taking responsibility for the violence.
24 Apr 2018
Photo from Deep South Watch
“Don’t you know, we are here under Martial Law” said the officer to Faisal when he refused to delete the photos he took of the officers while they were escorting home a man they had a
2 Sep 2016
Buku FC, a football club in the Deep South with the slogan “football for peace and equality,” has created a space for women and girls to exercise and express themselves. The team is made up of Muslim women, men, and LGBT individuals.
19 Jul 2016
The Patani conflict in southern Thailand has been seen as an internal issue for both sides of the conflict. The Thai authorities have always insisted that it is a domestic matter and even still refuses to recognize it as a conflict but rather criminal activity or banditry. On the separatist side, the militant organizations' leadership and fighters have always come from inside Patani despite the fact that in the past, some financial support and military training came from outside such as from the Libyan and Syrian governments.
30 Jun 2016
The liberation movement engaged in armed struggle for the independence of the three southernmost provinces has always cited Thailand’s assimilation policy and its discrimination against the use of local Malay language as one of the main reasons of the armed struggle. The policy of language discrimination in Thailand dates back at least 80 years ago. These decreed that Thai nationals, whatever their ethnicity, must speak Thai, learn Thai in school. This greatly affected people in the Deep South whose first language is Malay.Due to this uncompromising assimilation policy, the state of Malay in Patani has become very weak and marginalized. Hara Shintaro, an expert in Malay and and fierce critic of Deep South politics discusses how the language, Malay identity and violent conflict are intertwined
19 Apr 2016
Part 1: Chronology
It is not unusual for Patani Malay Muslims to receive a bilingual invitation card printed both in Thai and Malay (in Jawi script) for a fund raising tea party, usually organized by a local mosque, aimed at collecting donations from well-wishers. These events, called ‘makae the’ (drinking tea) in the local Malay dialect, are often held as one of the most effective traditional ways of public fund raising in the community.
15 Mar 2016
In pursuance to the violence in the Cho-airong Hospital on 13 March 2016, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Public Health, Dr Sophon Mekthon said that the siege by the insurgents did not last so long and none of the health personnel was harmed, though damages have been inflicted on property including computers, desks, doors, etc. All medical personnel, nurses and doctors, are fine as well as the patients. High ranking officers will be dispatched there to inspect the situation and will report more information to the Ministry later.
14 Mar 2016
A MARA Patani delegate looks back at the struggle of Patani independence movements. As Thailand and MARA are about to a reach mutual agreement which will kick start the official peace talks, Abu Hafez Al-Hakim says MARA will only have one demand.
8 Mar 2016
Hara Shintaro analyses weakness of the Deep South peace process and suggest ways to move forward productively.