Talks to go ahead despite BRN YouTube video
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Talks between the government and the separatist Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) are still scheduled for June 13 despite the group's posting of a five-point list of demands on YouTube over the weekend, National Security Council secretary-general Paradorn
The government wants to examine whether the demands made in the BRN’s message, posted on YouTube on Saturday, were relevant to the ongoing violence in the deep South, he said.
“We have to listen to local people as to whether meeting the BRN’s demands would solve their problems,” Paradorn told reporters after a meeting with residents of Yala province yesterday.
Local residents, particularly Buddhists, in the three southernmost provinces have questioned whether the talks between the government and the BRN will really bring peace to their lives, as violence in the predominantly Muslim region continues.
Paradorn said the engagement between the authorities and the separatists is still far from being a genuine peace negotiation, describing it as merely an assessment and trust-building process.
The main objective of the security operation in the South is to provide sufficient protection to the people, he said.
The talks in recent months were aimed at reducing and containing violence in the deep South, Paradorn said. “The process of talks is still going on. We need to consult all concerned parties, including Thai and Malaysian officials who facilitate the talks, if we want to review or revise the process,” he said.
“We have to test whether the [BRN’s] promises to reduce violence in some areas is reliable,” he said. “We also want to know who causes such violence and how we can cooperate to end it,” he said.
The talks with BRN are a part of attempts by the authorities to restore peace. The ongoing violence, which erupted in early 2004, left more than 5,500 people dead so far.
