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| Southeast Asia |
| Thai gov't, Muslim insurgents agree to settle conflict peacefully |
| 2008-09-22 |
| (Xinhua) -- The Thai government and Muslim insurgents on Sunday agreed to address a four-year bloody conflict in southern part of the country through talks and to resume halted ceasefire, Indonesian state spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here. The agreement was reached after a two-day talks brokered by Indonesia, which has experience in terminating rebellions in Aceh and dealing with insurgency in Papua, said the spokesman. Five representatives from Thailand's predominately Muslim deep south and the Thai government ended their first round of close-door negotiation on Sunday in presidential palace in Bogor, about 50 km south of the capital Jakarta, Dino said. "The first round of the talks ended today and there were some agreements achieved including the conflict in southern Thailand must be settled in a peaceful way, and all parties must restrain from acts which can create violence," Dino said at the State Palace. The talks between the two sides in Bogor was mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla who was one of architect of the peace process between Jakarta and rebels in Aceh, said Dino. He said that the Thai government delegation led by Kwanchart Klaharn, a former southern army commander and adviser to Thailand's defense ministry, but he did not identify the southerners. He also disclosed that the second round of the talks will be conducted on 1 and 2 of November followed by the third round in the mid of the month. All are in the presidential palace in Bogor. Muslim rebels in Thailand have never expressed themselves publicly or responsibility for the frequent deadly strikes since the latest violence occurred in the country's some southernmost provinces four years ago. In July, Thai authority announced ceasefire, but then it was dismissed as violence did not stop. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Thai gov't, Muslim insurgents agree to settle conflict peacefully Yeah, right. Unless they are decisively crushed, they're just biding their time. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-09-22 07:02 |
| #1 Hanafi law, however, permits the Muslims to terminate a truce arbitrarily: The imam may denounce the armistice whenever the continuation of warfare is more favorable for the Moslems than the continuation of peace. |
| Posted by: Classer 2008-09-22 00:46 |