Southern peace talks held in Phuket

The talks were held at ​​Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, south of Patong, on Saturday (Jan 15). Joining the talks was Commander of the 4th Army Region, Lt Gen Kriangkrai Srirak.

The peace talks in Phuket follow a two-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 11-12, the first peace talks held since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Thailand two years ago.

Gen Wanlop said that the talks with the BRN, led by Anas Abdulrahman, “went well”.

“We were friendly towards each other,” he said.

“Since the COVID-19 epidemic, which has caused problems with cross-border travel, the meeting has been halted. But due to the commitment of both sides to see the talks continue to progress, we continued to move forward the discussion process, both online and through various channels, until being able to hold actual talks in person on Jan 11-12,” he added. 

Gen Wanlop noted that three main topics were discussed on Saturday.

The first was the three essential issues ‒  reducing violence, consultation with local people and seeking a political solution in accordance with the intentions and needs of the people in the area, he said.

“Both parties want to see the southern border provinces to be a peaceful place, the participation of the people, as well as the solution to the fundamental cause of the problem, which will lead to a permanent solution to the problem,” he explained.

Talks on these issues will continue, he assured.

The second topic was that both parties have proposed creating a framework to guide the discussion on the three main concerns (noted above), Gen Wanlop said.

“To reduce violence and enhance consultation in the area, a coordinator and a joint working group of both parties in each case were discussed,” he noted.

“Due to the problem’s complexity and specificity, political solutions are arranged in the form of a ‘Joys Start Group’. The group will be semi-formal and will be able to discuss directly with one another to eliminate flaws due to the difficulty of holding formal meetings during the COVID-19 outbreak,” Gen Wanlop explained.

The third topic, raised by the Thai representatives, was that both sides ought to endeavour to eliminate violent acts by doing so willingly, Gen Wanlop said.

“We raised these issues to be discussed because we want to build a supportive environment for the next meeting and we want people in the area to be aware of the benefits of talks that bring peace and order to the area,” he added.

The group and the 4th Army Region were already making some preparations in this regard, Gen Wanlop said.

Further in-person meetings were hoped to continue and to be held in the near future, Gen Wanlop noted.

“The talks panel has carried out the government’s objective of driving the dialogue process as a means of achieving long-term peace in the area, taking into account the participation of all parties, including non-BRN parties and the public,” he said.

“To discover solutions together, we need cooperation from all sectors [of the community],” Gen Wanlop added.

Muslim separatist activity has existed in Thailand for decades but the insurgency turned increasingly violent beginning in 2004 and has since claimed at least 7,000 lives, noted Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

The talks provide a ray of hope in ending the bloodshed in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla, where the Muslims make up the majority, a report by Kyodo News noted.

The latest round of peace talks followed an increase in southern violence including multiple bomb explosions in Yala on Dec 31. According to Yala police, the BRN claimed responsibility, reports the Bangkok Post.

Regardless, Gen Wanlop refuted claims that three Thais suspected to be insurgents handed over by the Malaysian government to Thai authorities last Wednesday (Jan 12) was linked to the peace talks being held.

The three with criminal records were detained near Durian Burung, in Kedah state, last month.

Gen Wanlop said the handover is due to the cooperation in extradition between the two countries, and had nothing to do with the peace dialogue held in Kuala Lumpur last week.

The three suspects with various criminal records and links with militant groups in the south were in the wanted list in Thailand, said a report by Bernama.