Education Under Attack 2018 - Thailand

Dozens of explosive devices targeted government security forces who had been tasked with protecting teachers and schools, putting educators and students at risk and, in some cases, killing or injuring them. Dozens of schools in Thailand were deliberately damaged or destroyed, or unintentionally caught in crossfire. University students and academics were arrested and detained in the context of expanded restrictions on freedom of expression and political opposition.

Context

From early 2004 through the current reporting period, separatists launched an armed insurgency to seek autonomy for Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces.^[2278] In February 2013, negotiations facilitated by the Malaysian government began between the Thai government and representatives of Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani (BRN) (Patani-Malay National Revolutionary Front), the principal non-state armed group in the country, and other separatist groups in the loose network of Majlis Syura Patani (Mara Patani). At the time of writing, these talks were ongoing but unfruitful.^[2279]

After staging a coup that overthrew the elected Thai government on May 22, 2014, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta intensified its counterinsurgency measures in the deep south, which created a major obstacle for efforts to seek a political solution to the conflict.^[2280] Government security sweeps pushed back the separatists, but they were able to maintain a presence in hundreds of ethnic Malay Muslim villages.^[2281]

In addition to intensifying operations in the deep south, the junta imposed restrictions on freedom of expression across the country, enforcing a ban on public discussions about decentralization and self-governance.^[2282] In June 2017, the UN expressed concern about the number of prosecutions under the lèse-majesté laws, which outlawed insulting the monarchy but did not define what constituted such an insult.^[2283]

The insurgency in the deep south and nationwide restrictions on freedom of expression negatively affected education. In the deep south, Malay Muslim insurgents directly targeted government-funded education, as they viewed government teachers as representatives of the Thai government and government schools as vehicles for assimilating the Malay Muslim community.^[2284] Conversely, security forces raided madrassas while searching for insurgents, and insurgents targeted madrassas and Islamic teachers who cooperated with the Thai government.^[2285] In 2017, CEDAW noted that the ongoing conflict impeded the rights of ethnic Malay Muslim women in the deep south, including their right to education, and that there were gender bias and stereotypes in the curriculum.^[2286] Meanwhile, nationwide enforcement of the lèse-majesté laws primarily affected higher education by limiting student protests and activism.^[2287]

The different types of attacks on education demonstrated diverse trends during the 2013-2017 reporting period. Reports of attacks on higher education increased, reports of attacks on primary and secondary schools began to decrease after 2015, and attacks on primary and secondary school students and teachers fluctuated throughout the reporting period.

Attacks on schools

Non-state armed groups and unidentified perpetrators were suspected of having bombed or set on fire dozens of schools, along with other government offices and state-related bodies, all of which were perceived by some ethnic Malay Muslims as instruments of Thai domination and assimilation policies.^[2288] Many of these attacks targeted government security forces who were protecting schools or teachers, but the violence damaged schools and harmed students and teachers in the process. These attacks on schools continued to be reported throughout 2014 at rates similar to those recorded in the 2009-2013 reporting period, with a decrease in reported attacks starting in 2015.

GCPEA collected information on eight attacks on schools in 2013, a level similar to reports found for the previous year.^[2289] The UN reported that, in 2013, armed groups used IEDs to attack state armed forces who were stationed to protect schools in several cases, thereby putting school children and teachers at risk.^[2290] More than half of the reported incidents identified by GCPEA directly targeted security forces. Media and UN sources reported six incidents that harmed security forces or volunteers as they were protecting schools. There were also at least two reported incidents of arson that affected schools. For example:

• Unknown perpetrators carried out an attack on an army ranger who was protecting a school in Cho Ai Rong district on January 30, 2013, in Narathiwat province. The attack injured the ranger.^[2291]

• Local media also reported two arson attacks on schools in February 2013, both carried out by unidentified assailants. One occurred in Narathiwat province on February 13, 2013, and a second took place in Pattani province on February 23, 2013.^[2292]

