Thailand: Conflict Timeline.

1902: Siam, now called Thailand, annexes the ancient Kingdom of Patanni, a semi-autonomous Islamic Malay region.

1903: The last sultan of Patanni opposes the Thai occupation and is subsequently charged with treason and imprisoned.

1910: Two attempted uprisings are put down by the Thai army.

1917: Siam becomes an ally of Great Britain in World War I.

1922: A protest regarding Thai educational reforms in Pattani leads residents of Namsai village to refuse to pay land tax to the Thai government.

1932: On 24 June a bloodless coup (known as the ‘Siamese Coup d’état’) led by ‘Khana Ratsadon’, or the People’s Party, brought to an end 150 years of absolute rule. King Prajadhipok’s absolute monarchy was transformed into a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government.

1939: The ethnically neutral name of Siam is changed to Thailand (‘Land of the Free’). Buddhist Thai culture is imposed across the country.

1941: Thailand allies with Japan in World War II. Thailand allows Japanese forces to advance through Thailand towards the British-controlled Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Burma.

1942: Thailand declares war on Britain and the US. However, the Thai ambassador in Washington refuses to deliver the declaration to US government.

1944: Pridi Phanomyong takes power, revoking many assimilation policies of his predecessor.

1945: Pridi establishes a new governance structure that incorporates Malay Muslims into Thai politics.

1946: One year after his return from exile, King Ananda is assassinated.

1947: Military coup by the wartime pro-Japanese leader Phibun Songkhram. This military rule remains absolute until 1973.

1947: Haji Sulong, the chairman of the Pattani Provincial Islamic Council, establishes the Patanni People’s Movement. It petitions for self-rule, linguistic and cultural rights, and the implementation of Islamic law.

1948: Songkhram’s military government imprisons Haji Sulong and other southern leaders. In an attempt to gain accession to the new Federation of Malaya, 250,000 Thai Malays petition the UN. Whilst limited concessions are made by Songkhram, protest riots still erupt across the region.

1959: The ‘Patanni National Liberation Front’ is formed. It calls for Patanni’s independence and is the first such organised armed group.

1960: Over 60 armed groups are active in the southern states.

1965: Thailand permits the US to use bases there during the Vietnam War. Thai troops fight in South Vietnam.

1970s: Armed southern-based groups continue to wage campaigns of violence, mainly through attacks on police posts and government buildings. The government reacts by launching military operations.

1980: General Prem Tinsulanonda assumes power.

1983: Premier gives up his military position and becomes the head of a civilian government. He is re-elected in 1986.

1990: Rebel groups in the south accept an amnesty. This leads to optimism that the insurgency is over, however, low-level militant activity continues.

1991: Another military coup, the 17th since 1932. A civilian, Anand Panyarachun, is installed as Prime Minister.

1997-98: After a request from the Thai government, Malaysia begins to crack down on Thai separatist leaders in its northern states.

2001: Thaksin Shinawatra, newly elected Prime Minister, attempts to re-establish a top-down political structure over the southern provinces.

2001 (Dec): Militants carry out coordinated attacks on police posts.

2003: The Thai government launches a war on drugs, with the southern border provinces heavily affected. More than 2,200 people are killed and thousands arbitrarily arrested, blacklisted and ‘disappeared’, according to Human Rights Watch.

2004 (Apr): Following more coordinated attacks on police stations and check points in the south, three prominent Muslims are arrested on terrorist charges. Hundreds more suspected Islamic militias are killed in fighting. The government imposes martial law.

2004 (Oct): A demonstration outside a police station in Tak Bai results in arrest of hundreds of Muslim men and boys, 85 of whom die from suffocation after being put in army trucks.

2005 (Jul): Prime Minister Thaksin is granted new powers to counter suspected Muslim militants in the region.

2005 (Oct): A Buddhist monk dies when a temple in the Pattani province is burned down. This is the first direct attack on a Buddhist temple since the onset of violence in 2004.

2005 (Nov): Following government crack downs on Muslim militants, the death toll, since January 2004, tops 1,000.

2006 (Jan): Prime Minister Thaksin rejects an offer of peace talks by a separatist rebel group, saying he has never heard of them.

2006 (Sept): Four die and 68 are injured when three bombs are detonated in the southern tourist town of Hat Yi.

2006 (Oct): Following the earlier disposal of Thaksin, retired General Surayud Chulanont is appointed Interim Prime Minister. He takes a more pacifying approach to the south.

2007 (Feb): Yet more coordinated bombings, this time on Lunar New Year, targeting people of Thai-Chinese ancestry. Eight are killed and 50 wounded.

2007 (Mar): Thai security forces raid the jungle camp of a group called Barasi Revolusi Nasional (BRN), killing five militants. This group is believed to be one of the largest southern separatist networks, and is an offshoot of the National Revolutionary Front.

2007 (May): More than 100 killed in one of the bloodiest months since the violence began.

2007 (Aug): Voters endorse a new, military-drafted constitution, the 18th in 75 years of on-off democracy.

2007 (Dec): The Pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) falls just short of an outright majority in a general election. The Constitutional Court disbands the PPP.

2008 (Aug): Thousands of protesters from the People Alliance for Democracy (PAD) storm Government House in attempt to unseat the new Prime Minister, Mr Samak.

2008: Mr Samak declares a state of emergency in Bangkok after one person is killed and 45 hurt in clashes.

2008 (Sept): Mr Samak is found guilty of violating constitution and he has to quit.

2008 (Sept): Mr Thaksin’s brother-in-law at the time, Somchai Wongsawat, is elected Prime Minister by parliament.

2008 (Oct): The Supreme Court sentences Mr Thaksin to two years in jail for breaking a conflict-of-interest law.

2008 (Nov): PAD protesters storm Bangkok’s main airport. Up to 250,000 foreign tourists are stranded.

2008 (Dec): The Constitutional Court disbands the PPP. PAD protesters say they will end the blockade of Bangkok’s two airports after the ruling.

2008 (Dec): Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva becomes the third Prime Minister in as many months. Two hundred red-shirted demonstrators block access to parliament, accusing him of links of the military.

2009 (Apr): The red shirts target the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the beach town of Pattaya.

2009 (Apr): The ASEAN summit is cancelled after protesters overwhelm riot troops and storm part of the conference venue. Fifteen visiting leaders are evacuated by helicopter.

2009 (Apr): Mr Abhisit declares a state of emergency in Bangkok. About 50 protesters force their way into the interior ministry with Mr Abhisit inside. He escapes.

2009 (Apr): The Thai army cracks down on protests in Bangkok; 77 people are reported injured in the clashes.

2009 (Jul-Dec): Thousands of pro- and anti-Thaksin protestors regularly rally in Bangkok and elsewhere.

2010 (Mar-May): Tens of thousands of pro-Thaksin opposition protesters – in red shirts – paralyse parts of Bangkok for two months, demanding PM Abhisit’s resignation as well as early elections. After the negotiations fail, military troops storm the protesters’ barricades and put an end to the demonstrations.

2011 (Feb): Thai and Cambodian troops exchange fire across the disputed border area near the Preah Vihear temple. Both sides agree to allow Indonesian monitors in order to prevent further clashes. The government releases seven leaders of the red-shirt movement after nine months in jail.

Source: Reuters, BBC