South Thailand’s Forgotten Insurgency

Located in the Chidlom district of central Bangkok, the Erawan shrine became the site of what Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha would later describe as “the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand.” Popular with locals and foreign tourists, a bomb exploded near the Hindu shrine at 6:55 p.m. on August 17, killing 20 people and injuring more than 120. Chinese, Hong Kong, Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian citizens were among those killed in the blast. Only a few miles away, a second explosion occurred just hours later by Sathorn Pier along the Chao Phraya River.

Bangkok has experienced low-intensity violence perpetrated by Thailand’s warring political factions and even previous terrorist attacks, including a failed attempt by Iranian nationals to assassinate Israeli diplomats in 2012. However, the sophistication of this explosive device, a pipe bomb reportedly containing ball bearings, and the obvious targeting of civilians made it unlike other incidents. Beyond the yellow t-shirt and glasses he wore in the grainy CCTV footage, little was initially known about the suspected bomber. Adding to the uncertainty, there has been no claim of responsibility for either attack.

This, however, may itself be significant.
Unlike terrorist organizations in the Middle East or Africa, those operating in Southeast Asia, particularly within the so-called “deep south” of Thailand, usually do not claim responsibility for their attacks. The insurgent’s long-standing refusal to associate themselves with specific groups and/or make particular demands has confounded successive Thai governments, requiring security forces to fight a faceless and widespread enemy.

Just a few hours away from the tropical beaches of Phuket and Krabi, packed with foreign tourists, an insurgency in Thailand’s southern, predominately Muslim border provinces has claimed nearly 6,400 lives. Fought by insurgents from ethnic Malay communities—roughly 80 percent of the 1.7 million people living in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat—the region’s violence has a traceable history that begins with the modern Thai state, established by the Chakri dynasty in the 18th century.

Having defeated the Burmese, which occupied much of northwestern Siam (modern Thailand) and its capital Ayutthaya since 1767, the kingdom sought restoration of its Malay tributaries, including the sultanate of Patani. Although the local population was initially able to resist such incursions, the region was brought under effective Siamese control by the late 1700s. A brutal massacre designed to break any resistance of the Malay-Muslim inhabitants followed this conquest. Patani was later annexed in 1902. Three provinces were created from the original region—Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat—while a policy of cultural assimilation that emphasized uniformity of language and social behavior was introduced. Siamese political authority over the lower peninsula was then recognized in the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, which established a definitive southern border with British Malaya.

Between 1960 and 2000, a variety of separatist groups emerged in southern Thailand. Although ideological and tactical differences largely prevented cooperation, the shared purpose of reconstructing an independent Muslim state guided the nascent insurgency.

In 1963, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) was established in response to a government program that required Islamic boarding schools (or ponoh) to adopt a secular curriculum. The group, which advocated Islamic socialism, developed strong ties with regional communist organizations. BRN was fully committed to armed struggle and, though its left-wing ideology was unpopular among the conservative Malay-Muslim population of southern Thailand, the group was able to carry out several attacks in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and even Bangkok.

The largest and, perhaps, most recognizable of the separatist groups active in southern Thailand was the Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO). Tengku Bira Kotanila—also known as Kabir Abdul Rahman—reportedly founded the group in 1968, after observing what he described as the ineffectual nature of Malay-Muslim opposition. PULO (and other separatist groups in the region) benefited from a safe-haven in the jungles of northern Malaysia. The group routinely targeted perceived symbols of Thai oppression, which included police, teachers, civil servants, Buddhist monks and settlers. An offshoot known as New PULO, which focused exclusively on small-group disruptive operations and vandalism with a goal of making southern Thailand ungovernable, would later emerge in 1995.

BRN, PULO, New PULO and other separatist groups like the Gerakan Mujahideen Islami Pattani (GMIP) would eventually form the so-called United Front for the Independence of Patani (commonly known as Bersatu). In August 1997, the groups coordinated a series of deadly attacks, which resulted in the death of nine people and several dozen injuries. While successful, the operation—codenamed Falling Leaves—increased regional pressure on Malaysia, which responded with several high-profile arrests. Improved border security and cooperation with Thai officials effectively marked the demise of BRN, PULO, and New PULO—denying the insurgents protection within Malaysia.

The respite in violence proved only temporary, however, with coordinated attacks on police stations in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat killing six people in late 2001. Unlike the rebels of the 1960s and early 1970s, these insurgents embraced a decidedly more radical, fundamentalist doctrine. This allowed Islamist groups like GMIP, Islamic Liberation Front of Patani, and Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate to draw from the decimated ranks of BRN, PULO, and New PULO. Attacks on bars (that served alcohol), nightclubs, gambling establishments, and other examples of so-called “Thai sleaze” became increasingly common. In addition, insurgents began targeting Buddhist monks, usually while collecting alms, in particularly brutal attacks that include beheadings and live burnings. Since 2004, around 20 monks have been killed and 25 wounded by insurgents in southern Thailand.

Despite lacking organizational coherence, the insurgents display a growing level of sophistication. Besides drive-by shootings, assassinations, and incendiary attacks, improvised explosive devices (IEDs)—usually equipped with external trigger mechanisms—are now routinely used in the southern provinces. The ability to produce (and utilize) IEDs was demonstrated in April 2005, when simultaneous explosions occurred in the southern city of Hat Yai. Popular with foreign tourist, bombs were placed near the Hat Yai International Airport, a Carrefour hypermarket and the Green Palace World Hotel in Songkhla province. Another publicized incident (in Hat Yai, again) saw coordinated bombings that killed four people and injured 79—including 13 foreigners—in September 2006. Insurgents killed 16 and injured 321, when several car bombs exploded near a busy shopping center and restaurant in Yala; the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Songkhla, filled with Malaysian and Singaporean tourists, also was targeted in the 2012 attack. Civilians now account for nearly 70 percent of insurgent-related fatalities.

The arrest of two suspects, including a man “directly involved with the bomb material,” may help answer questions regarding the Erawan shrine and Sathorn Pier bombings. Police have, so far, not confirmed their nationalities—though reports indicate both are foreigners and that one suspect had a Chinese passport. This would strengthen the case made by some the attack was related to Thailand's recent deportation of more than 100 ethnic Uighurs.

Another suspect, Kamarudeng Saho, was arrested in the southern province of Narathiwat and is now being interrogated by the military. He allegedly contacted Wanna Suansan (or Maisaroh)—the other Thai and only female suspect in the bombing investigation—by phone. Police have issued arrest warrants for both Suansan and her Turkish husband Emrah Davutoglu. Much remains uncertain; the deadly Erawan shrine bombing, however, caused the international community to focus on a conflict in southern Thailand, which too often simply goes unnoticed.

   Comments0