Thailand Deep South

An overview of conflict, from protests to military and militant violence, in the Asia-Pacific in March 2025.

An overview of conflict, from protests to military and militant violence, in the Asia-Pacific in February 2025.

Despite its promises, the Pheu Thai government's approach to the southern question has been depressingly familiar.

In the two decades since a new generation of insurgents revived the separatist cause, the Deep South has oscillated between piecemeal progress and eruptions of violence.

The country has two parallel systems of justice: one for the rich and well-connected, and another for everyone else.

With the statute of limitations due in the case to expire tomorrow, the seven defendants accused of the 2004 massacre are set to walk free.

A second case has been opened in relation to the Tak Bai massacre, in which 85 Malay Muslims were killed by Thai security forces.

A Thai court has accepted a case against officials for their role in the 2004 massacre in the country's Deep South – but justice is far from assured.

The change comes amid an uptick in violent attacks in the Deep South, including the killing of a prominent human rights defender.

After a hiatus in peace talks due to last year's Thai election, the two sides "are willing to put pen on paper," the Malaysian mediator said yesterday.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is the darling of millions of Thai voters, but his human rights record legacy in the Deep South is as bleak and dismal as his military rivals'.

The Malaysian leader said peace in southern Thailand was "paramount," but that his country “will not condone any sort of violence to resolve any conflict.”