New Government Presents Chance for Peace in Thai Deep South

Peace negotiations, modelled on the Philippines’ Bangsamoro settlement, must be given a chance

By: B A Hamzah

The ethnic conflict in the four poverty-ridden districts of Thailand’s deep south, known as Patani, may be the longest-running political dispute in Southeast Asia, if not in the world. These four provinces are remnants of the old Patani Kingdom annexed by the Kingdom of Siam in 1902, when the last sultan was jailed and deposed. But for man…