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Thailand’s National Security Chief Rejects Rebel Demands for Self-Government

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Thai bomb squad members inspect the wreckage of a motorcycle following a roadside bomb blast targeting a patrolling police truck by suspected separatist militants in Rangea

BANGKOK –  Thailand’s national security chief said yesterday that talks between rebel leaders and his government aimed at ending a bloody insurgency in the south had not broken down, despite the rejection of rebel demands for self-government.

Violence has persisted in the three Muslim-dominated provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, part of a Malay Muslim sultanate until they were annexed by Buddhist Thailand in 1909.

“We did not fail. We listened to them but did not strike any deals,” said Paradorn Pattanathabutr, secretary-general of the Thai National Security Council, referring to the talks in Malaysia on Monday.

Thailand agreed in February to hold formal peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), one of the oldest insurgent groups operating in the area.

The BRN posted its demands on YouTube last Sunday, listing “running our own government in the fairest way” as one of its objectives for the region.

“Their initial demands were high and could mean self-determination, autonomy, power-sharing or decentralisation. But further along the line the BRN could be willing to adapt their terms,” said Srisomphob Kitphiromsri, a political scientist with Deep South Watch, a think-tank that tracks the violence. Thai officials have always rejected any notion of independence or regional autonomy.

The talks in Kuala Lumpur, which lasted more than 10 hours, were brokered by the Malaysian government. The rebels wanted Malaysia to be a mediator, but Thailand rejected that.

Resistance to Buddhist rule has simmered in the south for decades and resurfaced violently in January 2004, since when drive-by shootings and bombings have become almost daily events and more than 5,300 people have been killed.

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