Posted on 10/05/2006 1:41:40 PM PDT by BenLurkin
AP) BANGKOK, Thailand The military has agreed to hold talks with Muslim rebels involved in a bloody insurgency in southern Thailand, the powerful army chief said Thursday, reversing a policy of the elected government deposed in a coup last month.
Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, who led the bloodless Sept. 19 coup against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said that officials from certain rebel factions had contacted a top army officer and requested talks. He did not indicate if any date had been set.
"I have agreed to the talks," Sondhi said. "I stress that these will be talks, not negotiations."
Wan Kadir Che Man, a leader of the Bersatu rebel group -- believed to be an umbrella group of Muslim insurgents -- confirmed that members of his organization had been in contact with "certain Thai authorities" about holding peace talks.
However, he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Bersatu had not yet received an official request to hold talks.
"But if the coming government handles it correctly, there is no reason why an internal conflict among ourselves could not be resolved," he wrote.
The coup makers have appointed Surayud Chulanont, a former army commander, to serve as interim prime minister until an election promised for October 2007. Surayud is expected to name a Cabinet next week.
Sondhi's coup was welcomed by many Thais, who saw the ouster of Thaksin as a good chance to end the bloody Muslim insurgency that has killed more than 1,700 people.
Sondhi, one of the few Muslims in the country to rise to such a prominent position, has been seen as a potential healing force for the conflict. About 90 percent of Thailand's more than 63 million citizens are Buddhists. The country's three southernmost provinces are the only ones with Muslim majorities.
Another rebel leader, meanwhile, urged authorities to investigate Thaksin for crimes against humanity, saying the ousted leader should be tried at the International Court of Justice for alleged murders and disappearances of suspected insurgents.
"Thaksin Shinawatra's hands are full of blood," said exiled Muslim rebel leader Lukman B. Lima, head of the Pattani United Liberation Organization, one of several groups fighting for a separate Muslim state in southern Thailand.
In an e-mail from Sweden, Lukman said Thailand's incoming interim government will not be able to fully solve the divisions in the south unless they "bring Thaksin and some of his generals ... to the court of justice in the Hague."
Thaksin's government, which came under harsh criticism for its strong-arm approach to the violence, had repeatedly declined to hold any talks with Muslim insurgents -- a decision that had put him at odds with Sondhi, who had urged a peaceful approach.
Thaksin, who also was accused of widespread corruption and abuse of power, was widely detested among Muslims in the south, where an insurgency flared in January 2004.
He deployed thousands of troops to the region, and shifted commanders and tactics many times. He ordered all-out manhunts for militants, armed teachers and villagers, and imposed draconian laws.
Many moderate Muslims said the conflict could never be resolved as long as he remained in power.
The government's heavy-handed response also bred discontent in the army that was one of the factors driving the coup. Less than three weeks before the coup, Sondhi had proposed talks with insurgents, but Thaksin's government shot down the idea.
"They see that only talks can end the violence," Sondhi said of the insurgents. "If they are seeking cooperation with us, that kind of approach is OK with me."
Violence has waxed and waned for decades in Thailand's three southernmost provinces -- Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat -- which were annexed a century ago from what had been an Islamic sultanate.
Muslim southerners have long complained of being treated like second-class citizens, with fewer educational and job opportunities than Buddhists.
Talks? Negotiations?
You can't talk or negotiate with Muslims!
It's not a stereotype to say this. They're very convinced of their righteousness and nothing is gonna change that.
Let the 2006 Winter Appeasements begin!
bump
Isn't the Thai army chief a Muslim himself?
And the Thai people will have to wait and see whether people continue to be murdered by thr Muslim "insurgency" before they know if the coup was good or not.
Thaksin had to be doing something right. . This other idiot should study Israel for lessons on talking with islamonazis and what it gets you.
I thought he was going to turn over power to an elected government. Shouldn't they be the ones to decide on talks with rebels? It seems he is puruing a political agenda of his own instead.
Contrary to what the posts on this thread indicate, when this was announced, it was made very clear that these are low-level talks and negotiations are completely out of the question. The first line of the Thai Constitution states quite clear that Thailand is a 'singular state'. It will remain that way.
The Thai government has already said negotiations are completely out of the question.
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