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| Southeast Asia |
| Key insurgent group declares Thai peace talks doomed |
| 2017-09-17 |
| [Bangkok Post] In a rare interview, Pak Fakih of the secretive Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) said the Thai army's current peace talks with other factions were doomed and the government must drop pre-conditions, show greater respect to the separatists and be more open-minded. Mr Fakih said, "It is a mistake to think that we do not want to negotiate. We do, but not under the current circumstances," adding that he had been fighting since he was 15 and lost a son in the conflict seven years ago. The BRN never claims or denies any specific attack and Mr Fakih said that policy would continue. It is widely seen as the group with the greatest control over combatants in the three southern provinces. Fakih said, "Our attacks are confined to the Deep South and are about sending a signal to the Thai government. We never want to cause widespread harm. The government say they are fighting ghosts in the south so we want to show them that we exist and we mean business." In April, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha rejected a BRN offer of talks mediated by a neutral third party and said they required no international mediation or observation. The government also sets recognition of the constitution as a pre-condition -- a deal breaker for the BRN. The BRN had been part of talks before the army seized power in 2014, but stayed out when negotiations restarted under the army in 2015. Talks have taken place between the government and Mara Patani, an umbrella group claiming to represent all major rebel factions. But Fakih disputed its claim to include BRN members too, saying there were only "former members". |
| Posted by:ryuge |