BANGKOK, 28 February 2013 Thailand on Thursday signed an agreement with the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) in Kuala Lumpur on Thai southern border development for peace. Malaysian officials witnessed the ceremony and promised to coordinate peaceful cooperation between Thailand and the BRN.
On 28 February 2013, Secretary-General of the Thai National Security Council (NSC) Lt. Gen. Pharadon Phatthanathabut led high-ranking officials from Thailand to sign the agreement entitled “General Consensus Document to Launch a Dialogue Process for Peace in the Border Provinces of Southern Thailand” with leaders of the BRN. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Malaysian Supreme Commander Gen. Tan Sri Dato Sri bin Mohammad Sin.
The event took place before Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra traveled to Malaysia on the same day.
Lt. Gen. Pharadon said the peace agreement with the BRN was the first key to open the door to solutions to unrest in the three southern border provinces. In the next two weeks, a meeting would be held to follow up on the agreement, the NSC chief said.
Commander of the 4th Army Area Lt. Gen. Udomchai Thammasarorat, who participated in the signing ceremony, said the agreement was, in fact, the government’s work, not the military’s. He stressed that the solving of unrest in the Thai-Malaysian border area needed peaceful talks and cooperation and confirmed that the military had been adhering to the government’s policy and would continue to follow its orders.
