Next round of NSC-insurgent peace talks set on June 13

BANGKOK, May 28 (TNA) - The next round of peace negotiations between the Thai government, through the National Security Council (NSC), and representatives of insurgent groups in the Thai far South, led by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) insurgency movement, the third of its kind, will be held on June 13, 2013 as scheduled. NSC Secretary-General Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanatabutr confirmed the schedule on Tuesday, acknowledging that the BRN group has, however, failed to convince some insurgent groups, in the meantime, to reduce their violent attacks. Lieutenant General Paradorn said representatives of the BRN group reasoned that there are numerous insurgent groups in the southernmost Thai region, including newly formed hard-core ones which believe they can conquer the Thai government with violence. According to the NSC chief, some insurgent groups have opposed the peace talks between the NSC and the BRN-led insurgency movements, as the ongoing peace process will enable the Thai government to identify their groups which have been active in the troubled Thai deep South. Regarding a bombing on Ramkhamhaeng Road in Bangkok on May 26, the NSC chief assessed that it resulted from a business conflict or an influential group, rather than southern insurgency, but authorities have not ruled out a political conflict and terrorism and have set up nine checkpoints in the capital after the bombing, which are considered usually-intensified security measures as a precaution. (TNA)