• On July 31, 2013, an armed separatist group detonated an IED at a school in Yala province, injuring a security volunteer.^[2293]

• A bomb planted behind the guard booth at a school in Yala province killed two soldiers and injured a 12-year-old school boy on September 10, 2013. Government authorities believed that a BRN splinter group was responsible for the attack.^[2294]

Attacks affecting schools appeared to accelerate in 2014, with at least 14 attacks reported. In several cases, the attacks targeted security forces providing protection for schools, students, and teachers on or near school grounds.^[2295] For example:

• Media sources recorded one IED attack in Narathiwat province on March 10, 2014, when unidentified assailants threw a grenade at a school.^[2296]

• Two arson attacks occurred in Narathiwat province on May 11, 2014, when unknown perpetrators reportedly set fire to two schools in one night. Local sources attributed the attacks to armed separatists.^[2297]

• The UN reported that, in October 2014, nighttime arson attacks targeted eight schools in Pattani and Narathiwat provinces. According to the UN, these attacks may have been retaliation by an armed group for attacks by the Thai army. While no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, the UN stated that some reports indicated that the incidents constituted retaliation by a BRN-led armed group for attacks by government security forces. 2298 Media sources reported six arson attacks in Pattani province on October 12, 2014.^[2299] It was not clear how much overlap there was between the two lists of attacks.

• Local media also reported that an armed separatist group detonated an IED near an Islamic school in Pattani province on December 5, 2014, possibly targeting a group of soldiers nearby, which damaged the school.^[2300]

Reports of attacks on schools appeared to decrease in 2015, with only two incidents documented that year, both perpetrated by unidentified assailants:

• On September 11, 2015, a bomb planted by unknown assailants exploded at the entrance of a community school in Pattani province, according to the UN. The attack injured five students between the ages of 3 and 15.^[2301]

• Local media reported that two months later, on November 19, 2015, unidentified assailants opened fire on a school in Yala province, injuring the security guard.^[2302]

In 2016, reports of attacks on schools again occurred sporadically. Unknown attackers and alleged non-state armed groups were responsible for the attacks, with five such incidents found by GCPEA:

• On February 12, 2016, unidentified assailants set fire to Ban Khai School in Pulo Puyo, Nong Chik district, Pattani province, causing no casualties, according to local media.^[2303]

• In an attack on August 6, 2016, an IED planted by unknown perpetrators exploded at Bannangsetar Intharachat School in Bannang Sata district, Yala province. There were no injuries in the blast, and it was not clear if the school was damaged, according to local media.^[2304]

• Local media also reported that on August 7, 2016, an IED exploded at the entrance to a school, targeting a convoy carrying referendum ballots in Pattani province. A school official, who sources reported was serving as director of the local voting station, was killed in the blast.^[2305]

• The UN, Human Rights Watch, Save the Children, and other sources reported that on September 6, 2016, alleged members of a non-state armed group detonated a bomb in front of a school in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province, as parents were dropping their children off in the morning. A father and his daughter were killed in the blast and at least 10 people were injured, including teachers.^[2306]

• On August 2, 2016, an explosive device planted near Solihiyah School in Khok Pho district, Pattani province, detonated, slightly wounding two security volunteers. The school was closed for the day as a result.^[2307]

At the time of writing, GCPEA had not identified any attacks on schools in 2017.

Attacks on school students, teachers, and other education personnel

Most of the attacks that affected teachers targeted government security forces responsible for forming teacher-protection units that escorted teachers to school, putting the teachers at risk and in some cases resulting in their deaths. Notably, however, casualties among civilian government employees – such as civil servants and teachers – outnumbered casualties among government security forces.^[2308]

Reports of attacks on teachers and other education personnel remained at the same level in 2013 as in previous years, then peaked in both 2014 and 2016, with apparent lulls in 2015 and 2017. Reported incidents affecting students remained at levels similar to the 2009-2013 reporting period, between one and three per year, through 2015, with no reports of attacks on students identified in 2016 and one in 2017.

