NSC chief: Malaysia key to south peace

National Security Council (NSC) Secretary General Chatchai Bangchuad said today that Malaysia, in its capacity as the facilitator of the peace talks between the Thai government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) separatist movement, is key to the restoration of peace in the deep south.

With the recent uptick in gun and bomb attacks by insurgent groups in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, he said that they must be dealt with decisively and in accordance with the law, but peace talks with the BRN must proceed simultaneously, adding that the use of force alone against the perpetrators of such atrocities will only lead to more trouble.

He claimed that more than half of the insurgent groups operating in the three provinces are ready to join the peace process, with the minority resorting to violence.

“Strict enforcement of the law against the perpetrators must go hand in hand with peace talks,” said the NSC chief. He also believes that the Malaysian government has access to some BRN leaders residing in Malaysia and may have the leverage to persuade some insurgent groups to refrain from violence.

Chatchai then made an observation that, prior to and after the official visit to Malaysia of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on July 9 and 10, there was hardly any violence, noting that this may indicate that the insurgents did not want to cause embarrassment to the host country during the visit.

Violence has further increased in the past several days as insurgent groups launched armed attacks on government forces and civilians. On Thursday, five paramilitary rangers, manning a road block in Ra-ngae district of Narathiwat, were murdered and six civilians were injured.

The insurgents in the back of a stolen pickup truck, led by a two-man scout team on a motorcycle, one of whom was disguised as a woman under a hijab, opened fire with automatic rifles as the truck sped past the road block. A pipe bomb was also hurled at the rangers.