KOTA BHARU, Feb 20 – Malaysia has offered to continue its role as facilitator for peace talks between the Thai government and Muslim militant groups to find resolutions to the long-standing insurgency in Thailand’s southern border provinces.
Datuk Seri Ahmad Zamzamin Hashim, Malaysia’s chief facilitator, talked to the media in Malaysia’s border province of Kota Bharu in Kelantan on the first anniversary of the dialogues for peace in southern Thailand.
The first meeting between a Thai security delegation and representatives of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) militant faction was held in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Feb 28 last year, a meeting which was followed by three more rounds of dialogues.
Datuk Zamzamin said the latest meeting, scheduled for December last year, was cancelled due to political unrest in Thailand,but Malaysia is willing to facilitate future joint working group meetings for achieving peace in Thailand’s South.
Any new schedule for talks, if approved by the new Thai government, has yet to be set, he said.
