Going South
NEED TO KNOW
Going South
THAILAND
On Jan. 14, two police officers were driving on a rural road in southern Thailand when a homemade bomb detonated under their truck and killed them both, the Bangkok Post wrote.
That bombing in Narathiwat province came a day after another detonated outside of a police station in Pattani province and injured nine Thai security officials.
The two bombings were just the latest flare-up of violence by Malay separatists in those southern provinces as well as Yala and Songkhla near the border with Malaysia. Here, Malay rebels have fought the Thai state for decades to win autonomy.
But this time, the bombings came just ahead of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s visit to the region.
“These incidents show that the government must urgently address this issue and prioritize returning peace to the people in the area,” she said on X.
But analysts say the main obstacle to peace is the government itself.
This region of southern Thailand became part of the Kingdom of Siam in the late 1700s before being incorporated into a Malay sultanate named Patani. In the early 20th century, the region became part of the Thai state after a treaty with the United Kingdom. Since then, the region’s Muslim-majority Malay residents have remained marginalized in Thailand’s largely Buddhist society, living in a poor, underdeveloped region of the country.
For the past few decades, rebel groups, mainly the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), but also some smaller groups have been fighting for independence. The insurgency has killed more than 7,000 people and injured almost 14,000 over the past 20 years, according to Deep South Watch.
About five years ago, the Thai government and the BRN began new peace talks, but progress has been slow despite a roadmap to peace agreed to by both sides in 2023.
Part of the problem is that the Thai government is hindered in making any real concessions regarding autonomy to the south by the military, which could – and has – toppled Thai governments and taken over the country when it is displeased with its agenda.
As peace talks continue to falter under the Pheu Thai government, rebels in southern Thailand appear to have grown increasingly frustrated: Violence has risen since early last year with more than a dozen attacks in the region in that period, wrote World Politics Review.
The prime minister during her visit toured infrastructure projects intended to develop the region, particularly boosting trade and tourism.
However, looking to the future doesn’t solve the grievances over the past, say analysts.
One main issue is the 2004 Tak Bai massacre. On Oct. 25, 2004, security personnel from the Thai army and police units moved to disperse Malay-Muslim protesters in front of a police station in Tak Bai district in Narathiwat province. Seven protesters were shot dead, while 78 others were crushed to death as they were being transported to an army detention facility. About 1,200 people were held in army custody for several days without appropriate medical attention. As a result, many protesters suffered severe injuries that required the amputation of their limbs.
In December 2004, the fact-finding committee appointed by the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the father of the current prime minister, concluded that the methods used to disperse the protesters were inappropriate, wrote Human Rights Watch.
No one has been held responsible for the deaths and injuries. As a result, victims’ families have tried to get justice through the courts. In the most recent attempt last year, the defendants didn’t show up and faced no repercussions for doing so. The statute of limitations ran out in October.
The lack of justice, meanwhile, attracts new recruits to the separatist groups. “When they use the Tak Bai incident, this is something that they don’t really have to tell people so much (about) because it’s still vivid in their memory, so it’s easy … to encourage people to join the movement,” Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat of Prince of Songkla University in southern Thailand told Voice of America.
Analysts say the lingering grievances, along with the securitization of the region could hinder development plans for the region and peace negotiations.
“Moving the Deep South forward also means addressing the wrongs of the past, something that previous governments have been reluctant to do,” wrote Mark Cogan of Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan, in the Diplomat. “Her own apology for Tak Bai was too little, too late.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Pulling the Rug
ARGENTINA
Argentine President Javier Milei is facing multiple lawsuits and calls for impeachment this week after promoting a cryptocurrency on social media, which surged in value before collapsing, leading to major financial losses and accusations of market manipulation, the Associated Press reported.
On Friday, Milei took to X and endorsed $LIBRA, a cryptocurrency linked to the Viva La Libertad project, which claims to support small businesses and startups.
The token’s value spiked following the post but plummeted within hours after Milei deleted it. The president later claimed that he had not been fully informed about the project and removed his endorsement to prevent speculation.
But the scandal triggered a series of legal accusations, including fraud, dereliction of duty, and financial misconduct from opposition lawmakers, legal professionals, and civil society groups.
On Sunday, Argentine lawyers and economists filed a fraud complaint in court against Milei and other officials, alleging that the libertarian president played a critical role in the financial losses suffered by investors.
Lawyers have accused him of orchestrating a “rug pull” scam, a common crypto fraud where a token is inflated in value before crashing, leaving early insiders with profits while other investors face losses.
Meanwhile, the opposition lawmakers announced plans to submit an impeachment request, calling Milei’s involvement “a scandal without precedent.”
In response to the backlash, Milei called on Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office to investigate the case and formed a presidential task force to examine the cryptocurrency’s launch.
Still, the controversy deepened with revelations that Milei and senior government officials had previously met with representatives of KIP Protocol, the company behind $LIBRA, before the launch of the cryptocurrency, according to the Buenos Aires Herald.
While Milei’s administration insists these meetings were routine, KIP Protocol has publicly disputed its role, claiming it never pitched a cryptocurrency project to the president.
