The Politics of Collective Memory in Violence Southernmost Thailand

Abstract

This research aimed to study the government’s construction of “Santisuk” (peaceful happiness) narrative, and the clash between the official narrative and local memories under the politics-of-memory framework. Findings from this dissertation have provided answers to three main questions. Firstly, how has the government constructed the Santisuk narrative in Tambon Sai Khao in regards to local communities’ significance and identity? Secondly, how have Sai Khao locals responded to the government-constructed narrative? Thirdly, how has the institution of “Santisuk” narrative affected the Tambon Sai Khao in the face of ongoing violence?

According to the findings, the government started to construct the Santisuk narrative in Tambon Sai Khao, Khok Pho district, Pattani province, by declaring it as the first Santisuk area in the province since 2004. Tambon Sai Khao has also been declared “a special area” because its kamnan comes from an election. Via the local elections, Buddhists and Muslims have taken turn holding the post of kamnan in Tambon Sai Khao. In this area, Buddhists and Muslims are almost equal in number. Moreover, unlike Muslims in others parts of Thailand’s deep South, the Malay-ethnic Muslims in this tambon do not speak the Malayu dialect. The government has sought to institute the Santisuk narrative by promoting the Pu Chao Nong local collective memory about the peaceful co-existence between Buddhists and Muslims, placing much significance on the “300-year-old mosquie” in the area.

The institution of the Santisuk narrative, in the sense of political geography, has constituted the government efforts to rein in the violence in the deep South. In doing so, the government has made the general public believe that the Santisuk narrative is the truth through news coverage and news documentaries, which are based on the constructed memory. Such political procedures, however, have oppressed the opinions and feelings of many people not just in the deep South but beyond. In the scope of power relation, many people have challenged the Santisuk narrative instituted by the government. This explains why local memories among the Buddhists and Muslims in Tambon Sai Khao are still different that the narrative created by the government.