Two decades on from a watershed year, peace still eludes Thailand’s Deep South

[webfact]

Imron Yusoh’s voice cracks with weariness as he speaks. 

 

“Seven members of my family have been killed in violence – shot or bombed. Yet, the authorities still suspect me, as if we who suffer the most are somehow complicit,” the resident of Yala, one of the provinces in Thailand’s Deep South, told BenarNews.

 

Thursday marked the 20th anniversary of the start of a series of violent events in 2004 that convulsed this mainly Muslim Malay border region and reignited a separatist insurgency, which dates back to the 1960s and has no end in sight.

 

Twenty years on, the region remains heavily militarized and there is a general mood of suspicion and deep skepticism that peace talks being pursued by Thailand’s new government will achieve any breakthrough after a decade of fruitless efforts.   

 

The conflict has left thousands dead and displaced countless others since that watershed year of 2004. And for Imron and others in the region, the constant state of surveillance breeds distrust and hinders reconciliation.

 

“I doubt next year, the 21st anniversary of the conflict, will bring any resolution,” Imron said. 

 

“Villagers endure constant hardship and suspicion from authorities. Peace talks haven’t yielded tangible results, yet I cling to the hope that they might someday.”

 

On Jan. 4, 2004, a raid and theft of more than 400 weapons from the Pileng military camp by rebels in Narathiwat and subsequent events marked a turning point that led to a surge in the deployment of security forces in the Deep South. Over 75,000 soldiers, police and volunteer guards descended upon the region to quell violence from a series of incidents that followed the raid on the weapons depot.

 

by Mariyam Ahmad and Nontarat Phaicharoen
Pattani, Thailand, and Bangkok

Top picture: Thai school children visit Krue Se Mosque in Pattani to learn about the history of conflict in the region, Dec. 25, 2018. Yostorn Triyos/BenarNews

 

Full story: Benar News 2024-01-06

 

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[hotchilli]

Thailand has no interest in peace... 20 years of talks and nothing.

[ChipButty]

Did the hand back the 400 weapons? maybe start by handing them back