The scandal about the alleged rape of a Muslim girl in the far South by two soldiers is a flare-up of tensions that may be more profound and multi-dimensional than many people believe.
Pvt Winai Klangwichai, 21, and Pvt Somyos Jantharaphut, who is accused of filming the incident and distributing the video clip by mobile phone, turned themselves in to police on Tuesday.
The soldiers, who have been charged with gang rape and separating a minor from her parents without their consent for molestation purposes, are being detained in Inkhayuthaboriharn military camp in Pattani pending trial.
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The girl is 16. Legally, the age of consent in Thailand is 15 but an amendment to the penal code of 1997 makes sex with a person under 18 a compoundable offence even with the person's consent.
Cross-cultural romances between soldiers stationed in the South and local Muslim women have become a hush-hush issue in the strife-torn region.
Many soldiers are young Buddhist men drafted from other parts of Thailand. Some couples have managed to overcome differences in religion, language and culture and settled down to marriage. But there have also been many cases of heartbreak.
What is less mentioned is how forbidden romances could be fuelling the hatred and resentment that insurgents, and probably some local people, have towards the presence of the military in their region.
Soraya Jamjuree, an academic and peace activist, said the recent case has intensified bad feelings among locals towards authorities.
"When a romantic relationship happens in a conflict zone like this, and when the soldiers are on the opposite side, it becomes a very sensitive matter. The relationship is no longer an individual matter. It has become political. When a relationship is not accepted in communities, there have been cases of the male partners being killed," she said.
An initial survey by Isra News Centre found at least four types of relationships flourishing amid the sound of gunfire and bomb blasts.
The first type is a fling. Once the soldiers complete their mission, the couple go their separate ways. The second type is a marriage according to tradition. The third type is an affair between a soldier and a married Muslim woman. This usually ends up with the woman running away to live with the soldier even if he already has a family because she wouldn't be able to cope with social pressure. The last type is a premarital affair that sometimes results in pregnancy and abortion.
Col Thakorn Niemrin, of the Fourth Army, said cases of soldiers and Muslim women engaged in romances or sexual relationships could number in the hundreds.
"It's natural. The military has been stationed in the area for seven or eight years. Altogether, up to a thousand people could have ended up in love," he said.
Although the army has an "iron rule" forbidding its soldiers from having a relationship with local women, Col Thakorn conceded it was almost impossible to enforce.
"This is a matter of the heart. The best the military can do is to ask commanders to strictly govern their soldiers and to ask those in a relationship to follow traditions, including converting to Islam and organising a proper ceremony for the woman's family," Col Thakorn said.
A source who is a commander in a task force unit admitted that the Buddhist soldier-Muslim woman relationship is a factor that complicates the problems in the region.
"This is particularly true for a relationship with a married woman. It provokes extreme hatred and vengeance in the woman's family. Cases in which there is mutilation to the soldier's body often stem from this type of wrongdoing," the source said.
Local leaders, however, said cross-cultural romances or improper behaviour could not be be blamed solely on soldiers. They believe it is a sign that the deep South is changing faster than its traditions and cultural mores can catch up with.
Abdullah Ma, a leader from Yala, said the hard truth is that not only are young women misbehaving but married women as well. "This is a case of not-my-daughter syndrome. People don't care for members of the same community, even though in Islam everyone is considered kin and must be cared for," he said.
A chairman of a tambon administration organisation said the latest scandal is part of a larger picture of a failing society plagued by inter-related problems of drugs, mafia and insurgency.
"Will local girls have an eye for their drug-addicted peers who look terrible compared to clean-looking soldiers? The same goes for older women. Many of them have husbands who are unemployed and only spend their time hanging around at tea shops."
For a peace activist such as Ms Soraya, the issue of forbidden love and its resulting problems comes from both sides. "As long as we have military stations in the communities, the problems will continue. We have to move military stations out of the villages," she said.