Attacks on teachers and education personnel were more frequent than those on students, and the UN reported that, according to the Ministry of Education, at least seven teachers and three education-related personnel were killed in 2013.^[2309] Media soures reported that at least 12 attacks affecting teachers and education personnel involved assailants targeting government security forces who were escorting teachers to school as part of a broad teacher-protection program.^[2310] In nine additional incidents recorded by media sources throughout the year – five in Pattani province, two in Narathiwat, one in Yala province, and one in an unknown location – unidentified assailants opened fire on teachers or education personnel.^[2311] It was unclear whether government security forces were escorting these teachers at the time the attacks occurred, nor was it clear how many of these 21 media-reported attacks overlapped with the 10 incidents documented by the UN. In contrast to reported attacks on teachers, GCPEA identified only one attack on students.

Attacks on students and teachers in 2013 included the following:

• Two unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on a bus that was transporting seven kindergarten students to school in Rueso district, Narathiwat province, on January 23, 2013, according to local media. None of the passengers was injured in the attack.^[2312]

• The UN and local media found that on January 23, 2013, four unidentified gunmen entered a school cafeteria in Narathiwat province and shot a teacher in front of dozens of children, including his 7-year-old daughter.^[2313] Most of these attacks occurred in Pattani and Narathiwat provinces.

• News sources reported that on June 20, 2013, a roadside IED detonated as a teacher security patrol was passing by, injuring five soldiers. No teachers were reported injured.^[2314]

• On August 21, 2013, gunmen shot and killed a teacher from the Islam Community Foundation School in Moo 5, Pattani province. Authorities reportedly attributed the attack to separatists.^[2315]

• On December 12, 2013, a bomb placed in front of a school targeted a military convoy providing protection for teachers, reportedly injuring two workers and six members of the government security forces. Local news media attributed this attack to a separatist group.^[2316]

Attacks on personnel appeared to be more frequent in 2014, mainly due to an increase in attacks on teacher-protection units, while reports of attacks on students remained consistent at one per year. In more than 30 incidents reported by local media, explosives and gunfire targeted teacher-protection units as they accompanied teachers to school.^[2317] For example, local media reported that on August 28, 2014, a gas cylinder bomb was used to attack a motorcycle convoy of teachers and their soldier escorts in Pattani province. The explosion on the side of the road reportedly killed one female teacher and injured another.^[2318] In addition to being affected by incidents directed at their protection units, teachers were also directly targeted and received threats, and students were attacked. For example:

• Human Rights Watch reported that on January 14, 2014, unknown assailants shot a teacher in Yala province while he rode home from his school on a motorcycle.^[2319]

• The UN and international media reported that on March 14, 2014, assailants shot dead a female teacher riding a motorcycle to school, then poured gasoline on her body and set it on fire. A pamphlet with the words, "This attack is in revenge for the killing of innocent people," was found near her body.^[2320]

• Less than one week later, unidentified perpetrators reportedly shot and killed a teacher in Narathiwat province, according to Human Rights Watch.^[2321]

• The UN reported that banners threatening teachers were hung in parts of Yala province in November.^[2322]

• Local media sources recorded two incidents, one each on November 12 and 15, 2014, when unknown gunmen opened fire on two teachers, one in Yala province and one in Pattani province.^[2323]

• News sources also reported an incident on November 27, 2014, in which assailants opened fire on high school students in Tanyong Talo area, Pattani province, killing one and injuring another.^[2324]

Reports of attacks on teachers decreased in frequency in 2015, while attacks on students remained at a level similar to previous years. According to the UN, the Ministry of Education reported that two teachers and one student were killed in attacks, and one teacher and two students were injured.^[2325] Meanwhile, local media documented five explosions targeting teacher-protection units, three in Pattani province and two in Narathiwat province.^[2326] Gun attacks on teachers reported by local news sources in 2015 included the following:

• On May 9, 2015, unknown assailants shot and killed two teachers in the street in Narathiwat province.^[2327]

