Peace talk with BRN thrown into limbo
Self-proclaimed Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate "liaison" officer, Hasan Taib, made a public statement through a video broadcast, demanding that Thailand unconditionally release all prisoners locked up on insurgency-related charges, and permit Orga
Hasan also demanded that the role of the Malaysian government be upgraded from “facilitator” to “mediator”.
He added that all pending charges against alleged separatists must be drop and that the Thai government, which he referred to as “Siamese colonialists”, must acknowledge that BRN is a “liberation movement”, not a “separatist movement”.
“Everything he said derail the term of reference that Thailand had put in place when they signed the agreement to talk on February 28, 2013,” said Human Rights Watch’s Sunai Phasuk.
Sources in the long standing separatist movements, including BRN members not affiliated with Hasan, told The Nation that the video was Hasan’s “exit strategy” from the peace process because he knows that he not able to influence the current generation of separatist militants on the ground. It was a way for him to “save his face” and “redeem” himself, they said.
They claimed that Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur had unnecessary took a big leap of faith by betting on Hasan without verifying if he actually has “command-and-control” on the ground.
Since the February 28, 2013 signing, Thailand and Hasan's delegation have met once. The second meeting was scheduled to take place tomorrow, also in Kuala Lumpur.
The video was released on the eve of April 28, the anniversary of the Kru Se Mosque standoff between security forces and nearly 40 lightly armed insurgents who fortified themselves inside the historic mosque as they engaged in a lengthy gunfight until they were overpowered and killed.
On April 28, 2004, well over 100 young Malay Muslim militants simultaneously attacked ten police outposts and one station in the Malay-speaking southernmost provinces with little more than machete.
Survivors said they were members of a militant cell led by Ismail Yaralong, also known as Ustaz Soh, who inspired them to take up the suicidal mission. Ustaz Soh led them to believe that they were invincible through his mystical-leaning teaching. All the dead insurgents on that day were buried as martyrs in line with Islamic tradition.
