Citation

Herriman M. NUCB J. Lang. Cult. Commun. 2005; 7(1): 15-30.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Asian Studies, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business Administration)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Recent reports of resurgent violence in the southern provinces of Thailand have surprised observers of the region and led to widely differing attributions of cause. Though overshadowed by terrorist attacks in Indonesia, the situation in Thailand might be seen to be as threatening to peace in South East Asia as any other source of tumult. Superficial explanations of the cause of the resurgence, and the explanations of politicians and policy makers in Thailand, have played down the significance of the violence. The situation deserves a much fuller analysis. In this paper I will examine the broader background to the troubles in the area, to show that the conflict is much deeper and more complex than it has been portrayed to be in the media, or by official Thai government statements. Many of the issues are common to border regions worldwide, but others are particular to the region. The problem has also been viewed from many different perspectives, but the cultural or political interests of the parties proposing them have in turn, tainted most of the views. Here I examine the violence from the perspective of the principal sociological and historical constructs seemingly applicable to the situation. My interest in the area stems from many visits made in the course of research there. That research was meant to examine the educational needs of the Malay-Muslim communities.