Muslim insurgent group in southern Thailand says it has opened a dialogue with the government

Officials of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional said they met a Thai delegation at a location in Southeast Asia on Friday to issue their demands

The insurgency in the Malay-speaking region of the country has killed some 7,000 people over the past 15 years and has flared on and off for decades

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A forensics unit inspects the site of a deadly bomb blast in the southern Thai province of Pattani in August 2016. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:35pm, 17 Aug 2019Updated: 2:39pm, 17 Aug 2019

A major group fighting an insurgency in Thailand’s largely Muslim south said it had held its first meeting with officials from the new Thai government and had set out demands as a condition for any formal peace talks.

The insurgency in the Malay-speaking region of the predominantly Buddhist country has killed some 7,000 people over the past 15 years and has flared on and off for decades.

Officials of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) said they met a Thai delegation at a location in Southeast Asia on Friday and demanded the release of all people detained over suspected links to the insurgency and a transparent investigation into abuses by security forces.

That could be a step towards formal talks, the officials said, while emphasising that it was very early in the process.

“If the official peace talks are a feast then these secret meetings are like bringing the cow into the kitchen, but the cow is not even slaughtered yet,” said 70-year-old Pak Fakir, a senior BRN member. “The Thai state is like an oiled, slippery eel.”

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