Snapshots of the KL peace negotiations

 

Location

Many people mistakenly thought the meeting would take place at the Police Academy in Kuala Lumpur where Thai National Security Council chief Lt-General Paradorn Pattanathabutr had signed an MoU setting up the dialogue with BRN liaison office chief Hassan Taib on February 28. An army of media representatives camped outside the academy expecting to cover the news. 

However the dialogue took place at a police “safe house” near the hotel where the Thai team stayed, according to one of Thai delegates. 

 

Representation 

There were only nine Thai representatives attending the dialogue, not 15 as previously reported. And while more than six separatists attended the event, only six sat at the negotiating table, Paradorn said. While Taib was identified by name, other leading BRN and Pulo members who joined the dialogue didn’t reveal their names, according to Paradorn.  

Asked if separatists from other Malaysian states, or leading BRN member Sapae-ing Basor attended, Paradorn said he had no idea because the other participants sat behind a curtain. But one Thai delegate dismissed the existence of a “curtain”, saying the accompanying insurgents were on a different floor.  

 

Identification

Another Thai official said he couldn’t recognise any of the attending insurgents as they were dressed in traditional Malay clothing and used aliases. “Some couldn’t even remember their own aliases as the conversation went on,” he added. The Thai delegates saw that Sapae-ing was absent, while a wanted insurgent identified only as Masukree, a son of a local religious leader in the deep South, was present and reportedly spoke using rather strong words. 

 

History

Among the topics touched upon, one interesting point was the insurgents’ demand for justice. After the dialogue it was reported that the insurgents called for the removal of 30,000 names from Thai authorities’ blacklist and for the release of national security prisoners. The Thai delegates however affirmed that the BRN didn’t place such a demand as strongly as reported. 

One delegate, Prince of Songkla University Prof Srisompob Jitpiromsri, said the insurgents told them about the woes and pains of the past and the reasons behind their fight, as well as citing various injustices over the years.

Srisompop said the insurgents didn’t put forward clear demands but urged the Thai government to find solutions to create justice. They said the unrest was the result not only of separatist actions, but also of those by state officials.