The situation in Thailand after the terrorist attacks in August. Terror attacks in Thailand: events and their causes. Damage from terrorist activities

On August 11-12, 2016, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Thailand. Several explosions thundered in a number of settlements in the south of the country. First, a bomb exploded in a market in Trang province in the south of the country, then two bombs exploded in the city of Hua Hin. As a result of these explosions, two people were killed and 21 people, including ten foreign tourists, were injured. While the police took heightened security measures, there were new terrorist attacks. In the province of Surathani, also in southern Thailand, bombs exploded near the building of the maritime police and at the local police station. Two more explosions occurred in the city of Hua Hin, where an explosive device went off at the city's clock tower. The bomb went off on the world-famous island of Phuket, which is the center of attraction for tourists. The explosive device was planted in the Patong area, which is just popular with visitors. As a result of a series of terrorist attacks, at least four people were killed.

The first version voiced in the world media was the actions of international terrorists, but this line is not followed by the Thai security forces. According to the Thai intelligence services, the improvised nature of the explosive devices excludes the possible involvement of international terrorist organizations in the attacks - the latter would have found means for more effective explosive devices and would have tried to carry out terrorist attacks with the largest number of victims. However, even without international terrorist groups in Thailand, there are enough forces capable of carrying out such attacks.

Thailand is a real "tourist power" of Southeast Asia. The resorts of this country are world famous and popular. Recently, however, many world media have been writing about the growth of the terrorist threat in Thailand. Until recently, Southeast Asia was not a prominent region on the map of international terrorist activity. Long-term guerrilla warfare took place in a number of Southeast Asian countries, but they were limited to the remote mountainous provinces of the Golden Triangle in Indochina or some islands in the Philippines and Indonesia, and were waged by the rebel organizations of national minorities or the Maoist communist parties. Thailand is one of the few countries in the region where religious fundamentalists became more active in the second half of the 20th century.

The vast majority of the country's population are representatives of various Thai, Tibeto-Burmese and Mon-Khmer peoples who practice Buddhism. However, several southern provinces of Thailand stand out from the crowd. We are talking about the provinces of Pattani, Yala (Jala), Narathiwat (Menara), as well as parts of the provinces of Songkhla and Satuna. The named territories are the north of the Malay Peninsula, which is known to be divided between Thailand and Malaysia. The Malay population has long lived here, which has serious differences from the rest of the peoples of Thailand. Firstly, the Malays profess Sunni Islam, which leaves an indelible imprint on their way of life and ideological values. Secondly, the Malays have their own and very rich cultural traditions, long-standing ties with the peoples of neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia. For Malay Muslims, being under the rule of Buddhist Thailand is very humiliating, and although discrimination against the Muslim population has long been stopped in Thailand, and mosques operate in most provinces of the country, there is still a very impressive percentage of people dissatisfied with state national and confessional policies among the Malay minority.

Back in the 15th century, the Islamization of the population of the northern part of Malacca began. On the territory of the three modern provinces of Southern Thailand and the two provinces of modern Malaysia, the Malay Sultanate of Pattani was created. Its main population was made up of Malays who professed Islam and spoke Java, one of the dialects of the Malay language. However, Pattani was periodically attacked by the troops of the powerful northern neighbor - the Kingdom of Siam. In 1785, the troops of the Siamese king Rama the First defeated the Pattani army and occupied the territory of the Sultanate. The Muslim Malay population found itself in the position of a vassal of the Siamese state. This situation continued into the 19th century, when Malacca became a colony of the British Empire.

In 1826, an agreement was concluded between the representatives of England and Siam, according to which the four Malay sultanates of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terenggan were under the protectorate of Bangkok. In exchange for this, Siam granted the British the rights to the strategic port of Penang and to trade with the vassal Malay sultanates. However, in 1909, a new agreement was signed in Bangkok between Great Britain and Siam, according to which the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla remained under the control of the Siamese, while England established control over Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terenggan.

