The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns of dramatic consequences of flooding for the population in the war-torn region of Patani in southern Thailand. "More than 680,000 people in the south of Thailand, an area primarily populated by Muslim Malay, are suffering the direct consequences of torrential rains and tens of thousands of people have lost their livelihoods," reported Ulrich Delius of the STP's Asia section on Friday in Göttingen. A total of 11 provinces are affected. "In the wake of the worst flood catastrophe in 70 years, the peace efforts between the Buddhist majority and Muslim Malays must be stepped up. The minority in the south of the country are suffering not only from the natural disaster, but also from the continuing civil war," noted Delius.

The city of Hat Yai (population: 150,000) in the Songkhla province was 2 meters deep in water several days this week. In the neighboring province of Yala, 53 villages of the Muslim minority were flooded. More than 24,700 acres of arable farmland were inundated. The destruction of hundreds of rubber plantations, however, will have even more dire consequences, as rubber is the chief export of the region, and thus its main source of income.

In spite of the natural disaster, the civil war rages on in this region. Muslim liberation movements, fighting for an independent Patani sultanate, and Thai security forces are fighting bitterly with no regard for the civilian population. Since October 25, 2010, nineteen people have been wounded and one killed in 14 separate attacks by armed Muslim movements. Since the escalation of the civil war in January 2004, 4,395 people have been killed and 7,148 others wounded in various attacks and assaults. While the rebels in particular made headlines worldwide with decapitations of Buddhists, around 60 percent of the people violently put to death in Patani are Muslims. The Muslim minority in southern Thailand has complained for years of cultural, social, political and economic discrimination at the hands of the Buddhist majority.

The Thai army and paramilitary organizations attack the radical freedom fighters ruthlessly in the ongoing fight against Muslim civilians. The soldiers make sweeping accusations against the Malay minority, claiming that they all support liberation movements. The government has sent some 30,000 troops to battle the liberation movements. Human rights abuses by the regular armed forces go unpunished, which further fuels unrest in the region. "Without new impetus from outside to work towards peace, the violence in the region will continue to escalate. The Thai government clearly prefers waging war," stated Delius. The Prime Minister of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has announced several peace initiatives, but aside from new economic investments the government in Patani has done nothing to seek dialog with the Muslim minority.

Translated by Elizabeth Crawford