According to Army Area 4 Commanding-General, Lt Gen Santi Sakuntanak, the goal is to reach a Joint Comprehensive Plan towards Peace (JCPP) among the parties involved in the lead-up to full-panel talks in June.
Gen Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, the Malaysian chief facilitator for the peace dialogue process in southern Thailand, is currently visiting the kingdom’s southern border provinces, reports NNT.
There, he is meeting with parties of interest in the peacebuilding effort from Feb 28 to Mar 3. The 4th army chief welcomed General Zulkifli and discussed cooperation to drive the talks on Thailand’s Deep South situation.
Peace talk delegates from Thailand and Malaysia, as well as representatives from the Barisan Revolusi Nasional group, aim to establish the JCPP in order to provide clear timelines and problem-solving guidelines for the Deep South peace process.
The focus will be on reducing violence in the area and holding discussion stages with locals to bring about lasting peace to the border provinces. The technical working committees of each participating party will unofficially exchange their ideas from March to May of this year so that the details of the JCPP can be settled before they are presented to the full-panel talks in June.
Lt Gen Santi said this week’s discussions will provide a starting point for the best way to "exit" the deep South unrest. He noted that Gen. Zulkifli is highly committed to facilitating the peacebuilding process for Thai authorities.
The technical working committees will also coordinate various agreements among the parties involved from this month onward, in a bid to end violent incidents as well as hold many more followup talks.
Pooliekev | 10 March 2023 - 13:22:35