Sept meeting in Malaysia is off; Thailand suspends peace talks with the southern insurgent group
Thailand has suspended peace talks with southern insurgent groups following a deadly attack in Narathiwat that killed five rangers. The government stated that the violence makes immediate negotiations impossible and requires a reassessment of the dialogue process.
Why it matters
The breakdown of peace negotiations in Thailand's southern provinces highlights the fragility of conflict resolution efforts in regions plagued by long-standing insurgency.
BANGKOK (Bernama): Thailand has temporarily suspended peace talks with the southern insurgent group, originally scheduled for September in Malaysia, following last week's deadly attack in Narathiwat that killed five rangers.
Director of the National Intelligence Agency Thanat Suwannanont said the dialogue process had initially progressed well before the attack prompted authorities to reassess the situation.
"There will be no negotiations in September. We had arranged the meeting in advance, but then the incident happened. The violence was too severe for us to accept. We were in the middle of talks when this happened."
"Although the fighters may have acted according to their instincts, we had already begun the dialogue process. Once violence occurs, we have to start all over again," he told reporters on Tuesday.
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