The first ever skateboard competition in the southernmost province of Pattani has been held. A rare public event in a violence-plagued region, it comes amid calls for the Thai military and the Malay Muslim freedom fighters to establish a ceasefire zone in residential and economic areas. 

A Buddhist Thai youth has been indicted for alleged involvement in the separatist movement for the independence of Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, which are predominantly Muslim Malay.   According to the BBC Thai service, the public prosecutor on 15 October 2015 indicted the first ever Buddhist Thai in a rebellion case related to the Deep South insurgenc

“Patani” is now a very controversial term used to refer to the area encompassing the provinces of Pattani (with 2 t’s,), Yala, Narathiwat, and 4 provinces of Songkhla, mostly inhabited by Malay Muslims and infamous in the news for being a space of conflict. The term arguably carries a strong sense of separatism. The increasing use of the term by CSO, media and the separatists themselves raises concerns among the non-Malay Muslim whether they are included as Patani people and if they will have a say in the right to determine the future of the region.