Prayut orders tight security amidst new Southern bomb attack

In the aftermath of a bombing in Yala province in Southern Thailand, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered investigators to hunt down the perpetrators. The attack injured four patrolling rangers and two civilians in front of a school in Bannang Sata district. This news comes after a government negotiator announced last month that the Thai government would have peace talks with Southern rebels soon.

Prayut has now ordered authorities to tighten security in every area, especially around vulnerable spots such as transport and railway roads in the area. Yala’s governor visited those injured by the bomb in hospital, and in their homes.

Southern Thailand’s separatist group Barisan Revolusi Nasional wishes to establish an autonomous region known as Patani Darussalam. It would include Thailand’s Deep South provinces near the Malaysian border of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla. The conflict between the Thai government, and the Patani Malay people in Southern Thailand, has existed since 1909, when Patani formally became part of Thailand.

The Thai government and BRN joined a peace dialogue panel in Phuket in January, but much more progress needs to be made between the parties. Thai authorities don’t agree to give the Patani Malay people autonomy, or with the BRN’s wish to have an Islamic school system taught in the Malay language.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand | Bangkok Post