The Malays periodically raised uprisings against the conquerors, and in the second half of the 20th century, not without the help of the wealthy countries of the Persian Gulf, radical national liberation organizations arose in the Malay provinces of Thailand, advocating either the creation of an independent state of Great Pattani in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, parts of Songkhla and Satun, or for the annexation of this region to neighboring Malaysia. The largest of these organizations was the United Pattani Liberation Organization, which set as its goal the creation of the Malay Muslim state of Patani Darussalam on the territory of three southern Thai provinces that were historically part of the Pattani Sultanate.

A new phase of activation of the Malay separatists in southern Thailand began in 2004. Since that time, Malay radicals have switched to armed struggle, committing systematic terrorist acts and attacks on representatives of the Thai authorities. The victims of the attacks were not only officials, police and military personnel, but also, for example, school teachers, whom Malay radicals consider to be the conductors of Thailand's assimilation policy. The number of schoolteachers killed in attacks in southern Thailand has long since crossed into the hundreds. In just seven years from 2004 to 2011, about 5,000 people died in southern Thailand as a result of terrorist attacks and shootings. Gradually, not only the activity of terrorists increased, but also the number of victims among the civilian population increased. The radicals moved on to killing ordinary Thais - Buddhists living in the southern provinces.

The police and the army are responding with mass cleansing of the villages where the Malays live, trying to stop the facts of support for the radicals from the local Malay peasant population. Currently, the contingent of Thai security forces in the southern Malay provinces of the country reaches 60,000 military and police personnel. For almost every thirty local residents, there is one Thai army soldier or police officer. But such a large contingent of the military still cannot stop Malay radicals - as we see, terrorist attacks continue, and their perpetrators find shelter among the local population. The proximity of the Malaysian border also plays a role. The population of Malaysia, for obvious reasons, sympathizes with the armed struggle of fellow tribesmen and co-religionists in neighboring Southern Thailand. The struggle for the liberation of Pattani is supported by radical fundamentalist organizations active in Malaysia and Indonesia. They also provide information support to the Malay separatists in Thailand.

In recent years, as noted not only by Thai and foreign analysts, but also by representatives of the Pattani national liberation movement themselves, a process of significant personnel renewal has been observed in radical groups. Radical youth are even more resolute than their older comrades, and also noticeably gravitate towards the internationalization of the struggle, including the establishment of ties with international terrorist and extremist organizations. By the way, the militants of the "first wave" treat the young growth of their successors with undisguised respect, noting the great courage and passionarity of the youth. If the radicals of the 1970s and 1980s were more nationalists than religious fundamentalists, then the younger generation of fighters for the independence of the Malay provinces of Thailand is distinguished by religious fanaticism and a penchant for conducting acts of unmotivated terror, such as those that occurred in the cities of Southern Thailand 11- August 12, 2016. Currently, there are more terrorist attacks and attacks per year in Thailand than in Somalia or Yemen, which also speaks to the extent of the radicalization of Malay Muslims in the south of the country.

The rebel groups operate in the jungles of southern Thailand, their total number is estimated at 10,000 people. A significant part of the militants are teenagers and young people from peasant families who have not found any other use in civilian life. Despite the fact that such rebel groups are poorly armed and trained, and the Thai army is considered one of the best in the region, the guerrillas bring a lot of problems to the Thai government. If until 2004 the main emphasis was on rural guerrilla warfare of the traditional type for the countries of Southeast Asia, now radical groups are increasingly resorting to terrorist acts. This makes sense - the creation of an atmosphere of terror and intimidation of the civilian population and foreign tourists deals a serious blow to the tourism economy of the southern Thai provinces.

Among the most active organizations of the "new wave" operating in Pattani, first of all, one should name the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) group, the core of which is young people who profess radical views. They organize attacks on soldiers and those civilians, including Malays, who are accused of collaborating. The group is characterized by high mobility - after the attacks, its militants instantly hide in the forests on the territory of neighboring Malaysia, which significantly complicates the fight against them for the Thai special services.

As early as 1989, the Barisan Bersatu Mujahidin Patani (BBMP) organization, sometimes also referred to simply as Bersatu, was established. At first, it acted with a claim to unite other rebel groups in the Malay provinces of Thailand, but when its leadership was arrested in 2004, Bersatu's influence weakened, although it remained active as one of the radical groups.

The Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO) - the same Pattani United Liberation Organization - arose back in the 1960s, but in recent years radical fundamentalists have taken over its leadership, pushing aside veterans of the organization adhering to more moderate nationalist views. Now the organization aims to achieve the independence of Pattani in order to create an Islamic caliphate on its territory.

From a more radical position, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) - the "National Revolutionary Front", is considered one of the largest organizations leading an insurgency in the jungles of Southern Thailand. At present, it is based on the followers of the Salafi trend in Islam.

The organization Gerakan Mujahidin Islam Patani (GMIP) - the Islamic Movement of the Mujahideen of Pattani, which is ideologically oriented towards the international organization Al-Qaeda (banned in the Russian Federation) also advocates the creation of an Islamic state. Establishing contacts with international terrorist groups, Malay radical organizations also adopt their methods of action, including the tactics of using suicide bombers and explosions in crowded places.

When a coup d'état took place in Thailand in 2008, dubbed the "Yellow Turban Revolution" in the press, there was hope for an end to the long-term armed conflict in the south of the country. Moreover, among the rebels who came to power as a result of the coup was General Sonthi Bunyaratkalin, who came from a Muslim family. But there were no cardinal changes in the attitude of the government towards the Pattani national liberation organizations. There have been only relatively timid attempts to normalize the situation in the country. However, in February 2013, an agreement was signed in Bangkok between the government and representatives of the Muslim community. Its signing was supported by the leadership of the National Revolutionary Front, one of the radical organizations of the Malay minority based in Malaysia. But almost immediately after the signing of the agreement, many political scientists and journalists doubted its real effectiveness, especially since the most militant radical formations of Pattani, associated with international religious extremism, still refuse any negotiations with the authorities.

Experts believe that the southern provinces of Thailand are already turning into one of the most dangerous "hot spots" in the world. In fact, they form the basis of the spread of terrorism in the Asia-Pacific region, forming pockets of instability - local organizations advocating the liberation of Pattani cooperate with radical groups operating in neighboring Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines and gradually come into contact with international terrorist organizations. As you can see, while the Thai security forces are unable to suppress the Malay radical organizations in the southern provinces, which turns Southern Thailand into a zone of "smoldering conflict" and entails serious losses and risks for the country's economy.

People react negatively to misfortunes, especially when they are arranged by specially radical groups. It is especially scary to read about the events taking place in the resort areas, where it is customary to relax and forget about the danger. The attacks in Thailand caused an uproar among travel enthusiasts. The "Land of Smiles" was previously considered a fairly safe territory. What has changed and why? Let's figure it out.

Pre-Events

Experts have known for a long time that terrorist attacks in Thailand are likely. The activity of ISIS (an organization banned in the Russian Federation) has become more active all over the world. Terrorists prefer to infiltrate countries that have "holes" in the security system. And the secret services of Thailand - a thing, as experts say, is relative and useless. Law enforcement officers of the country are capable, perhaps, of neutralizing a thief. No one has heard of systemic measures aimed at curbing the terrorist threat here. Representatives of the Russian community living in the "Land of Smiles" wrote a lot about this. They know better than anyone what precautions are being taken in the Russian Federation. Compared to them, nothing was done in Thailand. The militants had the opportunity to receive from behind the cordon almost freely. And to install them at the airport, in public institutions and places of mass congestion of vacationers is a matter of technology. In the absence of a desire on the part of government agencies to increase precautionary measures, it remained only to wait for the thunder to strike. And the time has come.

Terror attacks in Thailand (2016)

Explosions began in mid-August. According to media reports, the militants used a special scheme that could potentially increase the number of victims. As experts later found out, the attacks in Thailand were carried out according to the tactics of double explosions. It consists in the fact that two bombs are immediately laid at a short distance. The time of the explosion is regulated in such a way that law enforcement officers and onlookers attracted by the first fall under the second one. The power of the bombs is not very large.

The tactics did not lead to the planned casualties, the police worked. On August 11-12, eight explosions sounded in the south of the country, killing four people and injuring thirty-five. According to law enforcement officials, the devices that carried out the terrorist attack in Thailand (August 2016) are identical to the ISIS bombs. That is, here you can see a clear technical trace of militants terrorizing the countries of the Middle East. Terrorists planted devices in recreation areas with the expectation that tourists would suffer. They succeeded. Ten foreigners were among the wounded.

