Thursday February 28, 2013
Thailand, rebel group agree to seek peace talks
KUALA LUMPUR: Thailand's government on Thursday signed its first-ever agreement with a rebel group in its Muslim-majority south, pledging to work toward peace talks aimed at ending a festering insurgency.
The potentially historic deal was signed in Kuala Lumpur between Thai officials and a representative of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebel group ahead of a visit to Malaysia by Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra.
Yingluck was to meet later in the day with her host, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, for annual talks set to include the nine-year insurgency and the possibility of Malaysia hosting future Thai negotiations with the militants.
There has been a recent spike in attacks along Thailand's border with Muslim-majority Malaysia, where the nine-year insurgency has claimed more than 5,500 lives.
The "general consensus document to launch a dialogue process for peace" was signed by Lieutenant-General Paradorn Pattanathabutr, secretary general of Thailand's National Security Council, and Hassan Taib of the BRN.
"Thank Allah we will do our best to solve the problem. We will tell our people to work together to solve the problems," Hassan told reporters after the ceremony.
Hassan was identified as the "chief of the BRN liaison office in Malaysia."
Officials involved in the ceremony otherwise offered little comment on the agreement and a text of the pledge was not handed out.
Barisan Revolusi Nasional, which in Malay means "National Revolutionary Front", is one of several shadowy groups blamed for the unrest in Thailand.
It remains to be seen whether other groups will fall in line behind the BRN.
Prospects for peace have been dogged by the complex make-up of the insurgency and doubts persist over the level of control that older, exiled leaders known to Thai authorities exert over the younger - and more violent - fighters on the ground.
On Wednesday, Paradorn said in Bangkok that he hoped peace talks could start "soon," with Malaysia providing the venue.
Thailand's southernmost provinces suffer almost daily gun and bomb attacks by shadowy insurgents fighting for greater autonomy, a demand Thai authorities have rejected. - AFP
- PKR to postpone party elections
- Malaysia a favourite of Muslim travellers
- Storify: UEFA Champions League 2012/2013
- Chua: Cops right to act against those inciting racial hatred
- DPM: Turning BN into a single party must be evaluated in detail
- All religions practise good teachings
- Syndicate linked to IC deal busted
- Painting of merry old couple covered up to prevent accident at Chew Jetty
- Barisan mulls name change as part of its evolution
- Trio walk free after court turns down remand request
- Ministry: Marriage should not be way out for suspected rapists
- EC: Blackout photo is a fake
- Dance groups laud move to include more races in shows
- DPM: Call for Tamil and Mandarin classes needs study
- Vujicic finds magic in helping youths
- Politics of development pays dividend
- A thematic play seen
- Sarawak counters hogging the limelight
- Getting GST acceptance will be tough
- A yen for the unloved dollar standard
- Bitten by the music bug
- Up close and personal with Datuk Richard Curtis
- Make our pastime profitable
- Should citizens boycott
- Tasty Facebook party poopers
- First-half 2013 figure seen to surpass that of the same period last year
- More can be done to promote private retirement scheme
- Tycoon may be planning IPO of football club Cardiff City
- MFEA sees sales of home-made furniture abroad declining 10%
- YKGI eyes Indonesian, Thai markets
- Squash: Matthew offers a message with a warning
- Golf: Molinari leads but Ryder Cup colleagues crash out
- Tennis: Djokovic blocks Nadal path to Paris super eight
- MSSM meet: 15 records in five days augur well for M’sian athletics
- Indonesian Rexy's advise to M'sian team: Stick together as a family
- Yongbo: Beat us if you can, not good for China to win all the time
- Thai Ratchanok wins many hearts with her gritty display
- Squash:M'sian Nicol beats New Zealander in straight sets to reach last four
- Basketball: Warriors have no problem taming Dragons in Jakarta
- National hockey juniors fare badly in tourney
- MHC: No way we will scrap age-group tournaments
- Selangor Hockey Association to hold two-day trials
- Youngster Zaqhwan surprises himself with a new lap record
- Woman Natasha racer bids for first MSS win with her father
- Australian Marques leads at 111th Malaysian Amateur Open (MAO)
- Chua: Cops right to act against those inciting racial hatred
- Malaysia a favourite of Muslim travellers
- Trio walk free after court turns down remand request
- Robber shot dead after picking on wrong ‘victim’
- Painting of merry old couple covered up to prevent accident at Chew Jetty
- DPM: Turning BN into a single party must be evaluated in detail
- EC: Blackout photo is a fake
- Syndicate linked to IC deal busted
- Ministry: Marriage should not be way out for suspected rapists
- All religions practise good teachings
- Living through your midlife
- Malaysia a favourite of Muslim travellers
- Who has the better chance of bagging that high-salary post?
- Sarawak counters hogging the limelight
- More can be done to promote private retirement scheme
- Politics of development pays dividend
- Klang Valley a haven for UOA Dev
- Ex-steward gets to set aside default judgment
- Robber shot dead after picking on wrong ‘victim’
- Painting of merry old couple covered up to prevent accident at Chew Jetty
RSS
