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Don Pathan
Prachatai
In one of his first moves as newly appointed Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul has named a new chief negotiator for the peace process in Thailand's far South, a region gripped by a conflict that has claimed over 7,700 lives since 2004.
The decision has been met with scepticism, however, as Anutin’s government is set to serve only four months before Parliament is dissolved. Since the negotiating team is mandated by the Cabinet, any new government will be free to appoint its own officials.
The immediate aim of Anutin's Bhumjaithai Party is widely seen as building political capital for the upcoming general election. By appointing retired Gen Somsak Rungsita, a former Secretary-General of the National Security Council (NSC), as chief negotiator, Anutin can claim an achievement that he will argue his predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, failed to secure during her year in office.
To be fair to the previous administration, a negotiating team was being assembled, but Paetongtarn was removed by the Constitutional Court just before a public announcement could be made. Her proposed list included top security figures from her party, a former head of the Parliament-funded Prajadhipok’s Institute, a village chief from Narathiwat, and a retired diplomat.
Under her administration, delays stemmed from a refusal to resume talks until the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani (BRN)—the primary longstanding separatist movement—ceased its violent operations. The BRN countered that any reduction of violence must be negotiated, questioning the baseline and monitoring mechanisms. The then-government was unwilling to entertain this. A nudge from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the designated facilitator for the off-and-on talks since 2013, finally prompted a response from Paetongtarn, just before the court removed her from power.
Political insiders say the choice of Gen Somsak is a safe bet for Anutin. The former NSC chief is a close associate of Defence Minister Gen Nattaphon Narkphanit and former PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, now a Privy Councillor. The Thai Army is also comfortable with him.
Gen Somsak's appointment marks the NSC's return to the peace process after being sidelined by the previous administration. Insiders from the Pheu Thai Party government had accused the NSC-led negotiators of exceeding their mandate and giving the BRN too much leeway by not making a reduction of violence a binding condition.
A senior BRN member on the negotiating team questioned Thailand's commitment to peace, stating that Gen Somsak’s appointment does not signal sincerity in seeking a peaceful outcome.
For Asmadee Bueheng, a Patani-based writer and long-time conflict observer, Gen Somsak's appointment—coupled with in the introduction of an outsider to lead the Fourth Army Area, which oversees security in the region—does not necessarily translate into meaningful concessions from the Thai state.
In fact, no political party in modern Thailand has ever spelled out terms for peaceful coexistence between the Malay people of Patani and the state. This refusal to make concessions has rendered the decade-old peace process a stagnant "talk shop" unable to move beyond confidence-building.
Even if the government decided to outline a real settlement, there is no guarantee that conservative elites in Thailand would permit it, as it would challenge Thailand's nation-state construct and narrative, Asmadee said.
Today, the controversial Martial Law and Emergency Law, which permits 30-day detention without legal representation, remain in effect. The Tak Bai massacre of October 2004, which resulted in 85 deaths, has yet to see closure, while harassment against local political activists continues.
For years, the Fourth Army and activists have been at loggerheads, fighting to control the narrative. At the Army's request, numerous activists have been charged with disturbing the peace and instigating separatism.
Moreover, the absence of a credible peace process gives BRN militants, who already operate with considerable autonomy, a freer hand to expand beyond their usual theatre of violence and breach unwritten rules of engagement that prohibit attacks on civilians.
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| Thai police inspect the scene of an attack by insurgents at Sunai Kolok District Office, March 2025. (Narathiwat Public Relations Office) |
It remains to be seen if the new chief negotiator and the recently appointed commander of the Fourth Army Area, Maj Gen Norathip Phoinok, can reverse this trend and open political space for critical discussion, no matter how uncomfortable.
For decades, commanders of the Fourth Army have been drawn from its own ranks. Their counter-insurgency strategy has leaned heavily on militaristic approaches, with little focus on winning hearts and minds or addressing the root causes and historical grievances of this Malay-speaking region.
For over twenty years, Thailand's far South has been shaped by separatist insurgency, cross-border trade (both legal and illegal), an enormous military budget, and a culture of impunity among security officials. As one Thai military intelligence officer noted, the region has too many "dark sides." Bringing in an outsider to lead may not be a bad idea.
Although the violence is widely understood as political, Thai officials often view it through a narrow lens of security and legality. Few attempt to understand the insurgents' perspective, which sees government troops as a colonial force and local businesses as part of a system of exploitation. Government policies on transmigration and assimilation are viewed as integral to this same system.
Whether Maj Gen Norathip can bridge the trust gap between the state and the Malay-speaking region is an open question.
Political insiders say his appointment reflects the internal workings of the Royal Thai Army rather than any government initiative. With less than 70 seats in Parliament, Anutin cannot afford to create friction with the Army. His aim is to use these four months to prepare for the next election, which is why he is allowing the Army a free hand on border policy, be it with Cambodia or in the far South.
Don Pathan is a Thailand-based consultant and security analyst.
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