Damage from terrorist activities

The death of citizens is not the only thing that the militants managed to achieve. The attacks in Thailand led to large fires, which destroyed many buildings and other property. The damage is estimated at over four million US dollars. In addition, multiple fires are hitting the attractiveness of the resort area. But it is tourism that brings income to such a state as Thailand. Phuket, where the terrorist attacks brought a lot of grief, at the same time, for example, is one of the main destinations for travelers. Terror attacks in this zone scare away people who ensure the growth of the country's economy. Experts argue that this illegal activity may be politically motivated. In early August, a referendum took place in the country, which approved changes to the Constitution. But some political forces do not agree with this. They could contribute to the activity of radicals that harm the main industry that provides the filling of the budget.

Law enforcement successes

Thailand is a politically complex country. It is ruled either by democratic forces or by the military. Coups do not cause a special response in the world media, however, they happen regularly. The attacks in Thailand are a reflection of the internal struggle. Agree, this does not make it easier for tourists. Terrorist bombs can go off at any time, naturally, no one will indicate the place in advance. Public services are trying to carry out work on early warning of danger. So, some of the devices were found and neutralized in August. This happened because the tactics of double explosions were unraveled. Near the scene of the tragedy, they immediately looked for another device. The authorities believe that the attacks are a temporary phenomenon. There is an opinion that behind this series of explosions there is one politician, angry with the results of the referendum. Whether this is really so, the investigation will show. And tourists should be careful when purchasing a tour. As it turns out, you can’t feel confident even in the “Land of Smiles”.

And Narathiwat (south of Thailand) during the day - May 20, 14 explosions thundered. Explosions originated from the use of improvised explosive devices. Most of the devices used by the attackers were planted at ATMs of various banking and financial institutions in Thailand. As a result of the explosions, power lines were damaged and the power supply to some buildings was interrupted.
At least three people were injured in a series of explosions in southern Thailand. The explosions were carried out by groups of Islamic separatists who have been terrorizing the south of Thailand for more than a year.
A member of the paramilitary police, as well as two local residents, were injured in a series of explosions. The police believe that separatist groups operating in the region are behind the attack.
Islamic separatists have been operating in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat for more than 12 years, waging a guerrilla war for independence from Bangkok. A special security regime has been introduced in the region. During the conflict, more than 7,000 people died as a result of explosions and shootings.

January 22, 2018. Explosions in Thailand. More than 20 people were injured in an explosion at a market in Thailand, and three people were killed.
The explosion occurred at 6:20 am local time in a market in the city of Yala, the capital of the province of the same name - this is the southern province of Thailand, not far from the border with Malaysia.
An improvised explosive device, which was hidden in a motorcycle parked near a stand with ready-made food, went off. As a result, as previously reported, three people died, more than 20 were injured and were hospitalized. At the moment, none of the separatist groups operating in this region of the country, has not claimed responsibility for the explosion.
in the south are carried out with regular frequency. The religious conflict in Thailand has been going on since 2004, during which time more than 6.5 thousand people have died. Clashes are taking place in Pattani and Narthiwat, where Muslims make up the majority of the population.

Two explosions happened on Tuesday May 9, 2017 near a supermarket in the Thai city of Pattani, 40 people were injured, Agence France-Presse reported, citing local police.
The number of people injured in explosions near a supermarket in the Thai city of Pattani has risen to 59 people, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper. Earlier it was reported about 51 victims.
Explosive devices went off with a small time difference around 14.00 (10.00 Moscow time). According to police, the first bomb was attached to a motorcycle parked nearby, the second detonated in a car. At the time of the second explosion, the police were already at the scene.

According to the publication, most of the victims are children and their parents who made purchases for the school. Now 21 people have already been discharged from the hospital, but the condition of two of the remaining ones is assessed as critical.

August 11, 2016. Thailand.

