Ramadan truce hailed as a positive step for peace dialogue

This statement was part of a 40-day Ramadan peace initiative proposed by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), a group that is believed to have authority over some insurgent factions in the deep South.

Although the Thai government and BRN have not signed any official peace deal, the message – announced by Datuk Seri Ahmad Zamzamin Hashim, the Malaysian chief facilitator – was described as a welcome step in the ongoing peace negotiations.

It is also believed the move will help to restore confidence in the government’s negotiation teams, which were discredited earlier by many parties.

Efforts to bring about a violence-free Ramadan have received a hearty welcome from people in the restive area, including religious leaders like Nimu Makajae, a highly respected imam in Yala.

Nimu said he was pleased that the two sides had reached a peace agreement during Ramadan, which began on Tuesday evening and ends on August 18.

However, he did not have high hopes in BRN’s ability to convince other insurgent groups to halt their violence. “We will have to wait and see if we can really have peace as they have announced,’’ he said.

Others are also sceptical about the peace deal. On the second day of Ramadan, eight soldiers were slightly wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Yala’s Raman district.

National Security Council secretary-general Paradorn Pattanatabutr argued that the BRN acknowledged that the bomb planted by a railroad in Raman in Yala on Thursday was the work of insurgents opposed to the peace talks.

Pol Colonel Tawee Sodsong, secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC), believes that the peace process is going well, as he has received positive feedback from locals. He urged all sides to exercise tolerance.

Tawee added that if the BRN were able to significantly curb violence during Ramadan, it would enjoy much greater bargaining power at the negotiating table.

Sources said security officials were taken by surprise when they heard the BRN would announce a break in violence, since Thailand had refused to accept its demands put forward on two occasions. 

Although Pattani Senator Anusart Suwanmongkol welcomed the truce, he expressed concern that violence may increase after Ramadan, as it had intensified before the period began.

“I fear that we are facing ‘pre-Ramadan’ and ‘post-Ramadan’ violence. If you take the blast that killed eight soldiers [in late June] before Ramadan as a lesson, does that mean locals have to live in fear of the end of Ramadan?’’ he said.

He called on the government to quickly come up with a road map for sustainable peace.

General Ekachai Sriwilas, director of King Prajadhipok’s Office for Peace and Governance, recommended that a joint committee comprising five members from each side be appointed to inspect attacks that may strike during the truce period. The committee would prevent both sides from later making claims and accusations against each other, he said.

Under the peace dialogue, Thai authorities are also obliged to scale down raids and security blockades.