The Thai government and the Deep South insurgent groups agreed on preconditions before moving ahead for the ‘official’ peace talk and the discussion over establishing safe zones in the restive region.
Abu Hafez Al-Hakim, a delegate and key member of MARA Patani, an umbrella organization of the Deep South independent movements, announced on Friday, 2 September 2016, that the group and the representatives of the Thai government on the Deep South peace talk negotiation table in Malaysia reached an agreement on the latest version of the Term of References (ToR).
The agreement on TOR of the two parties are crucial as preconditions before an official peace talk between the two could start with Malaysia acting as facilitator to the talk.
According to agreed MARA Patani, they have agreed on the following:
- Accept the latest version of the ToR
- Principly agreed to discuss the Safety Zones issue in the coming talk
- Accept the proposals from Women's Agenda for Peace for further evaluation and discussion
- The meetings of the two parties will still continue unofficially
The agreement of the two parties came only one day after women — both Buddhists and Muslims — from 23 civil society organizations in the restive Deep South marched on the streets of Pattani to show their support for discussions on the Terms of Reference (ToR).
The rally called for various public places including markets, schools and religious sites, to read statements demanding safe zones where there is a high density of innocent civilians. These zones would be areas where both parties agree not to enact violence.
A statement from the Women’s Agenda for Peace (PAW), one of the 23 organizations, said the group wants the Thai government and Mara Patani to push forward the peace talks despite a variety of obstacles. The group said the talks are the only way to end the conflict peacefully, which would be beneficial for local women.
Predominantly Muslim Malay, the region, composed of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and four districts of Songkhla, has been pervaded by armed conflict for the past decade which has claimed almost 6,500 lives.