Proposed talk with insurgent receives positive feedback
Yala - Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont Sunday said the government has received "positive feedback" about establishing "dialogue" with the insurgents but maintained that more work has to be done before a lasting peace in the restive region could to be achieved.
Speaking at a press conference after meeting with security and provincial officials in the violence-plague region, Surayud said Malaysia has helped facilitated the authorities in creating this channel of communication but did not say if the Kuala Lumpur government would be taking up the role of mediator. Kasturi Mahkota, the foreign affairs chief of a long standing separatist group, Patani United Liberation Organiation (Pulo), said his group welcomed Surayud's statement, saying it was "a positive gesture" "It appeared that all sides are moving in the right direction and the conditions for dialogue appeared to be positive," said Kasturi. But formal dialogue between his group and the government has yet to take place. A senior officer from the Fourth Army Area said on condition of anonymity that these so-called "positive signals" came directly from members of long standing groups living abroad, as well as some of the militant cells operating on the ground. "It's not a negotiation at this juncture. We are looking to build on this channel of communications with members of the long standing separatist groups abroad and with the militant cells on the ground," said the senior officer. He said the government and the military have yet to formulate a platform or strategy for a formal dialogue with the separatists but added that a request for ceasefire from the respective militant cells that had approached the army would be high on the list. "Some of the cell members felt that their struggle has no end in sight and began to question the whole idea behind these daily attacks. They don't see an end game," he said. Surayud told reporters Sunday that the government will continue its policy of "reconciliation through peaceful means". He said the government plans to increase budget for the next fiscal year for the restive region and will focus on education, transportation and agriculture sector, which he said was the most important. Don Pathan The Nation
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