Friday, 7 March 2025

A fragile truce holds in Thailand's deep south

OPINION

A fragile truce holds in Thailand's deep

south

Peace talks with Malay rebels can resume after insurgents curb campaign of violence

Don Pathan

March 7, 2025 05:05 JST

An armed Thai soldier stands guard as three Thai-Muslim students stroll past the compound of Yala Islamic College in Yala province,

southern Thailand. © AP

Don Pathan is a Thailand-based security analyst.

In December 2024, a leading figure in southern Thailand's biggest rebel group lamented the

Thai government's lack of action on the peace process that was supposed to resume once a

new government came to power after the 2023 general election.In a video statement, Nikmatullah Bin Seri of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) -- the one

long-standing Malay Muslim separatist group that controls virtually all of its combatants on

the ground -- said the BRN was prepared to leave the peace process and take back the

group's decision to negotiate under the Thai constitution.

The following month, Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai called on all relevant

agencies to draft an "actionable solution" for the government's counterinsurgency strategy.

He gave them 30 days.


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