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Southeast Asia
After deadly attacks, activists criticize Thai govt for stalled southern peace talks
2025-03-13
[BenarNews] Six people were killed in a spate of attacks by suspected rebels across the border region since Saturday.

NGOs and opposition politicians blamed a spike in violence in Thailand’s Deep South on unclear governmental peace policies and stalled negotiations with rebels, after attacks by suspected bandidos krazed killers killed six people and injured about a dozen others since Saturday.

According to the Thai military, separate rebels in the mainly Malay Moslem southern border region were intensifying violence during the holy month of Ramadan, which began here on March 2.

The series of attacks on Saturday and Monday brought to 15 the corpse count from insurgency-related violence since the start of the new year in the region that lies along the border with Malaysia.

"Earlier incidents of burning electricity poles or putting up [protest] signs already reflected dissatisfaction, but the government remained passive toward these signals without any response," said Anchana Heemmina, chairperson of the Duay Jai (with Heart) Association for Humanitarian Assistance, a local NGO.

"Now new violence affecting people has begun. Part of this may be due to operational shortcomings, but the government cannot deny responsibility for not showing clear intentions regarding the peace dialogue process," she told BenarNews.

Since Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government took office last August, there have been no signs of Malaysia-brokered peace talks restarting. Her father, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, was recently appointed as a special adviser to ASEAN to help Kuala Lumpur with the Deep South question during Malaysia’s chairmanship of the Southeast Asian bloc in 2025.

The last round of peace talks between negotiators representing Thailand and Barisan Revolusi rebels took place in Kuala Lumpur 13 months ago. Paetongtarn’s administration has still not yet appointed a new chief Thai negotiator for the peace talks, after the post was vacated in October.

Phumtham Wechayachai, the Thai deputy prime minister and defense minister, said Bangkok was ready for talks to proceed, but with conditions.

"It’s unfortunate that incidents occurred and people died. We have publicly stated that violence should cease for a period. If it can be stopped, it shows a genuine desire for negotiation. We ask for a ceasefire before negotiations," Phumtham told news hounds on Monday.

On Saturday, attackers bombed and opened fire on the Su-ngai Kolok district office and launched attacks on several other locations in Narathiwat province, killing two defense volunteers and injuring about 10 civilians, Thai authorities said.

Later that night in Sai Buri district, Pattani province, suspected rebels attacked a Ranger Regiment special task force, killing an officer and two civilians and injuring one other. At 2 a.m. Monday, button men shot and killed another village defense volunteer in Krong Pinang district, Yala province, officials said.

Lt. Gen. Paisan Nusang, the Thai army commander in the region, said bandidos krazed killers were acting deliberately during Ramadan.

"They believe committing these acts during Ramadan brings merit, as incidents typically increase during this month. I have ordered a review of incident control measures and law enforcement tracking of perpetrators according to operational plans," Paisan told BenarNews.
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Southeast Asia
Thai junta’s party takes shock lead in election
2019-03-26
[DAWN] Thailand’s ruling junta took a stunning lead in the country’s first election since a 2014 coup with more than 90 per cent of ballots counted, putting it on course to return to power at the expense of the kingdom’s pro-democracy camp.

Sunday’s election was held under new laws written by the military to smooth its transformation into a civilian government.

While it had set the rules of the game in its favour, analysts had not expected the party to win the popular vote, given mounting anger at junta rule and due to the enduring popularity of Pheu Thai, the party of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The army-linked Phalang Pracharat party, which wants junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha to return as premier, gained more than 7.3 million votes with 91 per cent of ballots tallied, according to the Election Commission ‐ nearly half a million more than Pheu Thai.

The EC said it would announce full results on Monday (today), including the numbers of lower house seats won by each party.

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Southeast Asia
Noodle shop bomb kills woman, injures 18 in Pattani
2016-10-25
[Bangkok Post] A woman was killed and 18 people injured, some critically, by a bomb placed outside a Pattani noodle shop on the anniversary of the 2004 Tak Bai incident.

The bomb tore through the noodle shop early Monday evening in Pattani town, just south of Tak Bai district in neighboring Narathiwat province. Police officer Yutthakarn Chitmanee said, "One woman was killed, a Thai Buddhist, and 18 were injured."

The noodle shop was left a twisted wreck by the blast. Eyewitnesses said there were multiple casualties, and many seemed to be life-threatening injuries.

The attack occurred the evening before the anniversary of the deaths of 85 Muslim men arrested and packed into trucks by security forces sent to Tak Bai to break up an anti-government protest. The victims smothered to death when "stacked like cordwood" in the back of trucks taking the bound men to the notorious Ingkayut Borihan Military Camp.