Complicating the situation is the involvement of Hayden Mark Davis of Kelsier Ventures, which was also involved in developing and creating $LIBRA. On Sunday, Davis, who initially blamed Milei for the token’s collapse, later posted a video admitting, “I am, indeed, Javier Milei’s adviser.” He promised to reinvest lost funds into the project within 24 to 48 hours.
The scandal has also revived scrutiny of Milei’s past promotion of CoinX, a crypto investment platform that collapsed in 2021 amid accusations of serving as a Ponzi scheme.
Under Argentine law, elected officials are prohibited from advertising private ventures, making Milei’s promotion of $LIBRA a potentially illegal act.
Limbo Island
AUSTRALIA
Australia is set to deport three violent criminals to Nauru even though they are not citizens of the Pacific Island nation after an Australian court ruled that immigrants who commit crimes cannot be detained indefinitely in the country, the Associated Press reported.
Australia Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that three “violent offenders” – including a convicted murderer – received 30-year Nauru visas. The three immigrants plan to appeal their deportation.
Until recently, immigrants who committed a crime in Australia and had served their sentences could not be released into the community after prison because they couldn’t pass the country’s immigration character test due to their criminal record.
At the same time, it was not possible to deport certain immigrants either because their country was considered unsafe – like Afghanistan – or because their home countries don’t accept people deported against their will – like Iran.
As a result, these individuals were held in detention centers in the country indefinitely.
However, a 2023 decision by the Australian High Court said detaining immigrants who commit crimes but cannot be deported indefinitely is illegal.
Following that decision, more than 200 immigrants were released, with some committing new crimes, prompting criticism of the government for endangering Australians.
As a result, Australia has been working with Nauru and other Pacific islands for years to accept migrants smuggled into Australia but denied asylum or residency, housing them in detention camps.
Australian officials said more than 200 immigrants with criminal records who can’t be deported would remain in Australia and would possibly be moved to Nauru or elsewhere later.
Pants On Fire
SINGAPORE
A Singaporean court on Monday convicted opposition leader Pritam Singh on charges of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee that was investigating a former party lawmaker, a verdict that could disqualify him from running in national elections expected later this year, Agence France-Presse reported.
Singh, the leader of the Workers’ Party (WP), was found guilty on two counts of lying to a committee investigating one of the party’s lawmakers, Raeesah Khan.
Khan resigned from parliament in 2021 after admitting she fabricated a story about accompanying a sexual assault survivor to file a police report, falsely claiming that officers made insensitive remarks.
Prosecutors alleged that Singh attempted to downplay his responsibility as party leader by lying about his knowledge of the false testimony.
In its ruling, the court sentenced the opposition leader to the maximum fine of more than $5,200 for each charge, bringing the total to more than $10,400. Under Singapore’s constitution, a person fined at least $7,450 or jailed for one year is disqualified from running for election or holding a parliamentary seat for five years, the Bangkok Post noted.
The ruling comes as Singapore prepares for its first general election under new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
The PAP – which has governed the city-state since 1959 – has faced a series of challenges ahead of the upcoming November vote, with corruption scandals and misconduct cases involving high-profile lawmakers.
The WP gained national attention in the 2020 elections after securing 10 parliamentary seats – its best performance since independence.
However, observers explained that the verdict is a major setback for the WP, which has been seeking to expand its foothold in a political system dominated by the PAP.
Legal analysts noted that Singh’s political future now depends on how the constitution is interpreted because it remains unclear whether his conviction will automatically bar him from the upcoming election.
The opposition leader said he would appeal the decision and still planned to run in the elections.
DISCOVERIES
A Helpful Friend
Bonobos are able to tell when a human doesn’t know something and help them find their way, a new study shows.
Johns Hopkins University researchers Chris Krupenye and Luke Townrow conducted an experiment with three male bonobos to determine the ape’s “theory of mind” – described as the ability to understand the mental state of others.
“(This) ability to sense gaps in one another’s knowledge is at the heart of our most sophisticated social behaviors, central to the ways we cooperate, communicate, and work together strategically,” Krupenye explained in a statement. “Because this so-called theory of mind supports many of the capacities that make humans unique, like teaching and language, many believe it is absent from animals.”
For their experiment, Townrow sat across a table with one bonobo, while a second person placed a treat under one of three cups. While the apes would watch as the experimenter placed the treat, Townrow would sometimes see where it was hidden, and other times he couldn’t.
After asking, “Where’s the grape,” the researcher waited 10 seconds before choosing a cup. If Townrow had seen the hiding place, the bonobo remained still.
But if he hadn’t, the animal actively pointed to the correct cup – sometimes emphatically.
“Their fingers would point right through the mesh – it was clear what they were trying to communicate,” said Krupenye.
One bonobo, Kanzi, was especially demonstrative: He would tap on the mesh insistently to direct Townrow to the right cup.
The team explained that the findings showed that the ape species recognized when someone lacked knowledge and acted to help.
Their behavior also suggested that the creatures held two conflicting perspectives at once: They knew where the food was and also understood that their human partner did not.
The study aligns with previous research on wild chimpanzees that vocalize warnings when members of their group are unaware of nearby threats, according to Scientific American.
It also shows that this theory of mind ability might date to the last common ancestors of humans and bonobos that lived millions of years ago.
The authors are hoping to explore new insights into this ability, such as whether the apes recognize the mental state of ignorance and if they understand they are changing a human’s knowledge.