Militant groups want to talk
A military truck is slightly damaged after a bomb exploded nearby in Narathiwat’s Rangae district yesterday. Six soldiers inside the truck were unhurt.
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The newly appointed commander of the Fourth Army Region, Lt-General Viroj Buacharoon, said yesterday he had received word from separatist groups who were keen to negotiate a peace deal.
Viroj said the militants had taken the initiative, but he declined to elaborate on the identity of the particular groups or organisations. Viroj said the issue would be discussed with his superiors. The development suggests the insurgency in the Malay-speaking region has reached a new threshold. The previous government of Thaksin Shinawatra had refused to enter into a dialogue with any separatists. Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, head of the military council behind the recent coup, has consistently suggested that a dialogue with militants should not be ruled out. One leading separatist group based in Europe, the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), said they welcomed Sonthi's gesture and were willing to negotiate with the new government. Pulo also welcomed the ousting of the Thaksin government and expressed hope that the new administration would adopt a fresh approach towards the Muslim-majority region. Pulo's foreign affairs chief, Kasturi Mahkota, told The Nation in a telephone interview he thought the atmosphere between the Malay community in exile and the government would improve but added the verdict was still out on how the situation in the far South would develop. Kasturi said the authorities were conservative and reluctant to change their ways, pointing to their rejection of a proposal to have Malay used as a "working language" in the region. "I hope the military can get the authorities to change their attitude," Kasturi said. Security officials assigned to the region have, meanwhile, warned against any quick-fix solution, saying the current generation of militants is made up of small cells that operate independently. The militants are not organised in a top-down command structure like the previous generation of separatists whose armed wings controlled pockets of mountains and hills along the Thai-Malaysian border. And no insurgent group has emerged to take responsibility for the violence that has so far claimed the lives of more than 1,700 people since January 2004. Meanwhile, in Bangkok yesterday, General Sonthi said he is considering the possibility of reviving the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC). "Officials are studying the pros and cons of reviving it, and how effective it could be in restoring peace in the deep South," said Sonthi. The SBPAC is a civilian-led body which was dissolved a few months after Thaksin came to power in 2001.
The Nation Yala
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