BANGKOK, Jan. 19 (Bernama): After almost a year of silence, the Southern Thailand Peace Dialogue Process, facilitated by Malaysian Chief Facilitator Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, is set to resume next month, fueling hopes for "concrete” development to end the decades-old conflict.
The peace talks had been stalled as Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the most influential armed group in the south, announced a suspension of talks pending the May 14 General Election and the forming of a new government, last year.
In an interview with Thai PBS in Bangkok recently, Zulkifli expressed hope that the next round of peace dialogue scheduled for February in Kuala Lumpur would set the agenda and objectives for the peace process.
In the upcoming meeting, Zulkifli said he would elucidate the endgame of the peace dialogue to BRN "to digest, discuss, and make decisions”.
"I am optimistic that something concrete will happen this year. However, whether we can sign a peace agreement depends on the appetite of both sides.
"It is too early for me to say concretely that we will achieve something by end of the year until I meet and discuss with BRN,” he said.
Zulkifli added that he continued to communicate with BRN’s representatives when the peace talks were stalled.
"The BRN’s representatives demonstrated their eagerness to resume the peace talks,” he said.
Zulkifli was appointed as Malaysia’s facilitator for the peace dialogue process in southern Thailand effective Jan 1. Chatchai Bangchuad has been appointed as the new head of Thailand’s Peace Dialogue Panel in November last year.
Last week, Zulkifli met with Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsuthin in Bangkok to discuss the new Thai government's plan for the peace talks. He also had a meeting with Chatchai.
He said the light at the end of the tunnel is "brighter” after his working visit to the southern provinces in February last year, as well as the recent visit to Bangkok.
On the question of whether Malaysia can be an honest broker, Zulkilfi said Malaysia has been able to gain more confidence from both the Thai government and BRN.
"I could feel, see, and hear that the confidence level toward Malaysia as the facilitator for the peace talks is increasing,” he said.
As the Malaysian government’s chief facilitator, Zulkifli said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gave him three points for facilitating the peace talks.
"He (Anwar) shared three key points with me, and I carry them everywhere. First, Malaysia does not have any hidden agenda. Second, improve the trust deficit. And third, conduct it transparently. I adhere to these all the time," he said.
The peace negotiation process between the Thai government and the BRN aims to find a solution to end the conflict that flared up in January 1994 in the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, and parts of Songkhla.
Malaysia is the facilitator for the peace negotiation process to end the decades-long conflict that culminated in January 2004 in the southern provinces.
Talks between the government and insurgent groups that began in 2013 to bring peace stalled following a military coup in Thailand a year later. Negotiations subsequently continued without the main parties, including BRN.
However, consultations between the Thai government and the BRN resumed in 2019 with concrete and significant progress being made, raising hopes for an end to violence in Thailand's southern region.
In February last year, the Peace Dialogue Panel of the Royal Thai Government and the BRN have agreed to develop a Joint Comprehensive Plan Towards Peace (JCPP) as a road map for 2023-2024 in seeking a solution towards ending the armed conflict in southern Thailand.
JCPP, which was agreed to in the 6th Official Meeting of the Peace Dialogue Process in Kuala Lumpur, has brought a ray of hope to resolve the regional conflict.
Statistics by the independent monitoring group Deep South Watch indicate an unrelenting cycle of violence in southern Thailand, starting in 2004, which has claimed more than 7,000 lives so far. - Bernama
