MARTYN AIM

THAILAND: DEEP SOUTH INSURGENCY

IN THAILAND’S SOUTHERN PROVINCES A SEPARATIST INSURGENCY CONTINUES TO RAGE. LOCALS HAVE BEEN LIVING UNDER MARTIAL LAW FOR SIX YEARS. LIKE ALL ETHNIC CONFLICTS IT IS ROOTED IN A STRUGGLE FOR LAND, LEGITIMACY AND CULTURE.

THE REGION WAS ONCE AN INDEPENDENT ISLAMIC MALAY SULTANATE AND WAS ANNEXED BY THAILAND IN 1902. A LONG BUILDING OF TENSION AND INJUSTICES FOLLOWED. THE PLAYERS IN THIS CONFLICT ARE DEEP IN THE SHADOWS – THERE IS LITTLE ONE CAN SEE – BEYOND THE HEAVY MILITARY PRESENCE, ENDLESS CHECKPOINTS AND TROPICAL BEAUTY.

WHAT IS VISIBLE IS THE DAILY FEAR - AND STRENGTH – OF THE PEOPLE CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE. BOMBINGS AND SHOOTINGS ARE FREQUENT. OVER 4000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED. 90 PERCENT OF THOSE HAVE BEEN CIVILIANS. DESPITE THIS CLIMATE OF DEADLY SUSPICION LOCALS REMAIN DETERMINED TO LIVE AS THEY DID BEFORE THE VIOLENCE BEGAN.

Narathiwat coastline in southern Thailand. The province borders Malaysia. A six year long militant insurgency continues to rage in Thailand's southern provinces.
   
Thai Army checkpoint in the southern province of Narathiwat.
  
Former Narathiwat senator Fakhruddin Boto survived an assassination attempt in 2006. He was outspoken in his condemnation of human-rights abuses by the Thai Army in the southern provinces. Masked gunmen shot him as he rode his motorcycle home on a Sunday morning. The shooting paralysed the left side of his body. He remains a proud and respected man in his community and told me, "...the basic problem here is there are no human rights. We deserve the same privileges as other Thai's. We are not terrorists. When the soldiers leave here there will be human rights again."
     
  
Thai Army on patrol in Narathiwat province. The outlying districts of Narathiwat have been the scene of conflict between separatist militants and the Thai military.
   
Girls pray at a Muslim school in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat.
  
People drive home on a Saturday night in the town of Narathiwat, southern Thailand.
     
  
ID photos of suspected militant insurgents outside a heavily fortified police station in Tak Bai district in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat. The district has seen some of the worst violence in the south between separatist militants and the Thai military.
   
In 2009 in I Payae village the Al Foukhran mosque was attacked by militants who filled the mosque with gunfire. 10 people were killed, shot in the back as they prayed. Since that time Thai Army volunteer guards have been stationed to protect the mosque and its community.
   
Young men gather to pray at their local mosque in Narathiwat.
     
  
Police checkpoint in Pattani, southern Thailand. Young men have been stopped as they are in the age bracket of many of the separatist militants waging guerilla warfare. Scooter's rigged with bombs are often used in attacks.
   
Buddhist women pray at a wat in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat. Thai soldiers live at the wat to guard the minority Buddhist community from possible bombings and shootings by separatist militants.
   
Girls learn Arabic at a Muslim school in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat.
     
  
A husband on his wedding day. Celebrations of life have become ever more cherished occasions in Thailand's southern provinces where a six year long insurgency continues to rage.
  
Volunteer force soldiers under the control of the Thai Army set out on patrol. These and other paramilitary groups have been frequently condemned for human rights abuses.
  
People fly kites at Manao Beach in Narathiwat province. Despite martial law and the threat of violence people are determined to enjoy full lives.