Mainland Southeast Asia: Turmoil and Peace - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 430

With the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and incidents
of terrorism in recent years, southern Thailand has
come to international attention. Amnesty Interna-
tional says that this is the third most significant Mus-
lim insurgency in the world after Afghanistan-Pakistan
and Iraq.
Violence has flickered in the south ever since
Thailand' s 1902 annexation of the region, which used
to be an independent sultanate. Its efforts to accultur-
ate this Malay-speaking Muslim area into its Thai-
speaking Buddhist society have failed. Many Muslims
feel that they are being assimilated out of existence.
Violence has increased over the years with more than
1,700 Buddhists being killed by suspected militants
from 2004 to 2006, for example. The Thai army seized
control of the region in 2006 but the violence has not
been quelled. The death toll on both sides now stands
at more than 4,000.
The insurgents apparently have links to Southeast
Asia' s Jemaah Islamiah, a group linked to the 2002 night-
club bombing in Bali, Indonesia, that killed 202 people.
However, the strength of these ties is debatable.
Thai authorities see the south' s network of Mus-
lim religious schools as a key source of recruits for the
insurgency . Each month about 100 sectarian attacks
take place in southern Thailand, down from 200 a
month in 2007. The decrease is attributed to the fact
that Thailand is employing more local militias to
maintain control.
Thai police have arrested numerous suspects and are
watching this region very closely . The government is par-
ticularly concerned about the Andaman Sea coast. This is
an important tourist area and one that might become a
target of terrorism directed against non-Muslim tourists.
The Thailand-Malaysia border is another area of con-
cern. This area is extremely porous. Muslim Malays can
cross into Thailand with ease.

Y a Baa

Coming from clandestine laboratories in Myanmar
and the Golden T Triangle, a yearly supply of more
than 800 million methamphetamine pills have sup-
planted heroin as the drug of choice in Thailand.
The number of drug offenders in Thailand rose
from just over 10,000 in 1992 to 2.4 million in
2010, thereby swamping prisons and courts. The
highest rates of drug use are found among
15 to 24-year-olds.
Most of the drugs are manufactured in Myanmar,
particularly in the states controlled by the
United Wa State Army . This pro-Yangon ethnic
group operates at least 80 permanent and countless
mobile production labs near the Thai border and is
said to be in collusion with the Yangon military
government.
Ya Baa, or “crazy medicine” as it is known in
Thailand, has broad usage across all segments of
society . Construction workers, sailors, farmers, and
taxi drivers take the drug to help them through
long and arduous days. Students use it to stay
awake to study and get through exam periods.
Nightclub devotees take it to dance the night away .
Children as young as six become hooked and hos-
pitals treat more Ya Baa addicts than alcoholics. The
worst symptoms, after years of addiction, are para-
noia and hallucinations leading to uncontrolled vio-
lence. Cures take several months and relapse is
common.
In 2003, former Prime Minister Thaksin
decided on all-out war against drug trafficking.
More than 50,000 drug dealers were arrested
including 2,750 large-scale retailers. Forty million
pills were seized as well. Anti-drug programs have
succeeded in 82,500 villages that are currently drug
free. Nevertheless, about 5 percent of Thais still
abuse methamphetamines—Ya Baa.

TIGER IN A METROPOLIS: BANGKOK
Why is Thailand a tiger in a metropolis? Although only
16 percent of Thais live in Bangkok, it produces more
than half of the GDP . Bangkok is mainland Southeast
Asia' is largest city and is the economic pulse of the re-
gion. At 34 times the size of Thailand' s second largest
city , Nakhon Ratchasima, it is a textbook example of a
primate city .
A city of more than 10 million, the historic and cur-
rent primacy of Bangkok relates to its excellent location.
It has been the capital since its founding in 1792 and lies

SOUTHERN INSURGENCY
In the five southernmost provinces of Thailand, 85
percent of the inhabitants are Muslim. These are not
Thai but rather ethnic Malays with ties to the popula-
tion of Malaysia to the south. For more than a century ,
the southern provinces have had stronger ties with
Malaysia than with Bangkok 1,000 km (600 mi) away .