<div>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.&nbsp;The policy of language discrimination in Thailand dates back at least 80 years ago.&nbsp;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&nbsp;and fierce critic of Deep South politics discusses how&nbsp;the language, Malay identity and violent conflict are intertwined</div> <p></p>

<h2>&nbsp;</h2> <h2>Part 1: Chronology&nbsp;</h2> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>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. </div>

<div>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. </div>

<div> <div><em>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.&nbsp;</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> <div> </div>

<div>Hara Shintaro analyses weakness of the Deep South peace process and suggest ways to move forward productively.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div>The number of terrorism suspects in overcrowded prisons in Thailand is growing, affecting the management and rehabilitation of inmates, an official from a government-funded institute told an international counterterrorism conference Tuesday.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Most of the suspects are believed held in Thailand's insurgency-torn south, where rebels in Muslim-majority provinces bordering Malaysia have launched bomb attacks and shootings since 2004, targeting mostly troops or police but also civilians.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The current prison population is three times larger tha </div>

<div><em>A human rights activist from Thailand’s Deep South speaks about her motivation for co-founding a human rights organization, after her own experience of a family member being harassed. Since the start of 2016, she has been repeatedly harassed by the military due to a report, co-written by her, revealing allegations of torture by the state.&nbsp;</em></div> <p></p>

<div> <div id=":16t" tabindex="-1">24 February 2016</div> <div id=":15f"> <div id=":15g"> <p align="CENTER"><strong>Harassment</strong><strong>&nbsp;of human rights defender&nbsp;</strong><strong>Anchana Heemmina</strong></p> <p align="JUSTIFY">On 19 February 2016, a group of ten men claiming to be border police officers came to the house of human rights defender Ms&nbsp;<strong>Anchana Heemmina</strong>&nbsp;in the Songkhla province of southern Thailand and questioned and photographed the human rights defender's mother without presenting a warrant.</p> </div></div></div>

<div>Experts have expressed fear at decreased use of the Malay language in the three southernmost province, so-called Patani, at a public forum held by Deep South Watch earlier this month.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Manawawi Mama, a lecturer in the Malay language, Yala Rajaphat University, expressed concern that these days when young people speak, they have a habit of mixing Thai and Malay in their speech. </div>

<div> <div>This time of year, couples often show their love for each other. But political prisoners and their spouses are not so fortunate, and remain separated, often for many years. Romuelah Saeyeh spent one half of her married life – five years – going back and forth to Pattani prison in order to visit her husband, Muhamadanwar Hajiteh, whom she knows as Anwar, an activist working in Thailand’s three southern provinces.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> <p></p>

<div>Two experts have confirmed that although the Deep South is unsuited to receive ISIS influence, the state still should avoid situations which may cause conflict related to Islam in the area.</div> <div> </div>

<div><em>Prachatai talked to Romadon Panjor, a civil society worker in Thailand’s Deep South who went to participate in the discussions between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Patani independence group MARA Patani in Kuala Lumpur. Romadon reveals how the discussions went, the OIC’s direction, and how the continuing peace process will probably proceed.&nbsp;</em></div> <p></p>