Little real progress seen in BRN talks
No clear progress seems to have been made in the meeting between Thai authorities and insurgents' representatives on Sunday, but the atmosphere has improved remarkably, a member of the 10-person Thai team said yesterday.
Proposals made by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Coordinate (BRN) are not key concerns as they can be negotiated, Srisompob Jitpiromsri, a lecturer with Prince Songkhla University’s Pattani campus, said. “This dialogue is the right solution, and should be continued,” he added.
The 10-hour meeting, held at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, ended with five proposals that Thailand has “accepted for consideration”, National Security Council secretary-general Paradorn Pattanathabutr said.
BRN is also circulating a clip about the proposals on YouTube.
Paradorn said the meeting was not a failure, and had actually been quite constructive. He added that BRN had told him that one of the five proposals came from ideas aired by local residents at different meetings and seminars.
The next meeting is scheduled for June 13.
A source present at the meeting said the seven BRN representatives did not offer a concrete commitment to a call from Thai authorities to end insurgent violence. All BRN said was no civilians would be targeted and there will be no bomb attacks in residential areas as initially called for by Thai authorities.
The BRN team also included a new face, Ahmad Ben-awan, who was not introduced at the table but military sources said he either represented BRN’s youth arm or is a member of the group’s so-called secretariat.
Former NSC chief Thawil Pliensri said the BRN had trumped the Thais on several fronts, including the YouTube clip, which gave it international exposure. One of the proposals urges Thailand to refer to BRN as the “liberator”, saying that historically Pattani belonged to a people that BRN now represents.
