School of Social and Cultural Studies

Centre for Muslim States and Societies

and

Asian Studies

Invites you to a seminar by

Dr Patrick Jory

A Tale of Two Crises: The Conflict in Southern Thailand

and the Royalists’ Seizure of Power after 19 September 2006

 

Woolnough Lecture Theatre

Thursday, 19 April 2007

4pm

Since January 2004 a centuries-old conflict in Thailand’s southern border provinces has broken out once again. Over 2000 people have been killed, the number of attacks has been increasing and the nature of the violence is intensifying. While in the past the main targets of militants were military and security officials, the current violence has targeted teachers, government officials, religious leaders and villagers – both Buddhist and Muslim – tourists, even women and children. Despite the escalation in the violence it is still unclear who the leadership of the insurgency is, or what their political demands are. Today it is Southeast Asia’s most violent insurgency.

Almost concurrently Thailand has been rocked by a political earthquake that has shaken the country’s political institutions. The crisis raises questions not only about the future of democracy in Thailand but also that of its monarchy. On 19 September 2006 a royalist coup d’état overthrew the democratically elected Thai Rak Thai government and its popular leader,Thaksin Shinawatra. Since then the regime it installed has set about dismantling Thaksin’s power base while strengthening the powers of the military, announced that economic policy would be guided by the king’s so-called “sufficiency” theory, and begun drafting a new Constitution. The regime consistently invokes the monarchy for legitimacy and to shield itself from criticism - the monarchy is protected from criticism by a lèse majesté law which carries with it a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. However, discontent with the regime is increasing.

In this talk Patrick Jory will discuss the background to the two crises and attempt to give some explanation to what has been happening.

Patrick Jory teaches Southeast Asian Studies at Walailak University in southern Thailand. Since 2001 he has been helping set up a Southeast Asian Studies program.

ALL WELCOME

Enquiries: 6488 4554

email: cmss@uwa.edu.au