Two explosions occurred in the resort of Hua Hin in the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan (on the western coast of the Gulf of Thailand) in Thailand. According to local media, the first explosion occurred at 22.35 local time (18.35 Moscow time) near a bar in the tourist area, the second - an hour later at another bar located 100 meters from the first. There were no casualties during the first explosion, the police and sappers arrived at the scene. When law enforcement officers examined the site of the first explosion, a second one was heard.
The BBC Broadcasting Corporation reported that explosive devices hidden in flower pots went off, they were activated using a mobile phone. As a result, 12 people were injured, including three foreign tourists. According to the latest updated data, the number of victims has increased to 24 people, the local Nation TV channel reported.

Hua Hin is a very respectable resort for Europeans, wealthy Thais and Chinese.
ALL EXPLOSIONS IN THAILAND HAPPENED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO POLICE STATIONS WITHIN AN HOUR AFTER THE FLAG HAS BEEN HOWERED ON THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY!
Later, a series of terrorist attacks occurred in the tourist areas of Thailand: on the island of Phuket, as well as in the cities of Surat Thani.
August 12, 2016. Phuket.
In the province of Phanga, which is located near Phuket, there were two more explosions at the local market. None of the people were hurt.
On Friday, Thailand celebrates the birthday of Queen Sirikit, wife of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). This holiday is also the national Mother's Day.
Among the foreigners injured in the explosions of two bombs in the resort town of Hua Hin in Thailand, there are citizens of the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.
TWO MORE EXPLOSIONS OCCURRED IN THE PROVINCE OF SURAT PHANI IN THE SOUTH OF THAILAND, 1 PERSON DIE.

As a result of a series of explosions that thundered in tourist areas in southern Thailand on Thursday, August 11, in the evening and on Friday, August 12, in the morning, four people were killed. More than 30 people injured, including foreign tourists.

Over the past 12 hours, extremists have staged a total of five explosions in the resort areas of the kingdom. Bombs went off near hotels, markets and police stations.

Explosives experts found several more failed land mines and neutralized them. As stated in our embassy in Thailand, there are no Russians among the victims and the dead.

This is the most powerful terrorist attack in the kingdom of Thailand in recent times.

Police has already detained the first suspects in the bombings. The authorities have stepped up security measures in crowded places: in markets, near hotels and on beaches. Highways and the railway leading to the resort town of Hua Hin are blocked.

The explosion took place in the Thai province of Narathiwat. An improvised explosive device was planted on a police route and, apparently, should have worked at the time of the passage of the patrol. However, the 20 kg bomb detonated when no one was around. The explosion is associated with the separatist movement in the southern regions of the country. This was another wake-up call not only for the security services of Thailand, but also for tourists. Last week, the radical separatists for the first time chose the resort areas of the country as their target.

The explosions that took place at the resorts in southern Thailand on August 11-12 and claimed the lives of four people were also linked by the authorities with the separatists of the "extreme south". According to the authorities, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional group may be behind the explosions.

In the neighboring Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf, a radical Islamist separatist group, swore allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) banned in Russia back in July 2014. IS claimed responsibility for the January 2016 bombings in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Explosions on August 11-12 in Thailand are not associated with this organization. However, these attacks bring the separatists closer to IS, whose attacks are aimed at intimidating the widest possible sections of the population.

Photo report: A series of explosions in Thailand, there are dead and injured

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If Thai separatists have switched to ISIS tactics, foreign Islamist fighters may be drawn to the "extreme south". And this will already lead to significant destabilization in Thailand.

Much of the blame lies with the country's authorities, who for many years brutally suppressed the separatists and turned them from a spontaneous regional opposition into an effective militant group.

Extremely cruel south

The “Far South” in Thailand refers to several provinces on the border with Malaysia, where Yawi Malays live, these are Songkhla, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. Ethnic Thais represent a smaller proportion of the population in these provinces. They live mainly in cities, they represent the middle class and the elite there. Their religion is Buddhism. The majority of Yawi Malays are poor, poorly educated rural population who practice Islam.

It turns out a clear ethno-religious economic division: rich Thais and poor Malays. These social contradictions caused at first protests, and later - the armed struggle of the Malay underground organizations against the government and local Thais.