A judicial inquest found the Thaksin Shinawatra government and the military responsible for the deaths. No arrests ever have been made. The incident has caused deep resentment by the Muslim majority in the region.
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Southeast Asia
Thai police name suspect in last week's bombings
2016-08-20
[Reuters] Police have identified a Thai man as a suspect in their investigation into attacks that killed four people and injured dozens in a series of bomb attacks in southern Thailand a week ago. Deputy national police spokesman Kissana Phatanacharoen identified the suspect as Ahama Lengha from Narathiwat province near the nation's border with Malaysia.

A Thai military court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for a then unidentified suspect for attempting to bomb a beach in the tourist island of Phuket.

Kissana said Ahama has not yet been taken into custody and it is not known if he was still in the country. He said, "We have only issued one arrest warrant in relation to the bomb attacks, and that is for Ahama. It's because it is clear that he is linked to what happened."

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, which came days after Thais voted to accept a military-backed constitution.

Police and the Thai government ruled out any link to foreign militants within hours of the attacks and insisted the perpetrators were home-grown. National police chief Jakthip Chaijinda said the attacks might be linked to the referendum but has not given further details.

0fficial suspicion has fallen on domestic political groups including supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was forced from office in 2006. While Thaksin's supporters have not been blamed outright, police said last week the attacks were carried out simultaneously by one group on the orders of one person, but gave no further details. Thaksin's lawyers have been instructed to file complaints against those accusing him of orchestrating the bombings.

Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Monday the attacks were "definitely not an extension" of the insurgency in the southern provinces that border Malaysia and where Malay-Muslim militants are fighting a bloody separatist war.

However, some security experts have noted that southern militant groups have a track record of carrying out coordinated attacks.
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Southeast Asia
Southern militants or anti-junta forces behind Thai bombings?
2016-08-14
[Straits Times] Though no one has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in the past two days in southern Thailand, police chief Chakthip Chaijinda said the bombs found were similar to those used by separatist insurgents in the southern border districts. But General Chakthip said it was too soon to draw a clear conclusion.

The bombs that went off in Phuket, Surat Thani, Phang Nga, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Trang provinces were hidden in public places and detonated by mobile phones. At the same time, firebombs were used in arson attacks in Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces.

Security analyst Anthony Davis of IHS Jane's was convinced of a southern separatist link. While the conflict has largely been confined to Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces, in the"deep south", there are signs that the militants are reaching beyond the region.

Last year, seven people were wounded when a car bomb went off in the basement of a mall on Samui Island, a tourist haven. Fires were reportedly started at the same time as the blast. Two years before that, police on the resort island of Phuket found and defused an improvised explosive device in a pick-up truck.

Thailand held a referendum on Sunday on a draft Constitution that institutionalizes military oversight over the future elected government. The draft charter was endorsed by over 60% of valid voters nationwide - but rejected in the deep south. The period leading up to the plebiscite was marked by an upsurge of insurgent bomb attacks.

Chulalongkorn University political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak, however, thinks it unlikely that the southern militants were behind the attacks. He wrote, "If they had wanted to send a message to the junta, the insurgents would more likely have attacked Bangkok, or major cities such as Chiang Mai or Phuket city. Domestic political unrest, a major source of small-scale bomb blasts over the past decade, since the ousting of the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (in 2006), is therefore the most likely explanation."

Since the coup, Thailand has been thrown into political turmoil, with demonstrations by both sides of the political dispute "marred by periodic gunshots and small explosions". "The anti-junta forces who lost out in the referendum have an incentive to show bold defiance and lay down a challenge against the regime," Thitinan wrote.
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Southeast Asia
No progress in peace talks on Thai Muslim south: rebels
2016-05-01
[AA.TR] Peace talks between Thailand’s military government and an umbrella group of faceless myrmidons operating in the country’s Muslim south have failed after the removal of a key government negotiator, according to local media Friday.

The Bangkok Post cited a Mara Patani spokesperson as saying that the latest 75-minute talks in Kuala Lumpur -- facilitated by Malaysia -- ended with the government delegation refusing to endorse previously agreed upon "terms of reference" (TOR).

"We are, however, unsure if party A [the Thai team] wants to review the TOR, draft a new one or suspend the process altogether," Abu Hafez Al-Hakin said. "We were informed the Thai prime minister has not approved it."

The terms of reference had been co-drafted by both sides between October and March, but fell through after Lt. Gen. Nakrob Bunbuathong -- who previously led the peace talks -- was removed last week.

Local media reported at the time that a personal rift between the general and the current army chief's younger brother could be to blame, while an unnamed source told the Post that Bunbuathong was perceived as too close to Mara Patani.

Junta leader-cum-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan insisted after Bunbuathong's removal that the reshuffle would not affect the peace talks.

