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It was somewhere between a cheap political ploy aimed at putting pressure on the Malay Muslim insurgents in the deep South, or a desperate bid for free publicity. Either way, former Army chief-turned-politician Chetta Thanajaro, who insisted yesterday that he has made a tremendous breakthrough towards bringing an end to the violence in the deep South, has raised more questions than he has answered.

Chetta claimed he had succeeded in getting the so-called "leaders" of 11 separatist groups behind the spate of violence in the deep South to put down their arms.

A videotape of the three men, who claimed to be speaking on behalf of 11 separatist groups, was shown on Army-run Channel Five yesterday. In it, the men announced an end to the ongoing violence in the restive region where more than 3,200 people have been killed since January 2004. Units that failed to abide by their decision, they said, would be considered renegades and measures would be taken to "eliminate" them.

The spokesman said the separatist movement has been going on for nearly 100 years and that it's time to stop. Just like that. No conditions whatsoever.

By the way, the effective date that this so-called truce went into effect was Monday. But three days ago, bombs planted in front of police headquarters in Yala and Pattani ripped through gates, injuring four policemen and three civilians. A farewell jab, perhaps?

Also undermining the credibility of this so-called truce is the fact that Army-run TV facilitated Chetta's revelation, which raises the question of exactly what role the Thai Army has played in this entire endeavour.

It is an open secret that Army officials have been going abroad to meet these leaders. Pattani United Liberation Organisation foreign-affairs chief Kasturi Mahkota told The Nation yesterday that nothing has changed. As far as he is concerned, the dialogue between the exiles and the government is on its due course.

Besides, the idea of a ceasefire without any conditions whatsoever is, basically, absurd.

When confronted by a pack of reporters about the identity of the three men and asked how it was possible that they didn't impose conditions, Chetta opted for a tactical retreat by saying that was not 100 per cent certain. But if the promised ceasefire fails to materialise, he would not be only one who was fooled.

For the record, talks between representatives of Malay separatist movements and Thai authorities are nothing new. Surayud Chulanont, when he was the prime minister, told a packed house in Yala in May of last year that he had received "positive feedback" from an ongoing "dialogue" with separatist groups. Kasturi immediately responded by saying his group "welcomed" Surayud's statement, calling it a "positive gesture".

"It appears all sides are moving in the right direction and the conditions for dialogue appear to be positive," Kasturi said.

The Surayud government was not the first to enter into dialogue with the separatists and Chetta will not be the last person to sit down with them. Academics, journalists, researchers, international mediators and foreign diplomats have also sat down with them.

But nobody ever came out and boasted of having made a major breakthrough until the would-be miracle-maker Chetta Thanajaro.

If Chetta can actually deliver a truce, perhaps he should be made prime minister. If not, let this be a lesson to all Thai politicians that the territorial integrity of the nation and the trust of the country's people, who want to see peace and reconciliation in this war-torn region, deserve better from the people who claim to lead them.