State of the World's Minorities 2007 - Thailand

The military coup in Thailand on 19 September 2006, was orchestrated by Thai Army Commander General Boonyaratglin during the brief absence of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In October 2006, a new prime minister, Suayud Chulanont, and a new cabinet were installed – but the abrogation of the Constitution and the imposition of martial law has made it difficult to gauge the precise levels of support for this new arrangement.

The forging of a strong Thai nationality has always been given prominence over that of the ethnic Lao, who are numerically superior in Thailand. Other minorities, such as the Chinese, Indians, Khmer, Malays and Mon have been forced to adopt 'Thai' national identities in the name of building a unified state. This is most exemplified by the continuing armed violence in the Muslim Malay-majority southernmost provinces (Kala, Narathiwat and Pattani) where an estimated 1,750 people have died since January 2004. The origins of the violence lie in historical grievances stemming from discrimination and neglect of the local ethnic Malay Muslims, and attempts at forced assimilation by successive governments in Bangkok (dominated by Thailand's Buddhist majority – 94.6 per cent). Islamic militants have been fighting for the restoration of an independent Muslim sultanate in the region.

A National Reconciliation Commission was appointed in 2005 to consult with southern community and religious leaders about how best to address their grievances. In June 2006 they presented the government with a blueprint for policies to address the underlying cultural and economic grievances driving the insurgency, which was largely ignored. However, the new post-coup government has signalled a willingness to talk to the Islamic rebels and the people of the south are generally optimistic that their situation will now improve.