Thailand: Insurgents Say They Won't Respect Deep South 'Safety Zones'

Representatives of the Thai government and of separatist groups in the country’s Deep South region return to the negotiating table next week to discuss a limited ceasefire proposal that one rebel source says will not be respected by militants on the ground.

The technical-level meeting – the latest round of exploratory talks aimed at ending a bloody, decades-old conflict in Thailand’s southernmost provinces – is to take place in Malacca, Malaysia, from Dec. 19 to 21, according to a Thai government official.

Thai government sources said the talks are expected to continue discussions of “safety zones,” under which a number of districts in conflict-affected areas would come under ceasefire and development projects aimed at enhancing the locals’ livelihood would be carried out.

A member of the notoriously secretive Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the largest and most lethal rebel force in the region, dismissed the development initiatives as pacification efforts aimed at pitting the local population against the 56-year-old insurgent group.

“The [Thai government] wants to drive a wedge between us and the local Malay Muslims with this project,” a BRN source told BenarNews, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Moreover, said the source, BRN operatives would continue to discredit the talks with MARA Patani by carrying out armed operations in districts designated as “safety zones.”

‘The real BRN’

Thai government representatives have met at least five times with MARA Patani, an umbrella organization of separatist groups formed last year to take part in unofficial talks to explore ways to resolve the conflict that has claimed at least 6,700 lives since 2004.

Bangkok has yet to recognize the panel as an official negotiating partner.

“MARA Patani does not have any influence on combatants on the ground but, nevertheless, the Thai government will continue to engage them in the current arrangement of unofficial dialogue with the hope that the process will lure the real BRN to the table,” a senior policy official in Bangkok told BenarNews.

“We believe the local Malay Muslims will eventually turn against the BRN if and when they become tired of the violence and see the separatist organization as one that is against peace,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“As far as the world is concerned, the Thai government is the one who wants to talk peace and the BRN doesn’t,” he added.