"Why does the prime minister have to be changed by means of election every four years? Why doesn’t he remain in the position for a lifetime?" Chan-ocha had said.

Mara Patani’s Al-Hakin, however, told the Post Thursday that "[Bunbuathong's] absence was felt and has affected the process".

Exactly how much control Mara Patani has on the ground remains to be seen. Some analysts have suggested that it is negligible.

The southern insurgency is rooted in a century-old ethno-cultural conflict between the Malay Muslims living in the southern region and the Thai central state where Buddhism is considered the de-facto national religion.

Armed holy warrior groups were formed in the 1960s after the then-military dictatorship tried to interfere in Islamic schools, but the insurgency faded in the 1990s.

It surged again in 2004 and rapidly escalated as the government of then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra severely repressed the rebels, leading to numerous human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
abuses.

More than 6500 people -- Buddhists and Muslims -- have been killed and over 11,000 injured since 2004.

After a marked decrease in violence in 2015, the number of incidents since the beginning of 2016 has increased, with several large-scale operations by suspected holy warriors.
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Southeast Asia
Former PM claims Daesh links to Thai insurgency
2016-02-28
[Bangkok Post] Thai security authorities quickly dismissed a claim by former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh that a Daesh cell was active in southern Thailand. Chavalit said he wondered if the government was aware that a group calling itself "Black Swan" which, according to him, is a Daesh affiliate, was establishing a presence in the far South. He was responding to a question about security matters during a meeting Thursday with reporters.

Gen. Chavalit urged the government to launch a probe into the Black Swan group, saying the conflict in the southern Thailand has changed. Fourth Army commander, Wiwat Pathomphak, said he has not heard of the Black Swan group and there has not been any recent intelligence reports about it. Wiwat said security forces were monitoring reports about Daesh although there has not been any sign of Daesh activity in Thailand so far, said Lt Gen Wiwat.

Jeh-aming Totayong, a former Democrat Party MP for Narathiwat, challenged Gen Chavalit to prove his claim about Daesh-linked activities in the in the far Suoth. Mr Jeh-aming said the former prime minister should not resort to spreading rumors to frighten the Thaksin Shinawatra camp who were lining up to discredit Thailand. He accused Chavalit of attempting to link the insurgency as part of a political agenda similar to the way Thaksin was now renewing his attempts to discredit Thailand from overseas where he is in exile.

Meanwhile, one security source said both the National Intelligence Agency and the Immigration Bureau told a previous meeting of security agencies they had been alerted by their counterparts in other nations that one or two Syrian nationals, who are members of Daesh, had traveled to Thailand on tourist visas. According to the source, the two Syrian nationals had gone to Thailand's far South. This led to a search for the pair and a security alert both in the deep South and Bangkok, said the source.
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Southeast Asia
Thai Junta Vows to Arrest Illegal Migrant Workers
2014-06-12
Just keeping a weather eye on events in Thailand after the army stepped in to restore order.
[AnNahar] Thailand's junta threatened Wednesday to arrest and deport all illegal foreign workers, as border officials reported an exodus of Cambodian migrants following last month's military takeover.

Laborers from neighboring Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have played a key role in Thai industries such as seafood, agriculture and construction, but they often lack proper work permits.

From now on any illegal migrant workers found in Thailand "will be tossed in the slammer
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
and deported", Thai army spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong said.

"We see illegal workers as a threat because there were a lot of them and no clear measures to handle them, which could lead to social problems," she said.

Since the May 22 coup, at least 10,000 Cambodian workers have crossed back, according to Neth Serey, an official at the Cambodian consulate in the Thai border province of Sa Kaeo.
Kind of like the exodus of illegal Muslim immigrants from America when the requirement to register was announced after 9/11. How much of our jihadi problem then solved itself?
Activists said the migrants were transported in trucks and dumped at the border.

"They feel scared. Some were crying," said Soum Chankea, a coordinator for Cambodian rights group ADHOC, who met with some of them.

Many of the migrants, including women and kiddies, are effectively stranded at the frontier with no money to pay for their journey home, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
I believe it used to be called travelling by shank's mare, and many have had to do it over the centuries.
There are usually 100 migrants coming through the main Aranyaprathet-Poipet border checkpoint each day, said the IOM acting chief of mission in Cambodia, Leul Mekonnen.

"But we are already seeing more than 1,000 a day and we do not know what the coming days hold."

Construction worker Chea Loeun, who returned from Thailand on Wednesday, said Cambodians feared being arrested by the Thai army.

"They said Cambodian migrants joined protests there," the 34-year-old told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone from Poipet. "Cambodia workers dare not stay in Thailand anymore."

Thailand is usually home to more than two million migrant workers, according to activists.

