BANGKOK, 15 March 2013 The Thai army chief has confirmed that the Thai government will talk with other insurgent groups as well as the BRN, but will not talk to each of them individually.
Asked about the earlier report that insurgent groups other than the BRN would be joining the peace talk between the Thai government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), Army Commander-in-Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said that insurgent groups would have to designate their representative in the talk. The Thai government would not talk to each group individually, he said.
Earlier reports by Khaosod and some other newspapers said that the 9 insurgent groups had expressed their willingness to join the Thai government-BRN peace talk. The 9 groups were reported to include factions within the original PULO insurgent group, “GMIP” (also known as “Mujahideen Islam Pattani”), and “GUP” (also known as “Ulama Pattani”).
As to the government’s expectation from the talk, the army chief said that the government does not expect violence to cease immediately. The government is looking to allow the BRN to tone down the violence over the period of one year, he said.
