Southern peace talks to resume in June

Peace talks between Thailand and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) are expected to resume around the end of next month, said the newly-appointed Thai top peace negotiator.

While the agenda for the talks are still unclear, Thanut Suvarnananda told Thai PBS World that he will convey to his counterparts opinions and suggestions on the situation in the violence-plagued region, gathered from the local public, civil society networks and security agencies.

He said responsible agencies have been meeting with a broad spectrum of stake-holders to solicit their views. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul officially appointed Thanut last week as the ‘chief of peace dialogue’, to represent the government in the peace talks.

Thanut will remain as director of the National Intelligence Agency until he reaches retirement age in September.

In addition to the BRN, he also intends to meet with other armed groups operating in the deep south, to get what he described as a more comprehensive picture of the situation.Those involved in the previous rounds of peace talks were mainly representatives from BRN.

Thanut said there is a need to bring in other groups involved the ongoing violence in the region.

The last round of peace talks was held in Kuala Lumpur last December, when Thailand’s then chief negotiator Gen. Somsak Rungsita, a former secretary general of the National Security Council, met with BRN representatives with Malaysia acting as the facilitator.

Thanut said the pending peace talks under his leadership should offer a fresh start in the Thai government’s efforts to resolve the decades-old insurgency.