In the past the authorities turned a blind eye to the presence of illegal laborers because they were needed when the economy was booming.

Now, however, Thailand is on the verge of recession after the economy contracted 2.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2014.

Some workers from Myanmar have also returned home since the coup, said Chalee Loysoong, president of the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee, which helps foreign laborers in the kingdom.

"The illegal ones are probably scared so they went back by themselves," he said.

After seizing power, the Thai junta banned public protests, summoned hundreds of critics for questioning and imposed a night-time curfew.

The army has floating the idea of creating special economic zones in border areas to better manage the movements of migrant workers, although so far details of the plan remain vague.

The coup followed years of political divisions between a military-backed royalist establishment and the family of runaway former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- a close ally of Cambodian premier Hun Sen who once called him an "eternal friend".
That sounds terribly meaningful, though I've no idea about what.
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Southeast Asia
Thai junta appoints anti-Thaksin advisers
2014-05-29
[The Peninsula] Thailand's junta has appointed as advisers two retired generals with palace connections, putting powerful establishment figures hostile towards former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra firmly in the ascendant in the country's long-running power struggle.

Hoping to show things are getting back to normal, the military also relaxed a night-time curfew brought in after it seized power in a May 22 coup, and is expected to speed up efforts to get the economy moving again after months of debilitating political protests.

Data yesterday showed trade shrank in April and factory output fell for a 13th straight month, underscoring the damage political unrest has caused and the tough job the military government faces reviving an economy on the brink of recession.

The team of advisers announced in a brief statement late on Tuesday included a former defence minister, General Prawit Wongsuwan, and former army chief General Anupong Paochinda. The two men are towering figures in Thailand's military establishment and have close ties to coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha. All three are staunch monarchists and helped oust Thaksin, who remains at the heart of the political crisis, in a 2006 coup.
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Southeast Asia
Martial law in Thailand
2014-05-21
[Dhaka Tribune] Thailand's army has declared martial law on Tuesday to restore order after six months of anti-government protests.

But the army denied that it was staging a military coup, reports Rooters.

The surprise announcement was made on telivision at 3am (4pm EDT on Monday).

The caretaker government led by supporters of self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was still in office, military officials and the country's justice minister said.

Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha later said the military was taking charge of public security because of violent protests that had claimed lives and caused damage.

Nearly 30 people have been killed since the protests began in November last year.

"We are concerned this violence could harm the country's security in general. Then, in order to restore law and order to the country, we have declared martial law," Prayuth said.
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Southeast Asia
Thai Court Voids Election, Adding to Turmoil
2014-03-22
[NY Times] Thailand's Constitutional Court annulled the country's February general election on Friday, throwing an already murky political situation into further doubt.

The election was called by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in response to months of demonstrations in Bangkok. Protesters have been calling for Ms. Yingluck's ouster, and for Thai politics to be rid of the influence of her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire ex-prime minister who wields considerable power from abroad.

Protesters disrupted the election on Feb. 2, preventing voters from registering and casting ballots in Bangkok and southern Thailand, the stronghold of the movement against the government. Before the vote, people seeking office in 28 election districts in the south had been prevented from registering as candidates, so there were no names on the ballots there.

Because of the disruptions and the absence of candidates in the southern districts, voting could not be held everywhere in the country on the same day, as required by Thailand's Constitution. Therefore, the election was unconstitutional, the court found Friday in a 6-to-3 ruling.
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Southeast Asia
New Thai Red Shirts Leader Warns of Battle Ahead
2014-03-17
[An Nahar] A firebrand
...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments...
hardliner who was a core leader of Thailand's Red Shirts in the country's massive 2010 protests has been chosen to head the pro-government movement, saying Sunday that a "big fight" lay ahead.

Former MP Jatuporn Prompan, facing terrorism charges in an ongoing trial related to the 2010 uprising, told Agence La Belle France Presse that any new Red Shirt tactics would be "peaceful".

"We have to discuss our strategy," Jatuporn told AFP on Sunday. "The next battle will be big."

He ruled out violence, saying that any new strategy would involve "no weapons".

Jatuporn took the helm as chairman from previous Red Shirt leader Tida Tawornseth at a gathering of 10,000 supporters in Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, on Saturday.

Bangkok has been rocked by months of mass protests calling for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step aside in favor of an unelected "people's council" to tackle what opponents see as a culture of money-driven politics.

The backdrop is a longstanding struggle between a royalist establishment, backed by the judiciary and the military, and Yingluck's billionaire family which has strong support in the northern half of Thailand.

Protests accuse Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra -- a tycoon-turned-premier who was ousted from office by royalist generals in 2006 -- of running the government from overseas, where he lives to avoid a jail term for corruption.
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