Thailand: Thai separatists of Patani Malay National Revolutionary Front Co-ordinate (BRN-C) will continue to fight
A secretive armed group engaged in the bloody separatist conflict in southern Thailand has told Al Jazeera that it will not compromise on seeking independence for the largely Muslim area.
Speaking to Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen at a location outside Thailand, a senior member of the National Revolutionary Front Co-ordinate (BRN-C) said the group’s main aim was “to fight for independence through an armed revolution”.
“Our main aim is not war but we are forced into this because without violence Siam [Thailand] will never stop discriminating against the Malay people in the south,” he said on condition of anonymity.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in the conflict since simmering tensions over rule by Buddhist-majority Thailand flared in 2004.