Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has laid out details of a plan for peace talks between authorities and southern separatists.
Shortly after seizing power last May 22, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha travelled to the South to talk with influential community and religious leaders.
Speaking after chairing the Steering Committee for Peace Dialogue meeting at the National Security Council (NSC) Wednesday, Gen Prayut said members met for the first time to work out steps for the talks.
The first step concerns the negotiations which must move ahead with the same strategies set out by the NSC, the government and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
The problem must be solved quickly as the country will have to join the Asean Community at the end of the year and it is important to end troubles, loss of life and property damage in the troubled region, he said.
The talks will be separated into three levels — policymakers, a mobilisation team and a local team.
The policy level will be led by the premier with the NSC secretary-general serving as the secretary of the policy assembly.
The mobilisation team will be led by Gen Aksara Kerdpol, the chief negotiator for peace talks with insurgent groups in the deep South.
The team members will include those in legal affairs, development, and the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc).
The list of names will be unveiled later.
The local team will be spearheaded by the Fourth Army Region chief and Isoc Region 4.
"The talks must be aimed at fostering trust," Gen Prayut said.
Malaysia will host the talks and seek out groups which have different viewpoints to discuss, he said.
"No groups should be named as people involved are all Thais," Gen Prayut said.
"No credit should be given to anyone as this is only a domestic affair."
The process will try to create trust and seek out those who really want to stop violence, he said.
After the groups are sought, talks will be held to seek out the possibility of reducing violence in particular incidents, such as stopping bomb attacks.
The premier said the first step must be accelerated to find out who will join talks.
The groups which participate in the talks must be approved by both political and army officers, he noted.
He said no timeframe has been set for the first step as it also depends on how many groups Malaysia could seek for the talks.
After the groups agree to stop the violence, they will have to sign a statement saying they will end the unrest and seek a peaceful solution.
This is the second step of the process.
Asked whether ratification could be done within this year, the premier said authorities cannot determine that as the issue also depends on the other side.
"I have told the Fourth Army Region chief that we will not contend with any proposals made by particular groups. All proposals will be gathered and then brought up for talks," Gen Prayut said.
The final step is to follow up the roadmap.
It will determine how residents will be treated after the insurgency stops while their proposals in connection with the justice process will be heeded.
Attempts will also be made to narrow disparities and maintain the identity, tradition and culture of those people, he said.