BANGKOK: Thai government representatives agreed in principle to quickly finalise a joint plan for peace in the deep South during the latest round of talks with insurgents.
Thai chief negotiator Chatchai Bangchuad, secretary-general of the National Security Council, announced on Thursday (Feb 8) that his team and umbrella insurgent group Barisan Revolusi National (BRN) had approved in principle the Joint Comprehensive Plan Towards Peace (JCPP).
Both sides expressed determination to finalise the JCPP draft as soon as possible as a roadmap to peace in southern border provinces, he said.
Chatchai's delegation met for the seventh round of talks with BRN negotiaters led by Anas Abdulrahaman in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The talks were facilitated by Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, a representative of the Malaysian government.
The Thai delegation gave no timeframe for the work to complete the JCPP draft. However, the Malaysian facilitator told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that meetings to iron out details will be held later this month and in March.
The latest peace talks were the first under the tenure of the Pheu Thai-led government, and for the first time in nine years were led by a civilian negotiator.
Chatchai told reporters that the talks went smoothly and the draft roadmap would deliver a political solution to the conflict.
The violence in southern border provinces flared in 2004 after firearms were seized from a Thai military base. Deep South Watch, which monitors the situation in the region, says more than 7,300 people have been killed in the conflict since then.
Insurgents are calling for independence for Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and four districts of Songkhla, which border Malaysia. The region was annexed by Thailand in 1909 as a part of treaty with Britain. - The Nation/ANN
