Peace talks between NSC, insurgents kick off

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (TNA) - The first-round peace negotiation between the Thai government, through the National Security Council (NSC), and key figures of insurgent groups, including the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), kicked off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, on Thursday morning. NSC negotiators had an internal discussion before their meeting with BRN and other insurgent representatives. The negotiation venue was then undisclosed as requested by the BRN and the Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO); while Malaysia acts as the mediator in the talks. NSC Secretary-General Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanatabutr, who led the team of Thai negotiators, told journalists before the negotiation that the talks would be closed-door and negotiators would use translators. Lieutenant General Paradorn expressed his hope that the first-round negotiation would result in relieved violence in the Thai deep South, particularly those in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, and would lead to a political process to restore peace in the troubled southern border Thai region, where more than 5,300 people have killed over the past nine years. The NSC chief led his team of nine negotiators to talk with five representatives of the southern insurgent groups, comprising three from the BRN, led by Hassan Taib, and two from the PULO. According to the Thai team, the first-round negotiation should be concluded later in the day, with both sides holding a press conference by Thursday evening. (TNA)