SOUTH CRISIS
Army chief advising negotiators ahead of talks
The Sunday Nation

BANGKOK: -- Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has become an adviser to the Thai team negotiating with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) for peace in the restive deep South, Permanent Secretary for Defence General Nipat Thonglek said yesterday. Meanwhile, Nipat said he would continue in his role as a negotiator in the ongoing talks with the BRN after receiving permission from Prime Minister Yingluck.

Nipat said he had held frequent discussions with chief negotiator, National Security Council (NSC) secretary general Paradorn Pattanatabut, and other members of the Thai team, about how they should approach the upcoming talks with the BRN. The fifth and latest round of talks have been scheduled for October 20 in Malaysia.

"I recently met with Army commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha at Army headquarters. He offered advice on many matters. I told him I would report back to him with the results of the next talks. The Army chief should now be regarded as an adviser to the negotiating team," Nipat said.

He declined to confirm media reports that BRN chief negotiator Hassan Taib would be replaced. He said Malaysia, which acts as facilitator in the talks, has not confirmed the reports.

Nipat said that he, personally, thought Taib would continue in his role although some of the BRN's 15 negotiators might be replaced. "Hassan Taib will stay. I don't think he will leave," he said.

Nipat revealed that separatist groups other than the BRN had contacted Thai authorities asking to take part in the negotiations, among them the Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), a key separatist group. However, he declined to discuss the matter in detail.

He said that the Thai team was willing to talk with the BRN, but they would not negotiate on a possible breakaway of territory from Thailand. A more likely solution, he said, would be a special administrative zone in the deep South similar to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration or the Pattaya City Administration.

"Any special administrative zone must be in line with the Constitution. A system for the South similar to the ones in Bangkok and Pattaya is possible. But the BRN proposal to have an armed force dealing with security affairs in the new special administrative zone will not be permitted. Under the Constitution, Thailand is a single state that is inseparable. Providing security is the duty of the [central] authorities only," Paradorn said.

In Narathiwat yesterday, NSC chief and Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnog and Deputy Defence Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapha yesterday met with Muslim politicians from the Wadah group to discuss the BRN's five-point proposal for the Thai authorities. Among the Wadah members taking part in the closed-doors meeting were former House speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha, former deputy interior minister Den Tohmeena, and former deputy education minister Areepen Uttarasin. They are among the BRN negotiating team's 32 advisers.

Pracha said all the five proposals could be accepted, albeit not fully. "There are details that need to be debated," he said.

-- The Nation 2013-10-06

"He said that the Thai team was willing to talk with the BRN, but they would not negotiate on a possible breakaway of territory from Thailand. A more likely solution, he said, would be a special administrative zone in the deep South similar to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration or the Pattaya City Administration."

I could be wrong but isn't this the situation that existed before thaksin revoked it?