13 people were injured including a small child in Southern Thailand on Sunday according to Thai officials. Two policemen were also shot dead when separatists attacked a police station.
More than 3000 people have been killed since unrest broke out in the Muslim-majority south in 2004. The region was an independent sultanate until the British cut a deal with the Buddhist leaders of Thailand and it was annexed just over a century ago.
The separatist movement wants independence for Southern Thailand. Thailand is accused of economic and cultural imperialism. There have long been allegations of police brutality, rape and disrespect of Islam, which has fuelled the insurgency.
The former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra used wide ranging emergency powers to deal with the separatists in July 2005. The former Prime Minister is also accused of giving the order to police to fire on unarmed civilians, protesting against the arrest of Pattani leaders. He was removed from office after a military coup in 2006; Thaksin is now the owner of Manchester City football club.
This conflict is another example of the imperialism of Britain that has left a legacy of unrest in the region. Until the root causes of the conflict are dealt with, (which are mainly economic and cultural) then there will not be peace in the region. The resistance will only grow.
This conflict is another example of the legacy of unrest left behind by the scrooge of British imperialism.
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