Thailand to Meet with Southern Insurgents on Feb 28: Aksara

Thailand next week will hold a new round of exploratory talks in Malaysia with southern rebels and discuss so-called safety zones needed for a ceasefire, an army general who heads the Thai delegation told BenarNews.

Talks with MARA Patani, a panel representing rebel groups and factions from the Thai Deep South, will take place on Feb. 28, according to Aksara Kerdpol. The meeting with MARA will be the first this year and the first since the two sides last met in December.

“Next week, there will be pre-talks with the dissidents in Malaysia. They will have discussions on the demarcation of safety zones with our peace talk delegation and there will be formal talks,” Aksara said Tuesday in a phone interview, without specifying how long the meeting would last. The Thai side will send a full delegation to the meeting in Malaysia, he added.

Efforts by BenarNews to reach a spokesman for MARA Patani who lives in Malaysia were unsuccessful late Tuesday.

In 2016, Malaysia facilitated four meetings between technical teams or larger delegations representing Thailand’s military government and the rebel panel, and which aimed to reopen formal peace talks for the first time since December 2013, when a civilian government led Thailand.

Full story: BenarNews

BenarNews staff
Bangkok and Pattani, Thailand