The Attack of 38 Army Camp : Lesson for Peace or More Violence

“If the affairs in this world were settled by common sense and equity, personally have no doubt what ever that Patani ought to be separated from Siam and become part of Malaya. The inhabitants are 90%. Malays and 90% Mohamedans (in a Buddhist country). All their connections are with the south, and particularly with Kelantan, and the Siamese record in Patani is one of dreary miss-rule interspersed with sporadic outbursts of actual tyranny. There is no doubt that where the wishes of the inhabitants lie, and a fair plebiscite (if one could be arranged) could only have one result. In the complex affairs of international politics, however, mere practical considerations of this mind do not find much place.” 

One of The British official observed the moment of (critical) decision making between the British and the Siamese on the  Patani destiny, until now the Patani Malay(Thai Muslim) are continuing  their suffered, both spiritually and physically; armed struggle  had become an alternative to relieve their suffered and grievances.!

The new round of unrest in the history of  the south(Patani) reached its  7 years  in  January 2011 claimed  4,370 lives,  7,225 injured, 5,111  orphans, 2,188  widows, 7,680 national security cases and the unknown figures of economic  disaster and psychological disparity. The deep south (Patani) never getting rest and got out of war  since she  was integrated as part  of Siamese territory in 1909.

Starting with Tengku Abd. Kadir Kamurddeen, the last Sultan of Patani peaceful agitation against the wishes of King Chulalongkorn (RamaV) reform resulted in 2 years extrodinary imprisonment in the temple well of now Pitsanulok province in the central part of Thailand on February 20, 1902.

During world II(1939-1945), Tenku Mahmood Mahyidden Ibn Abd. Kadir the son of late Sultan Abd. Kadir Kamaruddeen (the last Patani sultan ) sided with the British  against Japanese invader in the hope that after winning the war British will restore the independence of Patani from the Siamese king.

Captain KritThe medias immediately presented the biography and story of Captain Krit, the Bangkok residence, the nephew of former defense minister; General Thammark Isarnagkun Na Ayuttaya and the only son of Lieutenant general  of Thai Royal Army with Doctorate candidate and lovely girl friend who going to marry soon, his local and  oversea  photograph  also presented-the media highly praise his braveness and the sacrifice that he made to the nation, the army commander region 4 dropped  his tear  in  his dead, the inferior range of soldiers were less pay attention and less coverage by the people and medias.

The Thai people blamed separatist movements for this attack, the sentiment of Thai Buddhist run high and feel fury to every times  when this kind of   attack were launched by the separatist movements   and give more sympathy to the soldiers who work in the risky region. This sentiment existed in Thai Buddhist society for hundred of years after the  conquer of Patani kingdom, part of Kampuchea, part of Lao and integrated  in to Thailand dominion, the feeling of the winner not the loser, the feeling of  master not the slave  and the feeling Thai nation greatness.

These two events in  two succession period  regarded as the important starting point of modern unrest  in the history of  Patani  (deep south).

The United Greater Patani Malays Movement( GAMPAR) was organized in the early 1950s, after the failed peaceful petition of :-

-The Patani Malays to the Thai government  headed by Tuan Guru Haji Sulong Ibn Abd, Kadir  in 1947(He's imprison in Ligor and killed by Siamese govt.in Songkhla)

-The petition of Patani Malay to  the UN  in 1948 in order to in cooperated Patani in to British Malaya Federation.

GAMPAR was a peaceful movement  depend solely on the British assistance, with out the assistance from the British  GAMPAR came to last  in the  end of the 1950s.

The first and second decade after world war II seen the formation of the major armed struggle organizations after unsuccessful peace petition to both Siamese king and the British commissioner regarding the restoration of the independence of Patani, Tenku Jalaluddin and the Patani Malay people organized the BNPP(Barisan Nasional Pembebasn Patani or Patani National Liberation Front) in 1959, in 1960 BRN( National Revolution Front) was formed under the leadership Uztaz Abd. Karim and in 1968 PULO(Patani United  Liberation Organization) formed  under  Tenku Bira Kota Nila (Kabir Abd. Rahman)  leadership. These 3 organization become the important part of the liberation struggle against the Thai rule over Patani to this day.

