The government has started unofficial talks with separatists in the deep South as a prelude for the resumption of peace negotiations, a senior government official said yesterday.
The move follows the appointment of Royal Thai Army chief adviser Gen Aksara Kerdpol to head the government peace talks team.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, an adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon in charge of security affairs, said Gen Aksara has begun talking to key insurgent groups active in the deep South such as the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) and the Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo).
Mr Panitan said yesterday the government and the separatists had made progress in the talks, but did not give any details. The National Security Council is running the unofficial talks.
Mr Panitan said several groups wanted to have secret meetings with the Thai government team. Meanwhile, some pro-separatists who claim they are not members of any insurgency groups voiced concern over warrants issued against them in connection with attacks in the South over the past 10 years.
Mr Panitan said they feared being arrested if they came out of hiding to talk to authorities. They called on the government to guarantee them immunity.
"These individuals really want to talk to us. But they want to know first what the plan for official talks will be, when they will be held and what conditions we will set," he said.
During a visit to Malaysia last month, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha informed his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak that Gen Aksara would be Thailand's chief negotiator in talks with the southern insurgents and asked Mr Najib to let the separatist groups know.
Over the New Year holiday Gen Prayut met the Malaysian prime minister again in Thailand. Gen Prayut told him Thailand was ready to resume negotiations with separatist groups with Malaysia as hosts. Speaking about the southern situation, Mr Panitan claimed violence has sharply decreased since the coup last May.
Meanwhile, Col Pramote Prom-in, an Internal Security Operations Command spokesman, said two suspected insurgents were shot dead on Tuesday in Narathiwat's Cho Airong district after they refused to stop their vehicle at a checkpoint. A shootout with authorities ensued in which three others in the vehicle escaped. Col Pramote said a military ranger was seriously wounded in the gun battle. A probe is under way.