Dialogue Is Vital For Peace In The South: Pulo

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Dialogue is vital for peace in the South: Pulo

Wed, June 27, 2007 : Last updated 12:56 pm (Thai local time)

Thai political leaders urged to discuss administrative future of Malay-speaking region

A long-standing separatist movement from the Malay-speaking south, the Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), has urged the Thai political leaders to discuss the administrative future of the Malay-speaking region with the exile groups, saying "vital issues are only subject to discussion through dialogue process and agreement".

In a statement to The Nation, Pulo's foreign affairs chief Kasturi Mahkota said suggested that it was concerned with the statements made by political and military leaders about the administrative future of the Muslim-majority south where an ongoing insurgency has claimed more than 2,300 lives since January 2004.

"With regards to what has been stated in the media by the Thai Minister of Defence about the terms like 'Special Administration Region' (SAR), Autonomy or any other forms of self-determination, these vital issues are only subject to discussion through dialogue process and agreement. Most importantly, the true dialogue cannot be done through media," Kasturi said.

Pulo is said to be one of the exiled groups that has been carrying out "secret talks" with Thai authorities that could evolved into a "formal dialogue" with the Thai government, Thai security officers said.

Thai authorities are hoping that groups like Pulo could help bring an end to the ongoing violence but Bangkok is not certain as to what kind of concessions it is willing to make to exiled groups and insurgents on the ground.

Regarding to a recent statement from army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin about the identity of the insurgents is still a mystery for the authorities, Kasturi suggested that if the "leaders of the liberation movements" would be willing to sit down with the junta chief for the dialogue. Kasturi said it was a matter of protocol and added that " All delegates to the dialogue forum should possess strong mandatory and be held unconditionally."

The Nation

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Thai PM confers with Malaysian foreign minister on southern unrest

Thursday 28 June 2007 08:33:04 PM (GMT+7:00)

BANGKOK, June 28 (TNA) - Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont Thursday met with visiting Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar and discussed continuing violence in the Thai south and along the two countries shared border and agreed that the unrest was a common problem for both neighbours.

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Both countries agreed at the meeting to further cooperation militarily, with joint patrols to be conducted on land and at sea, holding military exercises on land, sea and air, and to exchange intelligence information on militants operating along their common border.

At the meeting, the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, stressed that his country would not intervene, but is willing to provide help in solving the unrest in Thailand's deep South, the spokesman said, adding that the minister also praised the Thai government's information to countries outside the region on the actual situation in the deep South.

Defence Minister Najib also pledged to complete the list of people holding dual citizenship as well as the land and marine demarcation line within the deadline which is next year, said the spokesman.

Persons with dual citizenship have posed a big headache to the Thai government as it claims that many insurgents are now taking shelter inside Malaysia after staging attacks in the three restive southern provinces -- Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. (TNA)-E111

[khall64au]

Bomb kills 3, wounds 17 in Thailand's Muslim south

Wed Jun 27, 2007 6:08 PM IST

YALA, Thailand (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed three people and wounded 17 in Thailand's rebellious Muslim south as they were buying food on Wednesday, police said.

The remote-controlled 5-kg (11-lb) bomb hidden in the basket of a motorcycle exploded near food stalls in the city of Yala, capital of one of three southern provinces where more than 2,100 people have been killed in a three-year-old separatist insurgency, police said.

Five of the wounded were hurt seriously, they said.

Nobody claims responsibility for the daily gun or bomb attacks in the far south, annexed by predominately Buddhist Thailand a century ago, where most people speak a Malay dialect.

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Surayud lauds Malaysian assistance

Sun, July 1, 2007 : Last updated 6:39 am

PM says third parties played crucial role in facilitating possible talks with separatists

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said yesterday that the help of third parties, especially Malaysia, had seen progress towards talks with southern Malay separatists.

However, he said the final decision over dialogue with insurgent groups lay with Bangkok.

whilst good news on the face , it's also reaffirmation of who runs the country .

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Malaysia's Not Mediator Role In Ending Southern Thailand Unrest: Syed Hamid

July 01, 2007 20:29 PM

MELAKA, July 1 (Bernama) -- Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia is not playing the role of mediator but only assisting in ending the unrest in Thailand's three southern border provinces.

It was not correct, as some people believed, that Malaysia was engaged in the middle-man role, he said.

"Thailand has asked for our assistance and we are only providing help in (the area of) socio-economic development that will bring about the creation of economic activities and employment," he said when met after officiating the "We Are One" Dialogue on Cultural Diversity for Youths of Asia and Europe, here.

Syed Hamid had led the Malaysian delegation to the two-day meeting from Friday of the 10th Malaysia-Thailand Joint Commission Meeting in Bangkok.

Both countries have agreed to implement the 3Es (education, employment and entrepreneurship) programme to help resolve the conflict in restive southern Thailand where more than 2,300 have died since the insurgency flared in 2004.

"We recognise that the interests of Malaysia and Thailand are intertwined in this particular case," he said. Malaysia is concerned that continuing violence across its border in southern Thailand could destabilise the region.

Syed Hamid also said that there was no quick-fix solution for a peaceful southern Thailand as the conflict has been going on for a long time.

-- BERNAMA

not a good week for our PM

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Syed Hamid; Two approaches to resolve problems in south Thailand

By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH

Sunday July 8, 2007

MUAR: There are two approaches, which the Thai Government can adopt to resolve the problems that have besieged those citizens living in southern Thailand.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Jaafar Albar said the approaches were through discussions between the Government and the people in South Thailand and through economic development.

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