• On May 26, 2015, assailants started shooting at a car carrying a teacher and a community leader in Pattani province, killing them both.^[2328]

• On July 13, 2015, a physical education teacher was shot and killed by unknown perpetrators in Pattani province.^[2329]

Reported attacks targeting teacher-protection units increased again in 2016, when local media sources documented 22 such incidents: 12 in Narathiwat province, 8 in Pattani province, and 2 in Yala province. Of these attacks, 19 involved IEDs planted by the side of the road or elsewhere near the patrols, and three used gunfire to target teachers and their protection units.^[2330] The teachers were largely uninjured in these attacks. In addition, local and international media reported that on October 28, 2016, two unidentified assailants on motorbikes shot and killed a teacher in Pattani province as she parked her car outside the school where she worked.^[2331] GCPEA did not identify reports of attacks on students in 2016.

GCPEA identified one recorded incident of an attack on students in 2017. Reuters reported that on March 2, 2017, assailants opened fire on a village deputy leader's car as he was transporting several children to a village school in Rue Soh district, Narathiwat province. An 8-year-old boy was killed instantly and two other children were wounded.^[2332] There were no reported attacks targeting teachers. It was not clear whether this reduction was related to a change in the security environment or to a lack of information at the time of writing.

Child recruitment at, or en route to or from, school

Information on child recruitment from schools in Thailand was sparse, but anecdotal information indicated that it did occur. Three former child recruits reported to Child Soldiers International in 2014 that armed groups had used private Islamic schools to indoctrinate and recruit them and other students.^[2333]

Attacks on higher education

During the reporting period, government security forces reportedly arrested university students and professors for their perceived opposition to the government. Many of these arrests took place under the lèse-majesté laws, which criminalized insulting the monarchy and were more actively and more broadly enforced after the May 2014 coup.^[2334] Reports of this form of attack were more frequent than in Education under Attack 2014.

The separatist conflict in the deep south affected higher education sporadically during the reporting period. There were reports of isolated incidents of IED explosions and gunfire affecting universities, students, and education personnel in the southern provinces.

Media sources and NGOs documented two incidents of government forces arresting higher education students and personnel on political grounds in 2014:

• Scholars at Risk reported an incident on September 18, 2014, in which government forces interrupted a forum on democracy at Thammasat University in Bangkok, titled "The Fall of Dictatorships." They detained a group of four academics and three students, who were held at a local police station for a few hours and questioned before being released.^[2335]

• Scholars at Risk also reported that on October 27, 2014, a student and a professor at Thammasat University in Bangkok were charged and jailed for insulting the monarchy when they staged a play called "The Wolf Bride," which parodied the Thai political conflict of 2013.^[2336]

There was one incident in Thailand's deep south in 2014, in which suspected separatists shot and killed a university student. Local media reported that on November 2, 2014, unidentified assailants shot and killed a university student in Muang district, Narathiwat province. Local sources alleged that the perpetrators were members of an armed separatist group.^[2337]

In 2015, the government's crackdown on perceived student opposition continued with the reported arrest of at least 14 students in a single incident, representing a slight increase in the number of people affected during 2014. Scholars at Risk and Human Rights Watch found that on June 26, 2015, state police arrested 14 students from the New Democracy Movement for sedition and violating the junta government's ban on public assembly. The students had led a nonviolent protest against the government the day before at Thammasat University in Bangkok. They were detained until July 8, 2015. The charges against them remained pending for an unknown period of time.^[2338]

NGO reports indicated that student activists continued to be affected by restrictions on freedom of expression in 2016. GCPEA collected information on two incidents in which students were detained, arrested, or beaten:

• Human Rights Watch reported that on January 20, 2016, government security forces abducted a well-known student activist as he walked with friends outside Thammasat University's Rangsit campus. The abductors grabbed him and pushed him into a truck with no license plates. Soldiers then handed him over to the police in the early morning of the next day. He later reported that he had been blindfolded, beaten, interrogated about his political affiliations, and accused of violating the ban on public assembly and political activity.^[2339]

