Thailand, Muslim militants agree to peace talks

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) — Thailand's government signed a breakthrough deal with Muslim insurgents for the first time ever Thursday, agreeing to hold talks to ease nearly a decade of violence in the country's southern provinces that has killed more than 5,000 people. The agreement was announced in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur between Thai authorities and the militant National Revolution Front, also known by its Malay-language name, Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Pattani. It is seen as a positive step, but it is unlikely to end the conflict because several other shadowy guerrilla movements are also fighting in southern Thailand and they have yet to agree to talks.

"God-willing, we'll do our best to solve the problem. We will tell our people to work together," Hassan Taib, a Malaysian-based senior representative of National Revolution Front, said after a brief signing ceremony with Paradorn Pattanathabutr, secretary general of Thailand's National Security Council.

Later Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was expected to discuss the agreement in Kuala Lumpur with his Thai counterpart, Yingluck Shinawatra.

No schedule was immediately given for future talks between the two sides, and no other details were available.

Violence has occurred nearly every day in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since the insurgency erupted in 2004. Security forces as well as teachers have been targeted by insurgents because they are seen as representatives of the government of the Buddhist-dominated nation.

Muslims in the border region, which was an independent Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century, have long complained of discrimination by the central government in Bangkok, and the insurgents are thought to be fighting for autonomy. But the insurgency remains murky, with militants making no public pronouncements on their goals.

Paradorn said earlier this week that fewer than 1,000 insurgents are living on the Malaysian side of the border. Most are ethnic Malays.

The Thai government and military have struggled to identify legitimate participants for the peace process, as the militant leadership is not clear and no groups have stepped out to take responsibility for the daily attacks in recent years. The insurgency is believed to be highly decentralized, with local units having the freedom to choose targets and campaigns.

The National Revolution Front is one of several separatist movements that have made public calls for a separate state in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south. It is unclear how many groups of insurgents the Thai authorities intend to bring in.

"This is a welcome development," said Srisompob Jitpiromsri, a political scientist at Prince of Songkla University in Thailand. "Not only that it is the first time the Thai government recognized the status of a separatist group, but also the process has included Malaysia as the facilitator of the talks, which will likely draw more participants in the peace process."

Other experts argue that bringing more insurgents to the negotiating table will not be easy.

"There are several groups who would like to talk to the Thai authorities but they won't come out because the Thai government cannot guarantee their safety. What they want is amnesty, which the Thai government can't promise," said Panitan Wattanayagorn of Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn University.

"The insurgents, too, will have to talk among themselves before making any decisions," he said. "So it is not clear that we will see a decline in the incidents in the near future."

Other groups fighting in southern Thailand include the Pattani United Liberation Organization, which has made public calls for a separate state.

In the past decade, Malaysia has also brokered negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines.

That has so far resulted in a preliminary peace pact signed last October to grant minority Muslims in the southern Philippines broad autonomy in exchange for ending more than 40 years of violence that has killed tens of thousands of people and crippled development.

Malaysia's government has repeatedly said it wants to see a peaceful resolution to its neighbors' conflicts and has denied funding, arming or providing any other support to militants.