Peaceful protests with various economic demands periodically took place in the cities of the "extreme south". From the perspective of the Malays, an upsurge of violence occurred in 2004 during the rule of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He has consistently tried to solve the "Malay question" by force from the very beginning of his reign in 2001. Underground groups aimed at armed resistance immediately began to emerge among the Malays. In April 2004, about a hundred Malays tried to attack police stations in Pattani province. Among them are several dozen teenagers.

There are two versions of further events: state and Malay. From the point of view of the state, the attackers were well armed, but the police were able to successfully repel the attacks. Most of the attackers were killed, 32 surviving teenagers aged 15-20 took refuge in the ancient stone mosque "Krue Se". Army special forces stormed the mosque, all who were there were killed.

Malay version: the attacks against the police were an act of desperation, the teenagers were armed mainly with knives, only a few people had pistols, so the police managed to deal with them so easily. What happened in "Krue Se" is a demonstrative massacre. Allegedly, the military themselves took the arrested to the mosque and shot them.

At least a few days later, Senator Kraisak Choonhavan announced that most had been shot in the head.

Why did the military choose Krue Se? The answer for the Malays is obvious: this is the oldest mosque in the "extreme south", the legacy of the independent Great Pattani Sultanate (it existed for 200 years, was captured by the Thai kingdom at the end of the 18th century), one of the symbols of the former greatness of reality. A total of 108 Malays died that day. This is the first episode that has led to an escalation of violence between the state and the Malays.

The second occurred in October of the same 2004. In the town of Tak-Bai on the border with Malaysia, the police arrested six local residents. They were accused of terrorist activities and possession of weapons by one of the underground organizations. Local men gathered to protest, demanding that the arrested be released.

To disperse the demonstrators, the authorities used special police units and the army. The dispersal was abundantly covered by TV journalists, so the events of Tak-Bai for the Malays became the clearest evidence of the policy of oppression on ethno-religious grounds.

The beginning of the war

Tear gas and small arms were used against the demonstrators. Seven people died on the spot. Hundreds of people were beaten and forced by the military to take off their pants or traditional sarong skirts and lie down on the ground. The detainees were then loaded into covered trucks to be taken to police stations. During the trip, another 78 people died from lack of air, people had to lie on top of each other. Prime Minister Shinawatra fully supported the actions of the military.

After these events, the resistance of the Malays acquired a more brutal and massive character. The government had to reinforce roadblocks in rural areas. Periodically there were skirmishes between the Malays and the security forces. Improvised explosive devices have exploded near police stations and army bases or along military routes. Buddhist monasteries, schools and government institutions were attacked.

The main demand of the underground organizations of the "extreme south" is to grant independence to four provinces populated mainly by Malays: Songkhla, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani. As for what the future of these provinces should be, the positions of the undergroundists diverged. Some called for unification with Malaysia, others believed that it was necessary to create an independent state called Great Pattani, as the Sultanate of Yawi was once called.

According to the results of 2004, there were about 1 thousand acts of violence in the "extreme south", one way or another connected with separatism. About 400 people died. The following year, 500 people died.

The Thai military was already on constant duty in monasteries and schools. The departure of the monks outside the monasteries took place in armored vehicles, accompanied by soldiers. Ethnic Thais began to leave the region.

All this time, violence did not spread beyond the "extreme south". The separatists seemed to make it clear: we are fighting for our own land, we do not need someone else's.

Foreigners become the target

Although the government accused the separatists of being Salafism, a radical Islamic movement, the Malays did not attack or take foreigners hostage. If foreigners became victims of explosions, it was by accident. In places of rest, on the beaches, terrorist attacks were not carried out. For example, in the city of Songkhla on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand there is a small diaspora of foreigners, and clashes between the separatists and the government did not affect them in any way.

In the province of the "extreme south", including in rural areas, which the Thai military considers extremely dangerous, the negativity of the local Malays in relation to foreigners, until very recently, was not felt at all. Local residents, on the contrary, are friendly and glad to a foreigner - for them this is a rather rare occurrence.

The Thai military and police paid little attention to the rare foreigner: they know he is not a separatist target.

