BANGKOK: Thailand is expected to explain to Malaysia its decision to negotiate directly with a southern Thai Muslim separatist group when formal peace talks resume in Kuala Lumpur early next month with Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN).
According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the Thais will have to clear doubts about Malaysia’s future role as a peace broker in the southern Thai peace process.
It said senior Thai security officials had been trying to limit a diplomatic fallout before the next round of negotiations after talks in Berlin last year yielded positive results without involving Malaysia.
The portal quoted Bangkok sources as saying that the issue was compounded by the fact that Malaysia was also in the dark about a seven-page draft of the agreement tabled at the Berlin talks, which were arranged by a European humanitarian organisation.
“The (tentative agreement) between BRN and the Thai National Security Council raises questions about the future role of Malaysia in the peace process,” said one insider, who has seen the text, to Nikkei.
Thai security analyst Don Pathan said: “Malaysia is not only a broker or a facilitator of the peace process, but also a stakeholder.
“To resolve this conflict, you need endorsements from all three parties: the Thai state, BRN and Malaysia.”
On Monday, two school children were among eight people injured by shrapnel from a roadside bomb near a park in the southern province of Songkhla.
On Sunday night, the Thai army clashed with insurgents in Narathiwat, resulting in five suspected rebels shot dead.
“After the clash, Colonel Pramote Prom-in, a spokesman of the army’s southern command, warned of retaliation from insurgent groups,” said the agency.
The insurgency in Thailand’s ethnic Malay-Muslim majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has killed nearly 7,000 people since 2004.