Chalerm to pursue talks with 'others'

He refused to identify the other insurgent groups, but said anything that could not make progress must change its direction, and said their clear identities would be verified and confirmed by the Southen Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC).

“It’s known now that the BRN-C leadership does not have control over insurgents still active in areas where violence is widespread. The people who now want to talk to us show it” through heightened violence targeting senior government officials, he said.

“If this meeting [on June 13] with the BRN-C yields nothing better, I need to alter the direction [of the peace process] and make a change. I would personally prefer to wait for a few more meetings with the BRN-C.”

Given a mandate by the prime minister to lead the Thai delegation in the peace dialogue with insurgents, Chalerm said he had set five new agendas from the Thai side and refused to publicise them. Chalerm said on Thursday that he would lead the officials at the meeting on June 13.

Chalerm said Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and former deputy interior minister Thavorn Senniam would be welcome to attend future meetings of a government commission handling affairs related to the deep South. He did not reveal when, or whether it would be after meetings with BRN-C are halted and other insurgent groups become the new dialogue partners.

He said aborting the peace efforts, as demanded by government critics and Abhisit, would be easy. “But dialogue needs to be continued to find a solution to the violence. Please take it easy,” he added.

PM Yingluck Shinawatra, asked whether it was time to treat the insurgent violence as a national issue, said there already were agencies handling the matter and they should be allowed to continue their work for some time.