The separatist Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) group that issued a statement accusing Thai authorities of being insincere about southern peace talks should instead be taking part in the negotiations, Internal Security Operations Command spokesman Maj Gen Banpot Poonpian said on Tuesday.
Maj Gen Banpot, who is also deputy spokesman of the Thai peace negotiations team, said the origin and authenticity of the four-page statement written in English and dated Oct 12 was still unconfirmed.
The statement, disseminated online via social media, said the group had no trust in the Thai government and proposed that the talks be conducted with a mediator and observers from other countries.
Maj Gen Banpot said parts of the statement were not based on facts, and this could lead to confusion in society, both in the country and abroad.
"Therefore, we would like to call for the group to stop the unilateral dissemination of such information and instead join in the negotiation process and sincerely exchange opinions in a constructive manner, so that both sides can prepare for official negotiations towards peaceful ways out of conflict - to bring peace back to the southern border provinces," said Maj Gen Banpot.
He said the talks are now in the stage of building mutual trust. The Thai government is determined to proceed with it, he added.
Maj Gen Banpot said the two sides should be open to all opinions and give each other due honour on the basis of equality, with the goal of ending conflict through peaceful means.
In past meetings both sides had made informal proposals. Progress had been made and the developments won acceptance from the public.
The two sides had prepared documents outlining their opinions on various issues and submitted them to the facilitator, but they could not yet be officially disclosed to the public to prevent contentious points from being misinterpreted disproportionately, Maj Gen Banpot said.
Gen Aksara Kerdpol, chief of the Thai negotiations team, questioned the motive behind the statement and said he viewed it as a show by some BRN members that they opposed the peace talks.
It was normal to see opposition within the BRN and criticism of the peace dialogue, even though it is the best way to find a solution to the problems.
The insurgency has plagued the Muslim-dominated deep South since a miitant separatist movement re-emerged in January 2004.
