Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010)

It was one of these landmark special programs at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, on the top floor of the Maneeya Centre Building, in the upscale commercial heart of Bangkok, where Major General Pichet Wisaijorn was the exclusive guest speaker on that evening of November 2009. Many of th...

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Autors principals: Arnaud Dubus, Sor Rattanamanee Polkla
Format: Online
Idioma:anglès
Publicat: Institut de recherche sur l’Asie du Sud-Est contemporaine 2021
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Accés en línia:40246
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author Arnaud Dubus
Sor Rattanamanee Polkla
author_browse Arnaud Dubus
Sor Rattanamanee Polkla
author_facet Arnaud Dubus
Sor Rattanamanee Polkla
author_sort Arnaud Dubus
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description It was one of these landmark special programs at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, on the top floor of the Maneeya Centre Building, in the upscale commercial heart of Bangkok, where Major General Pichet Wisaijorn was the exclusive guest speaker on that evening of November 2009. Many of the journalists, both Thai and Foreign, were present and Khun Roong and the other staff at the bar were working non-stop, dropping pizza here and glasses of dark beer there. Expectations were high. Pichet was the Fourth Army Region commander, which includes the three “problematic provinces” of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, plus a few unruly districts in the Songkhla province. Since 2003, thousands of people, rubber tappers, insurgents, traders, school teachers, civil servants, police officers, military personnel and some foreigners had been killed in a maelstrom of violence linked to what was officially called the “separatist insurgency” by the authorities as well as linked to the mafia culture prevailing in this region. The trafficking of women, drug peddling, extortion, smuggling of palm oil and cheap electronic items from Malaysia have always been rife in the deep South. This mafia culture is prevailing in many of Thailand's 77 provinces, but the total breakdown of law and order in the South makes it worse. Many in the audience were thinking that General Pichet would deliver some answers to the most important questions which have puzzled journalists, businessmen and other residents for years: who leads the insurgency? What are their objectives? How the movement is structured, or is it even structured at all? What is the division of power between the Southern Border Provincial Administrative Committee, the armed forces, the local administration and the central government? Have there been any attempts to negotiate with the insurgents? But the presentation of Pichet was rather disappointing. What is the direction of their policy? Pichet repeated the royally endorsed recipe: khao chai, khao teung, pattana (“understand, reach out and develop”). With its supreme and unquestioned wisdom, this “magic formula” is supposed to throw the listeners in deep awe and reverence. But the mantra had long become a poor PR tool to answer the questions of journalists and diplomats on field visits in sam changwat pak tai, the three provinces of the South.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-565042023-12-20T15:54:33Z Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010) Arnaud Dubus Sor Rattanamanee Polkla JA1-92 sectarianism muslim populations ethnicity minorities national security policy Malaysia Thailand marginalization insurgency separatism southern provinces integration Insurrection Malay conflict bic Book Industry Communication::G Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTJ Peace studies & conflict resolution It was one of these landmark special programs at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, on the top floor of the Maneeya Centre Building, in the upscale commercial heart of Bangkok, where Major General Pichet Wisaijorn was the exclusive guest speaker on that evening of November 2009. Many of the journalists, both Thai and Foreign, were present and Khun Roong and the other staff at the bar were working non-stop, dropping pizza here and glasses of dark beer there. Expectations were high. Pichet was the Fourth Army Region commander, which includes the three “problematic provinces” of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, plus a few unruly districts in the Songkhla province. Since 2003, thousands of people, rubber tappers, insurgents, traders, school teachers, civil servants, police officers, military personnel and some foreigners had been killed in a maelstrom of violence linked to what was officially called the “separatist insurgency” by the authorities as well as linked to the mafia culture prevailing in this region. The trafficking of women, drug peddling, extortion, smuggling of palm oil and cheap electronic items from Malaysia have always been rife in the deep South. This mafia culture is prevailing in many of Thailand's 77 provinces, but the total breakdown of law and order in the South makes it worse. Many in the audience were thinking that General Pichet would deliver some answers to the most important questions which have puzzled journalists, businessmen and other residents for years: who leads the insurgency? What are their objectives? How the movement is structured, or is it even structured at all? What is the division of power between the Southern Border Provincial Administrative Committee, the armed forces, the local administration and the central government? Have there been any attempts to negotiate with the insurgents? But the presentation of Pichet was rather disappointing. What is the direction of their policy? Pichet repeated the royally endorsed recipe: khao chai, khao teung, pattana (“understand, reach out and develop”). With its supreme and unquestioned wisdom, this “magic formula” is supposed to throw the listeners in deep awe and reverence. But the mantra had long become a poor PR tool to answer the questions of journalists and diplomats on field visits in sam changwat pak tai, the three provinces of the South. 2021-02-11T23:15:57Z 2021-02-11T23:15:57Z 2019-12-06 13:15:36 2011 book 40246 9782355960048 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/56504 eng image/png http://books.openedition.org/irasec/833 Institut de recherche sur l’Asie du Sud-Est contemporaine 10.4000/books.irasec.833 10.4000/books.irasec.833 f2b6cbc3-75bd-4a16-b681-d37aef4c9df3 9782355960048 open access
spellingShingle JA1-92
sectarianism
muslim populations
ethnicity
minorities
national security policy
Malaysia
Thailand
marginalization
insurgency
separatism
southern provinces
integration
Insurrection
Malay
conflict
bic Book Industry Communication::G Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTJ Peace studies & conflict resolution
Arnaud Dubus
Sor Rattanamanee Polkla
Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010)
title Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010)
title_full Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010)
title_fullStr Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010)
title_full_unstemmed Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010)
title_short Policies of the Thai State towards the Malay Muslim South (1978-2010)
title_sort policies of the thai state towards the malay muslim south 1978 2010
topic JA1-92
sectarianism
muslim populations
ethnicity
minorities
national security policy
Malaysia
Thailand
marginalization
insurgency
separatism
southern provinces
integration
Insurrection
Malay
conflict
bic Book Industry Communication::G Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTJ Peace studies & conflict resolution
topic_facet JA1-92
sectarianism
muslim populations
ethnicity
minorities
national security policy
Malaysia
Thailand
marginalization
insurgency
separatism
southern provinces
integration
Insurrection
Malay
conflict
bic Book Industry Communication::G Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTJ Peace studies & conflict resolution
url 40246
work_keys_str_mv AT arnauddubus policiesofthethaistatetowardsthemalaymuslimsouth19782010
AT sorrattanamaneepolkla policiesofthethaistatetowardsthemalaymuslimsouth19782010