Most people polled recently rejected the conditions demanded for peace talks set by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), Nida Poll at the National Institution of Development Administration said on Friday.
The pollster carried out a survey on “the BRN’s Peace Talks Demands” between April 29 and May 2, seeking opinions from 1,249 people of all education levels and a wide range of occupations nationwide, including 171 residents of the violent three southernmost provinces.
As many as 88.47% of the respondents opposed the demand that Thai authorities must release all detained suspects and suspend and revoke arrest warrants in national security cases without any conditions, Nida Poll reported.
Some 72.06% of them disapproved of the condition that the BRN must be recognised as a "Patani" liberation movement, not a separatist group.
Respondents were roughly evenly split on the demand that the Thai government must accept the role of the Malaysian government as a “mediator” of the peace talks, and not just a “facilitator”, with 47.08% opposing the idea but 46.04% agreeing with it.
A total of 64.05% opposed recognising the BRN as the leading group in peace talks with the Thai delegation, but 30.90% supported the BRN.
On the demand that representatives of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) must be allowed to observe the peace talks, 67.17% agreed, and the balance opposed the suggestion.
And 71.98% agreed that representatives of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference should also observe the peace talks, with 23.46% against it.
Some 64.29% of the polled people agreed that representatives of other non-governmental organisations should be allowed to witness the peace talks, but 30.04% disagreed.