Thai protests push rebel peace talks down agenda

BANGKOK: Stuttering peace talks to end Thailand´s bloody southern rebellion are under threat from political turmoil in Bangkok, observers say, as the conflict enters its second decade with no end in sight.

More than 5,900 people have been killed in near daily shootings, bomb attacks and ambushes in the kingdom´s Muslim-dominated deep south near the border with Malaysia.

It is a complex, vicious and highly localised war whose victims have overwhelmingly been civilians, but it is largely ignored in the rest of Thailand and among the international community. January 4 marks the 10th anniversary of a rebel raid on an army store in 2004 when hundreds of weapons were seized to fight the Thai state, which annexed the south a century ago.

The incident is widely seen as marking the start of the current conflict, although armed groups had been active in the region for decades, particularly in the late 1970s and early 1980s.The roots of the insurgency draw on long-standing anger at efforts to assimilate ethnic Malay Muslims and at a perceived lack of respect for local language, religion and customs.

The incident was followed in April that year by a controversial army raid on a mosque in the region in which 32 suspected militants were killed.

Then in October 85 Muslim protesters died, most of them by suffocation as they were detained, bound and then piled onto military trucks.

In the years since then shadowy insurgents have battled Thai security forces in the three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, and parts of neighbouring Songkhla.

About 30,000 soldiers are stationed in the region along with thousands of paramilitary troops providing protection to local villagers, teachers, monks and other top targets.

Last year several rounds of tentative peace discussions raised cautious optimism for a political solution to the conflict.

In an apparent breakthrough, the hitherto publicity-shy Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebel group made open demands.

Representatives of a number of other smaller rebel groups also appeared poised at one point to join the dialogue, boosting the once-distant prospects of a deal that could carry traction with the rebel footsoldiers.

But the talks stalled as the BRN waited for the government to respond to its five-point peace proposal, and near daily attacks still hit the region.

Further discussions have now been postponed as the crisis-hit Thai government handles massive street protests in Bangkok aimed at toppling Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The embattled premier dissolved parliament in early December and called snap polls for February 2 in bid to assuage anti-government protesters, but the crisis has shown little sign of abating.

National Security Council (NSC) chief Paradorn Pattanatabut said the southern peace talks could resume in January if "the protest situation gets better".

"I am worried (about the peace talks) but not too much," he said. "We will not quit the talks."

Another source close to discussions was less bullish, telling that the Bangkok political drama has caused uncertainty.

"There won´t be any dialogue in January," the source said, requesting anonymity. ´Talks clinging on´The delay has fanned fears of a loss of momentum in a complex and fragile process.