Task Force 38 camp attacked : Is it  time for change?

The hottest  coverage of the media in Thailand from January 20, 2011 was the attack and carry away weapons on the task force 38 camp in Narathiwat province by the separatists on January 19, 2011 at 19.35 pm. killed one officer and three soldiers, named as unit commander Captain Krit, 32, of 15121 Infantry Company, attached to Army Task Force 38, based at an outpost in Marubotok Sub-district, Rangae district, Corporal Abduloh Tayee, Sgt. Tevarat Kawva and Private Prawit Chuklin with 7 others injured  and 50 guns  with 4,000 rounds of ammunition were carry away by the attackers,  300 army personnel have been deployed to hunt down the attackers, who are believed to have retreated into the Budo mountains range behind the unit.

The  Loser and The winner

The inter group relation between the Muslim Malay of Patani and the Thai Buddhist become worst in the modern  history of Patani after new round of unrest taken place in January 4, 2004. A lot of Buddhists innocence become the victims of the violence and a lot more innocence Muslim Malay of Patani also  in the category, both blame on their counter part as the criminal and the violence master mind. The unrest growth the feeling of new “extreme disloyal” between the groups, both were advised to be alert of the strangers who came to visit with out any pre-contact and should supposed to be the designed criminal of another group to take the revenge.

The inter group relation exist as  a kind of master and slave, after the subjugation of Patani by Siamese king Rama I of Chakri dynasty in 1867, the honor and dignity of Patani was vanished from the earth,   good to the elites or the ordinary Patani people; no business  were discuss and made any consultation with the Patani people  about their own affairs(Anglo-Siamese treaty of 1909), this type of relation developed through time and space to this day, it form of existence is depend on duration and times, in fact it is the inter group relationship of   the loser and the winner. The attack and raid of the army camp on January 4, 2004 marked as  the new opening  chapter of separatist movement  and regarded as the beginning of new round of unrest in Thailand south, prior to this period no any attempt of this kinds were made by the separatist movements. The 38 army camp attack  may signaling of the more powerful separatist movements spiritually and physically, more sympathy from the local Muslim Malay of Patani and increase the  sympathy from the Thai Buddhist on the government side, Does it mean more dead toll will happen in this year conflict? Hope, the  Captain Krit dead on January 19, 2011 (was the winner)may initiated a new dimension of peaceful solution to the 7 years conflict and may  not intensified it to the worst.

Pol.Gen Adun Saengsingkaew, the Commander of the Provincial Police Region 9 believed that insurgents had come to the stalemate position  due to the reduction of its operative members(military strength), the special task operation is needed in order hide their weakness

Prime minister Abhisit Vejajiva noticed the situation getting better and lift up the emergency decree in the district of Maelan, Patani province  as the guide line and  the first area which come back to normal situation, the other areas   will follow suites.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, the Thai Prime Minister spokesman, said Thursday there had been indications of a threat to security forces. "We actually had some warning relating to the latest incident in Narathiwat a few days ago but the area is very difficult to control. It remains one of the strongholds of the militant groups. We issued warning to those officers in the area a few days ago to warn them that they will be a possible target but sadly they were not able to defend themselves,"

Benjamin Zawacki,  a Thailand researcher for rights group Amnesty International, says the violence has intensified to the point it is no longer a low-level insurgency. "It has reached that level of being an internal armed conflict as opposed to just an insurgency or what the government has been claiming for years - sort of low-level banditry and an amalgam of insurgents with crime.  We do acknowledge that there is an element of all of those things put together but we don’t feel it can be dismissed.  There is a genuine armed conflict in the south,"

Currently, more than 64,000 security officers are working in the deep South and the government has spent billions on trying to maintain order in the restive region, where the violence is nowhere in sight.