BANGKOK, 2 June 2013 Leader of the Democrat Party Abhisit Vejjajiva suggests Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubumrung hold talks with small insurgent groups about the southern unrest before starting a peace dialogue with large ones. The government should go on the offensive on the southern problem, he says.
Mr Abhisit on Sunday called on the deputy premier, who oversees the government’s solutions to the southern violence, to reconsider the government’s talks with the BRN insurgent group on 13 June due to a series of attacks in the southern border provinces throughout the last three months. High fatalities of civilians, civil servants and officers in the region suggested that it was time for the government to tackle the problem proactively and set conditions for talks first, the Democrat leader said.
Mr Abhisit added that a peace dialogue with major insurgent groups should be postponed until the government reached agreements, especially on reduction of violent incidents, with small insurgent groups in informal meetings.
