PATTANI, Thailand: The Thai government under new Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is committed to finding a permanent solution for the conflict in southern Thailand.
Anutin, who was elected Thailand’s 32nd prime minister after securing a parliamentary majority on September 5, is confident that dialogues are the best and most effective approach to bringing peace to Southern Thailand.
"The Foreign Ministry, the Internal Security Operations Command, the police, and Thailand’s National Security Council (NSC) will be involved in the upcoming negotiations,” he told reporters after his first working visit to Pattani and Songkla on Saturday.
Malaysia is a facilitator for the peace dialogue process.
On July 1, former director-general of the Malaysian National Security Council, Datuk Mohd Rabin Basir, was appointed as the new Malaysian Government Facilitator for the southern Thailand peace dialogue process.
On Saturday, the Thai government appointed former NSC secretary-general, General Somsak Rungsita, to head the delegation for peace talks with southern Thailand’s Barisan Revolusi Nasional.
The peace dialogue is aimed at finding a solution to end the conflict which came to a head in January 1994 in the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, and parts of Songkhla. - Bernama
