THE SOUTHERN THAILAND INSURGENCY: IDEOLOGICAL AND IDENTITY CHALLENGES

The Southern Thailand crisis can be seen from perspective of the insurgency in the southern provinces. The separatist insurgency is centered in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in Thailand’s Muslim-majority south. Ninety-five percent of the population are Muslims. All together, Muslims in the southern region constitute 3.2 million or about 5 percent of the total population in Thailand. About 3500 people have died since the beginning of the insurgency. Many more were detained by the Thailand government and some fled to Malaysia and to other Southeast Asian countries to avoid arrest and detention. This crisis has had significant impact on Southeast Asian security, and, thus, raised a number of questions, such as why the people became insurgents, and what are their objectives. This paper attempts to analyse the factors contributing to this crisis, and aims at drawing some implications for the security issue in Thailand, Southeast Asia, and beyond.