SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: SCHOOLS REMAIN A TARGET

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 004592 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO) E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TH SUBJECT: SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: SCHOOLS REMAIN A TARGET REF: BANGKOK 826 (NEW REALITY) Classified By: CDA Alexander A. Arvizu. Reason 1.4 (b) ¶1. (C) Summary: The shooting death of a teacher in Narathiwat, in front of a class of primary school students, outraged the country and highlighted the danger facing government teachers in the far south. Rural village schools -- often the only visible symbol of the Thai government besides security forces -- have long been focal points for Malay-Muslim disaffection and have repeatedly been targeted for arson attacks. Increasingly, violence is being directed not at the schools, but directly at the staff, reinforcing the sense of disconnect between the far south and the rest of the country. End Summary RECENT TEACHER ATTACKS CAUSE OUTRAGE ¶2. (SBU) On July 24 a gunman walked into a fourth-grade classroom of a government school in Narathiwat's Rusoh district and shot the teacher three times in front of his class of screaming students. The victim was the 44th public school teacher killed in the South since January 2004. Following this latest shooting, over 40 government schools in Narathiwat have been closed indefinitely. This incident followed the May 19 abduction and beating of two female teachers from a village in Narathiwat's Rangae district by a mob. One of these teachers remains in a coma. These two incidents caused shock and outrage across Thailand and highlighted the danger teachers in the far south are forced to live with. Government teachers in parts of the three southern-most provinces are now routinely escorted to and from school by armed patrols. On June 8, a road-side bomb killed five police officers in Narathiwat who were protecting teachers returning home from school. SCHOOLS HAVE LONG BEEN SOURCE OF FRICTION ¶3. (SBU) Schools in the far south -- both government and private Islamic -- have long been focal points of conflict. The RTG has made various efforts since 1902 to turn schools into vehicles of assimilation; prompting resistance from southerners. Many ethnic Malay-Muslims view the standardized Thai national curriculum -- with references to Buddhist traditions -- as an affront to their values. At the same time they are protective of their own private Islamic schools which are seen as central to maintaining their distinct Malay cultural identity. Traditionally, arson attacks against public buildings have been the most common type of violence related to schools. For example, on January 4, 2004, 20 schools were torched as part of the coordinated raid on the Narathiwat Army depot which marked the beginning of the latest round of violence. GOING AFTER THE TEACHERS - THE MILITANT'S CURRICULUM? ¶4. (C) Comment: Government schools are often the only physical manifestation of the Thai state in rural areas besides security forces, and correspondingly have sometimes been the target for local anger against Bangkok. What appears to be changing is that public school teachers -- often Buddhists from other parts of Thailand assigned to the South by the Ministry of Education (MOE) -- are now the focus of attacks rather than the buildings they work in. In Narathiwat there are only 57 Thai language teachers for 153 public schools -- the MOE can't find people willing to fill the slots. As we have reported previously, an emerging demographic reality is being created on the ground in the deep South as non-ethnic Malays leave, or choose to isolate themselves from their Malay-Muslim neighbors (reftel). Attacking teachers and public schools only reinforces that isolation and sense that the far south is a separate place from the rest of Thailand. End Comment ARVIZU