After the overthrow of Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, the military took power in Thailand and tried to stabilize the situation in the "far south". The new chairman of the government, General Surayud Chulanont, initiated the start of peace negotiations with the separatists. Meetings between government officials and separatists took place in Malaysia. The Malaysian government in every way emphasized its commitment to the territorial integrity of the neighbor and normalization in the regions of the "extreme south". However, the negotiation process has stalled.

The very next year, the government again accused the Malay separatists of links with the terrorist Al-Qaeda and the Taliban (banned in Russia). The confrontation is back on track.

Since 2011, Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra has become the prime minister of the country as a result of victory in parliamentary elections. Under her, violence in the south of the country acquired the character of a full-fledged civil war.

Violence was drastically reduced in the autumn of 2013, when massive opposition protests against the government began in the capital, Bangkok, the so-called Yellow Revolution.

The separatists supported the protests. Malay civil organizations took part in the demonstrations. Opposition leaders, including the leading Democratic Party, promised to solve the problems of the "far south" peacefully and criticized Yingluck Shinawatra for military operations against the Malay population.

In May 2014, Yingluck was arrested by the military (for several months they remained neutral in the "yellow revolution"). The new government was again formed from army officers, headed by the current Prime Minister of the country, Prayut Chan-Ocha. He did not take serious steps to resolve the conflict in the "extreme south". This conflict continues to this day.

On Monday, August 15, an explosion occurred in the province of Yala: an explosive device went off under the roadbed, which was patrolled by the military, two marines were injured. In total, since 2004, 6.5 thousand people have died in the armed conflict in the "extreme south", mostly civilians.

On the morning before the attacks on the resorts of Thailand, the state-run Thai Rath published an article that criticized the authorities for being too “soft” on the separatists in the Muslim south.

Whether the resort bombings will force the Thai leadership to reconsider this concept will become clear soon.

The authorities deny the connection of the incident with international terrorism

A whole series of explosions occurred on Thursday evening and Friday morning at resorts in Thailand. Four people became their victims, several dozen were injured. Among them were foreigners, according to local police.

Although it is not known exactly who organized the explosions, Thai law enforcement agencies deny the connection of what happened with international terrorism. Meanwhile, back in December last year, there was a rumor in the media citing sources in the Thai police that the Islamic State (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation) was preparing terrorist attacks against foreign (and in particular, Russian) tourists.

Moreover, there are doubts that the current attacks were staged by separatists who advocate separation from Thailand of the southern regions, where the majority of the population is Muslim. The most high-profile terrorist attack in the south of the kingdom was a series of explosions on March 31, 2012 in the provinces of Yala and Songkhla. Their victims were 16 people.

Now the authorities, commenting on the latest explosions, are talking about some kind of "local sabotage", in addition, "limited to certain areas." It is possible that opponents of the ruling military regime, which came to power about two years ago and recently held a constitutional referendum, which strengthened the army's ability to influence the country's politics, could be behind the explosions. It is noteworthy that on Friday the 84th birthday of Queen Sirikit is celebrated in Thailand. And the military in power has repeatedly stated that their top priority is protecting the monarchy.

If we talk about “linking” to dates, we can see that the current series of terrorist attacks happened a few days before August 17, 2015. Then, as a result of an explosion near the Hindu sanctuary of Erawan, more than 20 people died (among the dead, 14 people were foreigners, including 7 citizens of China and Hong Kong), more than 100 were injured ...

It is quite obvious that the tourism industry of Thailand, which is one of the pillars of the economy of this Asian country, has become the main target of the terrorists. All explosions occurred south of Bangkok. One of them thundered on Patong Beach in Phuket, and three in the seaside resort of Hua Hin.

In Hua Hin, the attacks were staged on a crowded street where there are many bars and restaurants. A tourist died there, as well as a food peddler. Among the victims, according to media reports, there are citizens of Great Britain, Austria, Italy, Holland and Germany. According to police, the bombs were hidden in the flower beds and activated by remote control with a difference of half an hour.

Two more bombs were detonated in front of police stations in southern Thailand in the district of Surat Thani. One person died and three were injured. Two explosions took place near the market in Fang-Na - fortunately, no one was injured there.

One person was killed in a bomb blast in the southern province of Trang. In just 24 hours, 11 bombs were detonated in 5 Thai provinces.