The policies of Thaksin Shinawatra administration significantly contributed to the recurrence and heating up of the violence in Thailand's three southern border provinces, whose cultural, religious and racial context has been very sensitive. Such policies included that on the suppression of narcotics trafficking, which was used as a tool to eliminate his political rivals and competitive local influential groups; summary killing; and even the apparently pro-US foreign policy that earned Thailand a non-NATO alliance status. Although the Thaksin government was ousted by the 19-September 2006 coup, the authoritarian mentality, particularly among the military and police, remains. The use of violence by the government and the militants made ordinary people suffer, injuring and killing them. The civil society sector has to join hands in creating political space for the people to protect the lives and bring about justice to their society.
This report describes the spread of authoritarianism, which destroys international rules and regulation and domestic social security. Violent response to conflict has led to the closure of the people's political space that could alleviate the dispute. A case in point is the violence taking place in Thailand's three southern border provinces. None of the life security is left for the people there to enjoy. The ongoing violence taking place is of a structural one, which requires collaborative activity of the civil society and people sectors to bring about human security in the three southern border provinces and Thai society
The Complex Social Conflict in the Three Southern Provinces
It was important to understand that over the past two decades, four major changes occurred in the three southern provinces, as follows:
- The three provinces' increasing integration into the national market
- The changes in natural resource management system by the state and capital make it more difficult for the villagers to adapt to such changes;
- The re-emerging awareness of Islam and being Muslim people; and
- The globalized penetration of consumerist culture and investment.
The conflict in the three southern provinces is not just a conflict between the "people" and the "Thai State". It is a bone of contention between the people here and such overall global situations as the 9/11 incident that have incriminated Muslims all over the world. This conflict involves internal exploitations by local people themselves or by outsiders. It relates to families, communities, society, and the people's way of life and their resource use.
นางสาวสากียะห์ หะรงค์
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