Barisan Revolusi Nasional

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Patani Malayu National Revolutionary Front
Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani
ขบวนการแนวร่วมปฏิวัติแห่งชาติมลายูปัตตานี
LeaderHassan Taib, Masae Useng, Sapaeng Basoe, Abdullah Munir, Dulloh Waeman (Ustadz Loh), Abroseh Parehruepoh, Abdulkanin Kalupang, Isma-ae Toyalong, Arduenan Mama, Bororting Binbuerheng and Yusuf Rayalong (Ustadz Ismae-ae), among others.
Active regions Pattani region, Thailand
Ideology Pattani separatism (formerly)
Jihadism
Malay nationalism
Notable attacks South Thailand insurgency
Size200,000 (target)[ citation needed ]
Main area of operation of the BRN. Souththailandmap.svg
Main area of operation of the BRN.

The Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani, [1] [2] also known by the shorter form Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN; English: Patani Malays (or Malayu) National Revolutionary Front)), meaning "National Revolutionary Front", is an Islamist Patani independence movement in northern Malaysia (Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan) and Patani, southern Thailand. As of 2017, it is the most powerful rebel group in the region. [3] [4]

Contents

Originally the BRN was established as a roughly territorial organisation, prioritizing Pattani secessionism. Since 2001, however, the BRN-C (BRN-Coordinasi) has become its most active wing, leading the south Thailand insurgency and imposing extreme religious values on the local society. [5]

The BRN-C, through its "Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani" paramilitary wing, is the main group behind the murder of teachers in the Southern Border Provinces. [6]

Another BRN flag Flag of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (Koordinasi).svg
Another BRN flag

History

The BRN was founded on 13 March 1963 by Haji Abdul Karim Hassan. By 1984, three main factions were discernible within the group: [7]

BRN-Koordinasi

The BRN-Coordinate or BRN-C(BRN-Koordinasi) is currently the largest, most active and best organised of the BRN subgroups. Rejecting the Pan-Arab socialist thought that influenced the early BRN, it favours Salafist ideology and is involved in political activism in the mosques and indoctrination at Islamic schools. The main recruiting unit of the BRN-C is the Pemuda (youth) student group and its leaders are mainly Islamic religious teachers, including veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War. [5]

The BRN-Koordinasi is acknowledged as the group currently spearheading the insurgency in southern Thailand and is at the origin of the group known as Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) to which most violent attacks have been attributed in the last decade. [5]

The BRN-C sees no reason for negotiations and is against talks with other insurgent groups. The BRN-C has the vision of becoming a mass-organisation. It has as its immediate aim to make southern Thailand ungovernable, having largely been successful at it. [8]

Structure

The Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani (Patani Independence Fighters) are the paramilitary wing of the BRN-C. These militant units operate in the rural areas of southern Thailand working along with the BRN-Coordinate leadership in a loosely organised strictly clandestine cell system dependent on hard-line religious leaders for direction. [9] [10] They are also behind the attacks on schoolteachers. [11]

Other groups

  • BRN-Congress or BRN-K(BRN-Kongres), led by Rosa Burako, has been pursuing a military struggle but is currently less active.
  • BRN-Ulama. There is little information about this subgroup. [10]

The group's violent separatist insurgency began in 2004, with tactics such as setting two bombs at one location, with the second designed to kill and injure those attending the aftermath of the first. In total, the southern insurgency has killed more than 6,000 people. [12]

Peace talks

In January 2020, the Thai Peace Dialogue Panel, led by General Wanlop Rugsanaoh, met with BRN representative Anas Abdulrahman in Kuala Lumpur, in what was described as "the first round of official peace dialogue" by BRN official Abdul Aziz Jabal. [13] The two sides reportedly agreed on a framework for further negotiations. [13] [14]

Incidents

In the past decade, the BRN-C has been involved in numerous arson, bombing, and murder attacks to create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty in the three southern provinces of Thailand. Thai military observers believe that the attacks are mostly carried out by its loosely affiliated and clandestine RKK outfit. [15] [16]

On 1 May 2013, insurgents attacked a restaurant in the Pattani Region. The perpetrators, armed with machine guns, killed six people including a two-year-old child. [17] The act was an act of revenge, that appeared twelve hours following the action in the three predominantly Muslim provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. [18]

Use of children

In 2013 and 2014, the UN received reports that the BRN and other armed groups had recruited boys and girls from the age of 14; [19] [20] children were given military training and assigned as combatants, informants and scouts. [20] No such reports were recorded by the UN in 2015 or 2016. [21] [22]

See also

Notes

  1. Currently the use of the black flag of Jihad by BRN-C affiliated groups has largely replaced the former BRN flag.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattani province</span> Province of Thailand

Pattani is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Narathiwat, Yala, and Songkhla. Its capital is the town of Pattani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narathiwat province</span> Province of Thailand

Narathiwat is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan and Perak. The southern railway line ends in this province, which is one of the nation's four provinces that border Malaysia. The province features a range of cultures as well as natural resources, and is relatively fertile. Narathiwat is about 1,140 kilometers south of Bangkok and has an area of 4,475 km2 (1,728 sq mi). Seventy-five percent of the area is jungle and mountains and has a tropical climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yala province</span> Province of Thailand

Yala is the southernmost Province (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Songkhla, Pattani, and Narathiwat. Yala is one of two landlocked provinces in southern Thailand, the other being Phatthalung. Its southern part borders Kedah and Perak of Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hat Yai</span> City Municipality in Songkhla, Thailand

