BANGKOK, March 25 – The names of 15 Thai members to join the first dialogue with the country’s Muslim separitist rebels on Thursday will remain confidential until the Thai prime minister acknowledges the list in tomorrow’s cabinet meeting.
National Security Council (NSC) Secretary General Paradorn Pattanathabut said today that 6 or 7 state officials will be on the Thai team and the rest will be representatives from civic groups.
The first round of talks, scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian officials present, is scheduled on Thursday following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Lt Gen Paradorn representing Thailand and a group of Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) Muslim insurgents in the Malaysian capital on Feb 28.
The NSC chief said the names of the 15 Thai representatives in the dialogue will not be made public for safety reasons until he submits the list to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra tomorrow.
The talks will concentrate on solutions to the unrest in Thailand’s far South and building trust between both parties, he said, admitting that there may not be an immediate conclusion to heal the situation.
“We have to give the insurgent leaders some time to coordinate with other groups,” he said.
Lt Gen Paradorn said he has not seen the names of two BRN Coordinate core members, Sapae-ing Basor and Masae Useng, in the list of militant representatives for Thursday’s dialogue.
