A Thai victim of a terrorist attack in the South.

Southeast Asia is still a trouble spot despite all democratic achievements and economic growth in the recent months. The bombings in Bali are just a flashlight which catches the attention of the broader international community. But besides this there are other conflicts smouldering which have the potential to feed the international jihadist-terrorism. The most dangerous of them is the continuing insurgency of the Muslims in southern Thailand and the inability of the central government in Bangkok to control the conflict and to placate the Muslims. The southern provinces are at the moment the most violent arena for Muslim violence outside Iraq. After more than one year of a newly erupted violence and more than 1.000 deaths it is time to ask: Is peace possible in southern Thailand? How can it be achieved? And does Prime Minister Thaksin have the right approach?

1 The conflict

The separatist movements in the three southern provinces Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are anything but new. These three Muslim dominated regions–the other parts of Thailand are Buddhist dominated—were part of the independent kingdom of Pattani until 1902. Since then there have been quarrels between the separatists and Thailand’s government. Religion is just one source of the unrest. The people feel neglected by the Thai majority and are frustrated because of the growing economic imbalances within Thailand leaving the South behind. ...more