The peace-building process in the South took another shaky step forward on Thursday when separatist groups emerged publicly for the first time to speak as "one voice" with the Thai government. But some critics interpreted the step as a victory for the Thai government in undermining and discrediting militant wings of the movements.
Tuwaedaniya Tuwaemae-ngae, director of the Patani Raya Bureau for Peace and Development (Lempar), said the launch of the Mara Patani umbrella group on Thursday also undermined efforts of some Melayu Muslim activists who were pushing for a referendum for the people in the southernmost provinces.
“Why not let the voices of each resident in the areas decide what they want for the future for themselves? Why just listen to exiles?” argued Mr Tuwaedaniya.
He was expecting the high-profile moves to engage in peace talks with Thailand to bring about reactions from separatist movement "revolutionaries" who are active on the ground.
But despite doubts and criticism, the Thai military government and the separatist groups are fine-tuning, among themselves as well as between the two sides, the approach for the upcoming meetings.
In February 2013, peace talks were launched between the Yingluck government and key separatist group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN).
The talks faced several problems and stalled before the junta took power in May last year. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha re-ignited the process after his meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak on Dec 1, announcing the start of the so-called Peace Dialogue II.
But 36 days before that, some members of the BRN had hatched the idea of setting up a Patani Consultative Council to unify all the voices of the separatist movements, certainly under pressure and with the support of Malaysia (as when the BRN was forced to join the talks).
They chose Oct 25 to announce the Patani Consultative Council, symbolically a decade after at least 85 people were killed after being arrested and transported from Tak Bai police station to military camps.
On March 15, the BRN proposed five other separatist groups join the council — Barisan Islam Pembebasan Patani (BIPP), Gerakan Mujahidin Islam Patani (GMIP), Pertubuhan Pembebasan Patani Bersatu (Pulo-DSPP), Pertubuhan Pembebasan Patani Bersatu (Pulo-MKP) and Pertubuhan Pembebasan Patani Bersatu (Pulo-P4). It would be named Majlis Syura Patani, or Mara Patani.
In April, an introductory session was held in Kuala Lumpur with three members of the separatist groups led by Awang or Awae Jabat (BRN) meeting their Thai counterparts.
The separatist representatives mentioned briefly that they were forming Mara Patani. They wanted the Thai side to acknowledge their requests for immunity and protection for the dialogue team, to put the talks on the national agenda and to recognise Mara Patani as the sole negotiating partner.
A month later, BRN representative Sukree Haree led a team for further discussions. On both occasions, Gen Aksara Kerdpol led the Thai delegation.
“The meeting was more formal but still unofficial and no substantive issues were discussed,” said Abu Hafiz Al-Hakim, a representative of the BIPP.
The facilitator, Malaysia, also submitted a draft of the terms of reference to both the Thai and separatist sides, obviously hoping the document would be a catalyst for more in-depth talks.
After that meeting, the Mara Patani conference was held on June 5 and all participants accepted this umbrella body would deal with the Thai state.
In a way, it was the first time they had successfully overcome the differences among them and repackaged the disparate groups as one voice.
The third round of Thai-separatist meetings was held last Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur and Mara Patani formally tabled the three requests, which the group later told the media were necessary for the start of the official peace talks.
The Tuesday talks were mired by the fact that the Mara Patani planned to present some of its clandestine members to the public two days later. As a result, verbal clashes and bluffs were heard.
Gen Aksara said the Mara Patani demands were focused on the group's self-interest (immunity for their dialogue team travelling to Thailand) but the Thai government proposed development and justice issues in the talks which were more beneficial to the people in the southernmost provinces.
Mara Patani secretariat Dr Abu Hafiz responded by saying the movements had entered secret talks in the past and wanted a solid basis to build on.
Despite these tussles, the two parties still hope to sustain the dialogue.
Mr Sukree of the BRN said the peace talks were also part of the separatist struggle. Gen Aksara also acknowledged the Thai side was considering issuing a draft joint statement in a month.
Reactions on the ground were not so receptive, though. Suhaime Dulasa, former president of the student activist group Permas, said he was not against the peace process but rejected dialogue that was organised by self-interested Malaysia and joined by a government that gained power undemocratically.
“Justice doesn’t prevail in the region yet,” Mr Suhaime said.
Anusart Suwannamongkol, a member of the National Legislative Assembly, said before the Mara Patani tabled any demands, people were expecting to see gestures of goodwill such as pledging a violence-free zone within a specific time frame.
“People in the local areas don’t know these people and want to be reassured the [Mara Patani] is a serious body and can influence actions on the ground,” Mr Anusart said.
But Kasturi Mahkota, from the Sweden-based Pulo-MKP, said the BRN had assumed a low profile in its decision-making process.
“I have a lot of experience with the BRN. I don’t want to fail either. I believe Ahmad Chuwo and Sukree [both on the steering committee and dialogue team] will bring more people to join and agree with them although their positions in the BRN may not be clear to outsiders,” Mr Kasturi said.
Ustaz Ahmad Chuwo worked under senior spiritual leader Sapae-ing Baso at Thamwitthaya School before Sapae-ing went into exile in Malaysia, while Mr Sukree was a young and more articulate leader, compared to Ustaz Hasan Toryib, the leader of the previous peace talks.
Awang Jabat also backed up their quest for recognition by saying the BRN has some 9,000 juwaes (fighters) on the ground, excluding supporters in the region.
“We want the right to determine our own destiny. [But] we don't seek secession or separation,” Mr Awang said.
But some press conference attendees corrected him, saying self-determination could mean independence, autonomy or even the status-quo with the Thai state, depending on the will of the local people.
As the press conference ended, the key person present — Ustaz Ahmad Chuwo — had not spoken a single word except for softly pronouncing his name to the media.
Observers said he was not enthusiastic about joining the publicised peace dialogue.
The inter- and intra-political currents within the separatist movements will continue to hamper the peace talks.
Likewise, the Thai government's opaque process is also unhelpful and has yet to allay the concerns of civil society.