• OPINION

  Southern comfort?

  Oped, Editorial, Published on 05/01/2024

  » Yesterday was no run-of-the-mill Thursday; rather, it was a red-letter day marking the decades-long violence plaguing the three southernmost provinces.

• OPINION

  Southern discomfort

  Oped, Editorial, Published on 17/06/2023

  » A mock referendum campaign by a group of Muslim students in the deep South on separatism has triggered panic across the kingdom. The move is highly sensitive and risks breaching Section 1 of the charter which says that Thailand is an indivisible kingdom.

• OPINION

  Isoc in need of oversight

  Oped, Editorial, Published on 06/09/2022

  » The phenomenon of "ghost recruitment" has cast a long shadow over how the government spends tax money to recruit staff to work in restive southernmost provinces.

• OPINION

  Path to peace needs respect

  Oped, Editorial, Published on 05/05/2022

  » The relatively calm Ramadan in the restive deep South reminds us that peaceful dialogue, not arm-twisting or fighting battles, is the real recipe for ending conflicts.

• OPINION

  Apirat speech sends chill

  News, Editorial, Published on 12/10/2019

  » It was "a lecture" that should never have been given by any army chief, for its combination of accusations against "the left" and young people, and sensational and biased political messages.

• OPINION

  Muslim sweep a disgrace

  News, Editorial, Published on 21/09/2019

  » In the wake of a series of bomb incidents in Bangkok and Nonthaburi last month that were blamed on Muslim suspects, the police have come up with a new "intelligence" mission that appears to constitute both outright discrimination and pure prejudice against a minority group of Thai youth.

• OPINION

  Start South talks now

  News, Editorial, Published on 22/01/2019

  » The barbaric murder of monks by separatists in the deep South once again discredits their claim to be responsible enough to govern the region. Worse, it comes at a time when the Thai and Malaysian governments are again offering a coordinated olive branch and appeal to decency.

• OPINION

  Clues scarce in the South

  News, Editorial, Published on 02/01/2019

  » Police, the Royal Thai Armed Forces and various security agencies have brought a huge credibility gap to the new upsurge of violence in the deep South. As of now, depending on which official has taken the podium, the bombings including the severing of Songkhla's iconic mermaid are political and non-political, either the work of separatist bandits or not, and have either a national or local motive -- but not both. Over the weekend, the Fourth Army commander said it might be local politicians, which seems a head-shaker.

• OPINION

  One attack, one setback

  News, Editorial, Published on 26/11/2018

  » The murderous attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi highlights the troubles that Beijing faces in selling its keystone international development programme. "One Belt, One Road" began with much scepticism, and 2018 has seen setback after setback. Friday morning's assault on Chinese interests killed two policemen guarding the consulate. The Pakistani separatist group behind the deaths said the Chinese are "exploiting our resources".

• OPINION

  Malaysia right over Uighurs

  News, Editorial, Published on 15/10/2018

  » Malaysia has made a bold move in the continuing conundrum over the fate of refugees and illegal migrants. Last week, the Kuala Lumpur government spurned both the soft requests of Thailand and the harsh demands of China and sent 11 Chinese Uighur refugees to Turkey. The decision to free the 11 was unexpected. The new Malaysian government under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was caught between a diplomatic rock and humanitarian hard place and took the more popular way out.

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