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| Southeast Asia |
| Progress claimed in Thai negotiations |
| 2008-09-22 |
| Two-days of talks between the Thai government and representatives from Thailand's Muslim south hosted by Indonesia have achieved some progress in an attempt to end years of conflict that have claimed the lives of thousands of people, media reports said Monday. The talks are being mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the presidential palace in Bogor, about 60 kilometres south of Jakarta, the presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said. Djalal said the Indonesian government will keep promoting peace in southern Thailand through its position as a facilitator for talks between the government and the separatist group in the region. "The first meeting between the two sides had concluded and produced some progress," the state-run Antara news agency quoted Djalal as saying. "They agreed to exercise restraint to avoid any incidence that would undermine this peace process. They agreed not to commit any violence." Five representatives from the Thailand's predominantly Muslim Deep South and the Buddhist-led government in Bangkok attended the two-day meeting which ended on Sunday. A number of important principles had been agreed upon although the settlement of a number of crucial issues still needed mediation, he said. "What is important is that this process will continue. It was agreed that the conflict had to be settled peacefully and within the Thai constitution," Djalal said. The two sides had also agreed to hold a second round of talks on November 1 and 2, with a third round in the middle of November, also in Bogor. "We hope the talks would continue and develop in stages like in the peace process for Aceh. What is encouraging is that they have agreed to hold talks on politics and administrative systems in the second round," he said. In addition, they would also discuss defence, military, socio-cultural, economic and educational issues, he said. |
| Posted by:ryuge |