Patani rebellion seeks freedom from colonialism

[Opinion. 20 years?!? 5555! There has been rebellion in Thailand’s five Muslim provinces since they were divided in 1902 to build the railway from north to south. This resulted in the formal division of Patani under the Anglo-Siamese Treaty in 1909.

The most recent rebellions have taken place by five major groups: Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate 1960; Pattani United Liberation Organization 1968; Gerakan Mujahidin Islam Patani  1995; Runda Kumpulan Kecil 2000; Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani 2004.

The region is governed by Thailand’s military internal security and political command. ISOC stations 8,000 troops in Patani.]

Thailand’s forever war greets Anutin with a vengeance

Slow-burn revolt in Thailand’s Muslim majority deep south blazes back into Bangkok’s attention

Asia Times: 28 Apr 2026

For over 20 years, the slow-burn secessionist revolt in the majority Malay-Muslim provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and parts of Songkhla has dragged on, out of sight and mostly out of mind, for national policymakers in Bangkok, 1,000 kilometers to the north.

In BRN’s ideological narrative of a region occupied by “Siamese” colonialism, both PTT and the 7-Eleven franchise owned by the huge Charoen Pokphand Group stand at the vanguard of predatory Sino-Thai capitalist penetration.

Not by chance, the entire coup de main was carefully executed to avoid civilian casualties: as they invaded the roadside facilities, BRN attack teams fired into the air and ordered staff and customers to evacuate the convenience stores before large IEDs brought in on motorcycles were detonated by digital timers and remote-control devices. Only five civilians and one policeman suffered minor injuries.

But in recent months, the target set has widened with attack teams repeatedly torching heavy-duty wheeled vehicles at road construction projects, hitting contracting companies hard, and, by extension, the regional economy more generally.

On the night of 5-6 February, in the run-up to Thailand’s national elections on February 8, insurgent messaging involved the hanging of cloth banners from roadside trees and power poles across all four provinces carrying messages in Thai, Malay and English: “ There can be no democracy under colonial occupation” and “National liberation is the precondition for peace.”