Insurgency Overview
Barisan Revolusi Nasional (National Revolutionary Front, or BRN for short) is an Islamist separatist group in southern Thailand. While it dates back to the 60s, it largely remained a non-violent group up until the 2000s, when it began an ongoing series of attacks and bombings. Today it is the chief opponent to Thai government forces in the South Thailand Insurgency, where it seeks an independent state called Pattani. As of 2021, over 7,000 people have been killed and another 13,000 wounded in southern Thailand. (1)(2)(3)
History & Foundations
Pattani (sometimes spelled Patani) used to be the seat of an independent Muslim sultanate. In the 16th century it was conquered and slowly incorporated into what is today Thailand. (2)
In 1909 a treaty between Britain and Thailand determined the border between Malaysia and Thailand. At the time, Malaysia was a British colony and Thailand was known as Siam. This treaty saw Siam gain land in the south, which, as it was land gained from Muslim Malaysia, was majority Muslim. Siam then made attempts to assimilate the Muslim Malays into their Buddhist religion and Thai culture. (10)
In 1963 the Barisan Revolusi Nasional was formed by Haji Abdul Karim Hassan. It started out as a mainly political organization and initially had close ties to the Communist Party of Malaya. The BRN consisted of three factions, the BRN-Congress, BRN-Coordinate and BRN-Uran. The BRN-Coordinate became the most organized of the three factions. (3)
The majority of people today in Pattani are Muslim Malays while the rest of Thailand is mostly Buddhist Thais. This was not a source of major unrest until 2001, when police, soldiers, teachers, civil servants and Buddhist monks began being attacked by Muslim militants. These attacks were sporadic, but government reactions were severe. For example, martial law was declared and during one mass-arrest of hundreds of Thai Malay men in 2004, 78 people suffocated to death after being crammed into trucks. (1)(2)
In 2007, Thailand deployed 60,000 troops to the south, and has maintained a military presence there since. In March 2016 insurgents (it is not confirmed that the BRN was involved, but likely they had some involvement) carried out a series of bombing and attacks in Pattani, killing four and injuring 20. Later that year in August bombs were detonated in seven provinces, including tourist locations Prachuap Khiri Khan and Phuket. These attacks killed four and injured 30; the wounded included citizens from Austria, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The government tried to downplay the August attacks, stating “Thailand doesn’t have conflicts regarding religion, ethnicity, territory or minority groups.” (10)
Objectives & Ideology
The objective of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional is to secede from Thailand and form an independent state of Pattani. A document the BRN prepared for a 2013 peace summit between the BRN, Malaysia and Thailand states that, “BRN is a liberation organization which represents [the] Patani Malay nation…” and further states that “The roots of conflict in Patani [are] due to the occupation and confiscation of the rights of [the] Patani Malay nation.” (5)
While the movement used to have close ties to the Communist Party of Malaya at its inception it is now an Islamist movement. Thai intelligence claims that the movement developed through a network of mosques and schools. General Pisarn Wattanawongkeeree, a former Thai commander in the south, said in 2004, “There is no doubt that the basis for this new insurgency are the ustadz (religious teachers). This is something that has been in the making for a long time.” (3)
Political & Military Capabilities
The Barisan Revolusi Nasional is the largest of the separatist movements in southern Thailand, but it is still small compared to Thai forces. While the group has stated that it has goals of getting membership up to 300,000 people, with 30,000 of those being recruited as fighters, there are only around 1,000 people in the group according to Thai estimates. (3)
Militarily the BRN is still a threat, but dwindling. At its height it maintained cells in an estimated 70% of all villages in southern Thailand. Some of its leaders received training in Afghanistan as well, although it is unknown if they were trained at camps or participated in combat against the U.S.-led coalition. (3) Perhaps the BRN’s most powerful asset is the Runda Kumpulan Kecil, or small patrol units. There are highly-trained fighters who specialize in commando-style raids. (7)
20 years of fighting has taken its toll though, and with many members killed or arrested the group has lost some of its former strength. In addition to losing physical numbers, the BRN is said to have lost a lot of their morale and zeal to fight in the decades of fighting. (6)
Politically the BRN has enough sway to bring the Thai government to the table for peace talks and has done so multiple times. There have not yet been any concrete peace plans agreed to, but in February 2024 the BRN said it was willing to “put pen to paper” and negotiate with the Thai government. Demands will most likely be similar to a list of demands from 2021, which were, “a political solution that meets the aspirations of Malay Muslims in the south; a reduction in military operations; and "the idea of inclusivity" to involve civil society representatives, religious and political figures, and community leaders in the peace dialogue.” (4)(6)
Approach to Resistance
Barisan Revolusi Nasional operates in a very similar way to many smaller insurgencies. Their primary tactics are assassinations (primarily government officials, schoolteachers and Buddhist monks) and bombings. Some of these attacks are very indiscriminate in nature, such as in 2007 when 15 ethnically Malay civilians were injured by a bomb detonated while they were waiting to pick their children up from school; the bomb was allegedly meant to kill Thai soldiers nearby. (7)
BRN attacks do have terror elements to them at times. At least 29 beheadings have been recorded and some people have been hacked to death with machetes. In 2005, a teacher was attacked with machetes and burned alive in front of his students. (7)
Despite the violence, there have been many attempts at solving things diplomatically by the BRN. As mentioned previously, in 2024 there has been yet another shot at a diplomatic solution to the conflict in southern Thailand. In 2020 good progress was happening on the diplomatic front, but this was stalled by the COVID pandemic. Most of these talks happen in Kuala Lumpur. (6)(9)
Relations & Alliances
BRN itself is not a completely cohesive organization, as is often the case with insurgencies. It could be said that the group's biggest relations are with itself. The political and military wings do not always see eye to eye on matters, and there has even been talk of the military wing separating due to its opinion on peace talks. 11
The BRN was formed because of negative relations with the Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO), they split due to a disagreement about how secular PULO is. That was back in 1963, however, and the groups have warmer relations nowadays. The leaders of the modern PULO admit that the BRN spearheads the Patani independence movement. (3)
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