• According Scholars at Risk, on June 24, 2016, police arrested a group of student activists who were returning to the campus of Phranakhon Rajbhat University in Bangkok after marching to Bangkok's Laksi Monument, where they had distributed copies of Kao Kham, the New Democracy Movement's newspaper. Police officers had asked the students to stop distributing the newspapers but the students refused. They were then arrested under a law banning political gatherings of five or more people. The students were released later in the day and were not formally charged with anything.^[2340]

Rights groups reported two incidents in which academics were detained or arrested in 2017:

• On August 14, 2017, five academics were required to report to the police after they participated in the 13th International Conference at Chiang Mai University between July 15 and 18. At the conference, a group of Thai and foreign academics issued a statement that called on the government to restore freedom of expression in Thailand. Four of the academics were photographed holding a sign stating, "AN ACADEMIC FORUM IS NOT A MILITARY BARRACK." The four academics and the conference organizer were accused of violating NCPO Order No. 3/2558, which banned political gatherings of five or more people. They faced up to six months in prison and up to a $300 fine if convicted.^[2341]

• Thai authorities charged Sulak Sivaraksa, a Thai academic and activist on October 9, 2017, with lèse majesté after he made comments questioning a historical narrative about the 16th century royal elephant battle during an academic conference at Thammasat University. Sivaraksa.^[2342] The prosecutor later dropped the charges on January 17, 2018.^[2343]

2278 Zachary Abuza, "Religion in the southern Thailand conflict," post to The Interpreter (blog), October 10, 2014.

2279 Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat, "Southern Thailand attacks reflect tension over peace talks, conflict monitor says," Reuters, April 19, 2017. Don Pathan, "Thailand eyes next move in Southern peace talks," Asian Review, August 17, 2017.

2280 ICG, Southern Thailand: Dialogue in Doubt (Brussels: ICG, July 8, 2015), p. i.

2281 "Thailand: Insurgents Target Civilians in South," Human Rights Watch news release, August 25, 2016.

2282 Amy Sawitta Lefevre, "Freedom of speech reaches 'new low' in junta-ruled Thailand," Reuters, December 16, 2015.

2283 "Press briefing note on Thailand," OHCHR, June 13, 2017. "Lèse-majesté explained: How Thailand forbids insult of its royalty," BBC, October 6, 2017. Jonathan Head, "Thailand lèse-majesté: UN urges amendment to law," BBC, June 19, 2017.

2284 ICG, Recruiting Militants in Southern Thailand (Brussels: ICG, June 22, 2009), p. 2.

2285 "In southern Thailand, schools function amid threats of violence," Agencia-EFE, May 20, 2017.

2286 CEDAW, "Concluding observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Thailand*," CEDAW/C/THA/CO/6-7, July 21, 2017, paras. 22, 34.

2287 Kathryn Hanson, "Academic Freedom and Military Rule in Thailand," Inside Higher Education, January 8, 2017.

2288 ICG, Recruiting Militants, p. 2.

2289 A full list of references can be found on GCPEA's website, http://www.protectingeducation.org/education-under-attack-2018-reference. For 2012 numbers, see GCPEA, Education under Attack 2014, p. 196.

2290 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/68/878S/2014/339, para. 203.

2291 Asian News International, "1 killed 3 injured in bomb explosions in restive S. Thailand," Yahoo News, January 30, 2013.

2292 "School burnt near attacked base," Bangkok Post, February 13, 2013," as cited in START, GTD 201302130002. "South rebels launch wave of reprisals," Bangkok Post, February 25, 2013.

2293 "Five injured in four attacks in Yala," Bangkok Post, July 31, 2013.

2294 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/68/878S/2014/339, para. 203. "BRN rebels blamed for Yala school bomb," Bangkok Post, September 10, 2013. "Two soldiers killed, schoolboy injured in Yala blast," Nation Thailand Portal, September 11, 2013.

2295 A full list of references can be found on GCPEA's website, http://www.protectingeducation.org/education-under-attack-2018-references.

