Violence mars peace process
The motorcycle bomb blast in Pattani’s downtown on March 21 which killed a nine-year old Muslim girl and wounded 14 other people could be perpetrated by militants who agreed or disagreed with the peace talk process between the government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), said Lt-Gen Paradorn Pattanathabut, secretary-general of the National Security Council.
He admitted that violence in the course of peace talk was quite normal any where else, including Thailand, where there was a conflict. But he maintained that violent incidents would not derail the start of the peace talk which was scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur on March with Malaysia acting as the facilitator.
An informed security source said that the government had asked the BRN to show its sincerity that it is seriously after peace by ordering their militants to refrain from carrying out bomb attacks in heavily-populated areas which are likely to cause heavy damages to both humans and property and to stop harming soft targets such as women, children, the elderly and teachers.
On the other, the BRN representative Hassan Taib has wanted the government to lift the emergency decree in all three southernmost provinces and to replace the draconian law with the more lenient Internal Security Act instead as a show of sincerity towards peace talks.
So far, the demands put forth by the two opposing sides have been tossed aside as manifested by numerous violent incidents which took place after the signing of the historic peace agreement in Kuala Lumpur on February 28. Meanwhile, state of emergency was recently further extended in the three southernmost provinces with the exception of Mae Larn district of Pattani.
During his visit to the restive Deep South on March 21, Defence Minister Sukumphol Suwannathat affirmed that there would be no letup of security measures in the course of the peace talks. He said that assuring safety for the people and their property from possible threats from the militants was a different issue from the peace process.
"The peace talk in Kuala Lumpur on March 28 is just the first meeting and there will be more meetings. Please do not speculate on the outcome and let the process run its course," said the defence minister, adding that he hoped more militant groups besides the BRN would join the peace process in the future,
In the meantime, it was reliably reported that the formation of the government’s 15-member negotiating team to hold talks with the BRN was not completed yet. Led by Lt-Gen Paradorn, the team comprises Pol Col Thawee Sodsong, secretary-general of Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre; Defence Deputy Permanent Secretary General Niphat Thonglek; Special Branch Commissioner Pol Lt-Gen Saritchai Anekwiang and representatives from Isoc, King Prajadhipok’s Institute, Chularatchamontri’s Office, the Fourth Army Region, Thai Buddhists, women’s group, civil societies and the academia.
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Caption : The motorcycle bomb blast in Pattani’s downtown on March 21