BANGKOK, (PNA/Xinhua) — Two more militant groups have proposed to hold talks with the Thai authorities on solutions to the unrest in Thailand’s violence-plagued southern border provinces, Thai News Agency reported Tuesday.
National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut said on Tuesday that he would not yet disclose the identities of the two groups but said they were involved in several attacks and violence in the far South. He believed their participation would help improve the situation in the south.
A Thai security delegation led by Paradorn has held three rounds of peace talks with leading militant group Barisan Revolusi Nasional with Malaysia acting as the facilitator.
Gen. Paradorn said the fourth round of dialogues was tentatively scheduled for the third week of this month but the exact date has yet to be fixed.
He said the two militant groups had never contacted the Thai authorities and they would possibly be allowed to join the next peace talks which should help ease the southern tension.
“The two groups have reportedly been involved in several attacks in the South. It’s good to talk to other groups besides the BRN, ” Thai News Agency quoted Paradorn as saying.
More than 5,000 people have been killed and more than 9,000 injured in over 11,000 incidents, about 3.5 incidents a day, in Thailand’s three Muslim, ethnic-Malay dominated southern border provinces — Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and four districts of Songkhla since separatist violence erupted in January 2004, according to Deep South Watch, which monitors the regional violence.