2296 "Grenade thrown at Narathiwat school," Bangkok Post, March 11, 2014. "Selection List: Thai Press From Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat Provinces 17-23 March 2014," OSC Summary, March 17, 2014," as cited in STARTGTD 201403100023.

2297 "Insurgents launch multiple attacks in Thai south, one dead," Reuters UK, May 12, 2014;" "Thailand: One killed in explosions in Narathiwat, Yala," Thai News Service, May 13, 2014;" "Selection List: Thai Press From Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat Provinces 12-18 May 2014," OSC Summary, May 12, 2014" as cited in START, GTD 201405110022.

2298 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/69/926S/2015/409, para. 259.

2299 Ludovica Iaccino, "Thailand: Separatists Torch Six Schools in One Night," International Business Times, October 13, 2014.

2300 "Man gunned down, school bombed in South violence," Bangkok Post, December 6, 2014.

2301 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/70/836S/2016/360, para. 214. Pares Lohasan, "Suspected school bomber nabbed," Nation Thailand Portal, September 13, 2015.

2302 "Thailand: 7 hurt in Narathiwat, Yala attacks," Bangkok Post Online, November 19, 2015," as cited in START, GTD 201511190004.

2303 Don Pathan, "Bombs, bullets fly as 'peace' message fails to reach South," Nation Thailand Portal, February 18, 2016. Abdulloh Benjakat Wassana Nanuam, "Soldier slain, 3 hurt in attacks," Bangkok Post, February 13, 2016.

2304 "Violence continues in Deep South as referendum date is near," Thai Public Broadcasting Service, August 6, 2016.

2305 "Thailand: One killed and two cops injured when militants attacked a ballot carrying truck," Thai Public Broadcasting Service, August 7, 2016. Supatcha Rattana, "Teacher killed in bomb attack on ballot box convoy," Nation Thailand Portal, August 8, 2016.

2306 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/72/361S/2017/821, para. 233. "Thailand: Separatists Bomb School in South," Human Rights Watch news release, September 7, 2016. "Save the Children condemns attack outside a school in Thailand's south, says children and schools must be 'off limits' to armed groups," Save the Children, September 6, 2016. "Statement attributable to Mr. Thomas Davin, UNICEF Representative for Thailand, on violence in Narathiwat Province," UNICEF news release, September 6, 2016. "Thailand: Bombing outside School Leaves Two Dead," Education International, September 15, 2016.

2307 "Four border police and cyclist hurt by blasts in Songkhla," Nation, August 3, 2016. "Three bomb blasts in southern Thailand injures eight," Malay Mail Online, August 2, 2016.

2308 Thomas Parks, Nat Colleta, and Ben Oppenheim, The Contested Corners of Asia: Subnational Conflict and International Development Assistance: The Case of Southern Thailand (San Francisco: Asia Foundation, October 7, 2013), p. 14.

2309 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/68/878S/2014/339, para. 203.

2310 A full list of references can be found on GCPEA's website, http://www.protectingeducation.org/education-under-attack-2018-references.

2311 A full list of references can be found on GCPEA's website, http://www.protectingeducation.org/education-under-attack-2018-references.

2312 "Thai teacher shot, killed," UPI, January 23, 2013. Greta McClain, "Islamist insurgents kill teacher, attack truck carrying students," Digital Journal, January 23, 2013.

2313 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/68/878S/2014/339, para. 203. "Thai teacher shot, killed." Greta McClain, "Islamist insurgents." Waedao Harai, "Teacher tending kids shot dead," Bangkok Post, January 24, 2013.

2314 "Insurgent suspect killed in shoot-out," Nation (Thailand), June 21, 2013. "5 soldiers wounded in Pattani ambush," Bangkok Post, June 20, 2013.

2315 Xinhua, "Religious teacher shot dead in restive S. Thailand," Global Times, August 21, 2013.

2316 "Thailand: Pattani bomb injures eight people," Bangkok Post Online, December 12, 2013. "Thailand: Govt extends emergency decree in southern border region; eight wounded in Pattani bombing," Chiang Mai Mail, December 12, 2013.

