Govt rejects BRN talks demands
By The Nation

 

Aksara

 

BANGKOK: -- THE BARISAN Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani (BRN) separatist group is not involved in the ongoing process to establish “safety zones” in the deep South as the group had not participated in the peace talks, Thailand’s negotiating chief Aksara Kerdphol said yesterday.

 

Authorities will continue peace talks with the Majlis Amanah Rakyat Patani group, known as MARA Patani, which Thailand considered to be an umbrella organisation of separatists, including the BRN, he said.

 

“It is their internal problem and we have nothing to do with that,” Aksara told reporters when asked for his reaction to the BRN statement.

 

The BRN issued a statement on Monday reiterating its stance on peace talks and demanding an “impartial mediator” and international witnesses.

 

With Malaysia’s help, Thailand’s negotiators met with Mara Patani officially in 2015 but talks since then have not yielded results on the ground.

 

Violence in the predominantly Muslim deep South has killed more than 6,800 people since the insurgency resumed in 2004.

 

Observers have said MARA Patani does not represent the active insurgents, adding that the group has failed to implement moves agreed on curb the violence.

 

The BRN is considered to have real influence on militants in the deep South, so its refusal to participate in talks has had consequences for the violence and the difficulty establishing safety zones.

 

However, Aksara said the BRN was part of MARA Patani but some factions in the group might want to draw attention away from the peace process.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30312077

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-04-12

I am really tired of these articles featuring men in uniforms I wonder if after the election there will be more talking "suits"

On 4/12/2017 at 4:56 AM, webfact said:

establish “safety zones” in the deep South

"deep South" is a code phrase used to denationalize and trivialize the ethnicity of the former Islamic Kingdom of Patani.

 

Both Thai military and elected governments (as their political agendas are surveilled by the independent military) have used the phrase to ethnocide the Islamic population under the guise of enforcement of Thai civil laws as if the insurgency was merely a well-armed, coordinated criminal activity like a mafia. As such Thai governments have refused to even consider any insurgent aims for sovereign semi-autonomy in peace negotiations. The Yingluck regime was an exception in peace negotiations by excluding the military; but the military got retribution for her including the insurgency in the national agenda.

 

The insurgency is treated by the military as an internal local conflict and not as a national sovereignty conflict. Even though the violence isn't managed by the Royal Thai Police but by massive military forces who have kept the area under constant State of Emergency, unlike the rest of Buddhist-dominated Thailand. There will be no end to the insurgency so long as the military controls the agenda.