Hat Yai is a city in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border and the fifth-largest city in Thailand with a population of 191,696 (2024) in the city municipality itself and an urban population of 404,044 (2021) in the entire district of Amphoe Hat Yai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patani (historical region)</span> Historical region of the northern Malay Peninsula

PataniDarussalam is a historical region and sultanate in the Malay Peninsula. It includes the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala (Jala), Narathiwat (Menara), and parts of Songkhla (Singgora). Its capital was the town of Patani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Thailand insurgency</span> Malay/Islamic separatist conflict since 2004

The South Thailand insurgency is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malay Patani Region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand and parts of a fourth, but has become more complex and increasingly violent since the early 2000s from drug cartels, oil smuggling networks, and sometimes pirate raids.

The Islamic Liberation Front of Patani, until 1986 known as the National Liberation Front of Patani is a militant Islamic separatist movement based in northern Malaysia and with a history of operations in the South Thailand insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patani United Liberation Organisation</span> Malay Muslim separatist insurgent group in Thailand

The Patani United Liberation Organisation is a separatist insurgent group in Thailand, calling for an independent Patani. It was founded in 1968 in Saudi Arabia. This organization composed the national anthem of Patani called Lagu Kebangsaan Patani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patani Malays People's Consultative Council</span> Political party in Thailand

Bersatu, also referred to as the Patani Malays People's Consultative Council was an umbrella group of separatist organisations of the predominantly Muslim and Malay provinces of Southern Thailand ("Patani").

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai Malays</span> Ethnic group

Thai Malays, with officially recognised terms including 'Malayu-descended Thais' and 'Malay', is a term used to refer to ethnic Malay citizens of Thailand, the sixth largest ethnic group in Thailand. Thailand is home to the third largest ethnic Malay population after Malaysia and Indonesia and most Malays are concentrated in the Southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla, and Satun. Phuket Ranong, and Trang home to a sizeable Muslim population, also have many people who are of Malay descent. A sizeable community also exists in Thailand's capital Bangkok, having descended from migrants or deportees who were relocated from the South from the 13th century onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krue Se Mosque</span> Mosque in Pattani Province, Thailand

Krue Se Mosque also called Gresik Mosque, Pitu Krue-ban Mosque or Sultan Muzaffar Shah Mosque, is a mosque in Pattani Province, Thailand. Its construction may have begun in the 16th century. The surviving structure is described as having a mixture of Middle Eastern or European architectural styles.

The Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), or Malaysian Mujahideen Movement, is/was a terrorist organisation that supported an overthrow of the Mahathir government and is/was for the creation of a pan-regional Islamic state comprising southern Thailand, the entirety of Indonesia, and the southern Philippines. It is believed to be self-financing and is often tied in correlation to smaller more extremist groups in Southeast Asia. The KMM is often cited as being associated with the Jemaah Islamiyah or JI. The Malaysian government, which is actively fighting against the Malaysian Mujahideen Movement, has arrested anywhere from 70 to 80 terrorists. The government currently has 48 members in total detained.

The Pattani Islamic Mujahideen Movement is an Islamist militant insurgent group that has carried out violent actions as part of the protracted insurgency in Southern Thailand.

The Runda Kumpulan Kecil is a jihadism insurgent group operating in three southern border provinces of Thailand and some areas of Songkhla province.

This article lists a chronology of events in the South Thailand insurgency from the 1960s. Most take place in the Muslim-majority, contested provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala in the far south of Thailand bordering Muslim Malaysia.

BNP may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Pattani bombing</span>

On 9 May 2017, two bombs exploded at a Big C supermarket in Pattani, Thailand. 56 people were injured, two seriously. Two men, alleged by police to be Pattani Muslim separatists, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">15th Infantry Division (Thailand)</span> Special operations force of the Royal Thai Army

The 15th Infantry Division (พล.ร.๑๕.) is an infantry division of the Royal Thai Army, it is currently a part of the Fourth Army Area. The unit is composed of the 151st Infantry Regiment, 152nd Infantry Regiment and 153rd Infantry Regiment and Service Support Regiment. The division engaged in the South Thailand insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bacho (2013)</span>

The Battle of Bacho was a battle during the South Thailand insurgency between forces of the Royal Thai Army and RKK insurgents, which began when the latter attacked a military base in Bacho District, Narathiwat Province on 13 February 2013. At least 16 RKK insurgents, including a commander, were killed while none of the Thai military defenders of the base were injured.

References

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  8. Zachary Abuza, The Ongoing Insurgency in Southern Thailand, INSS, p. 20
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  12. Who is behind the Thailand bombings?, BBC News, 12 August 2016
  13. 1 2 Wongcha-um, Panu (21 January 2020). Heinrich, Mark (ed.). "Thai officials resume peace dialogue with main southern insurgents". Reuters.
  14. Nanuam, Wassana (22 January 2020). "Peace talks with BRN launched". The Bangkok Post .
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  20. 1 2 United Nations Secretary-General (2015). "Report of the Secretary-General: Children and armed conflict, 2015". www.un.org. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  21. United Nations Secretary-General (2016). "Report of the Secretary-General: Children and armed conflict, 2016". www.un.org. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  22. United Nations Secretary-General (2017). "Report of the Secretary-General: Children and armed conflict, 2017". www.un.org. Retrieved 24 January 2018.