2317 A full list of references can be found on GCPEA's website, http://www.protectingeducation.org/education-under-attack-2018-references.

2318 "Insurgents Kill Muslim Teacher in Thailand," Daily Sabah, August 28, 2014. "Female Teacher Killed in Thai Muslim South," Anadolu, August 28, 2014. "Supitcha Rattana, "Pattani teacher killed by gas-cylinder bomb," Nation Thailand Portal, August 29, 2014.

2319 "Thailand: Separatists Targeting Teachers in South," Human Rights Watch news release, March 30, 2014.

2320 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/69/926S/2015/409, para. 258. "Teacher Killed and Set on Fire in Thailand," Al Jazeera, March 14, 2014.

2321 "Thailand: Separatists."

2322 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/69/926S/2015/409, para. 259.

2323 "Muslim cleric shot dead in Yala," Nation Thailand Portal, November 14, 2014. "Mum and daughter among the dead in day of violence," Bangkok Post, November 16, 2014. "179th Teacher Murdered In Restive South," Khaosod Online, November 17, 2014.

2324 "One Pattani villager shot dead, one wounded in shooting attack by assailants on motorcycle," MCOT, November 29, 2014;""Selection List: Thai Press From Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat Provinces 1-7 December 2014," OSC Summary, December 1, 2014," as cited in START, GTD 201411270035.

2325 UN General Assembly and Security Council, "Report of the Secretary-General," A/70/836S/2016/360, para. 214.

2326 A full list of references can be found on GCPEA's website, http://www.protectingeducation.org/education-under-attack-2018-references.

2327 "Brothers shot dead while riding bikes in far South," Nation Thailand Portal, May 11, 2015.

2328 "Thailand: Teacher killing spooks South," Bangkok Post, May 29, 2015.

2329 "Teacher shot dead in Pattani two years after brother killed," Nation Thailand Portal, July 14, 2015.

2330 A full list of references can be found on GCPEA's website, http://www.protectingeducation.org/education-under-attack-2018-references.

2331 AP, "Teacher killed in Thailand's insurgency-plagued deep south," Seattle Times, October 28, 2016.

2332 "Shooting in Thailand's south kills four despite safety zone deal-police," Reuters, March 2, 2017.

2333 Child Soldiers International and Cross Cultural Foundation, Southern Thailand: Ongoing recruitment and use of children by armed groups (London: Child Soldiers International, September 2014), p. 9. Lindsay Murdoch, "The war in southern Thailand is long-running and threatens to spread," Sydney Morning Herald, June 6, 2015.

2334 "Lèse-majesté explained."

2335 Scholars at Risk Network, Academic Freedom Monitor, Thammasat University, September 18, 2014.

2336 Scholars at Risk, Academic Freedom Monitor, Thammasat University, October 27, 2014.

2337 Santhiti Koejitmet and Narong Nu, "Student 'shot by those who killed her dad,'" Nation Thailand Portal, November 6, 2014. "Two slain, 3 wounded in Narathiwat," Bangkok Post, November 3, 2014.

2338 Scholars at Risk Network, Academic Freedom Monitor, Thammasat University/ University of Khon Kaen, June 26, 2015. "Thailand: Junta Arrests 14 Student Activists," Human Rights Watch news release, June 27, 2015.

2339 "Thailand: Investigate Army Abduction of Student Activist," Human Rights Watch news release, January 22, 2016.

2340 Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Monitor, Kasetart University/Ramkhamhaeng University, June 24, 2016.

2341 Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Monitor, Chiang Mai University, August 14, 2017.

2342 "Thailand: Absurd lèse-majesté charges against 85-year-old scholar for comments on 16th Century battle," Amnesty International, December 7, 2017.

2343 "Prosecutors drop lèse-majesté charges against Sulak," Bangkok Post, January 17, 2018.