Defer talks with BRN until a deal is done on cutting violence: Thaworn

Democrat Party deputy leader Thaworn Senniam

Democrat Party deputy leader Thaworn Senniam urged the government yesterday to integrate the work of 17 ministries and 66 agencies and postpone the third round of peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), pending an agreement on ways to reduce violence in the Deep South.

Violence continued yesterday with a 50-strong military base in tambon Bukit of Narathiwat's Jor I-rong district coming under attack by 20 armed men on two pickup trucks, which left one paramilitary ranger dead.

After a brief gunfight, the assailants retreated and sprinkled road spikes on their escape route. The deceased was identified as Amnuaysitti Hama, 29.

Thaworn, who visited residents and officials in Pattani yesterday, said the BRN's claim on YouTube that the Thai government used violence against people in the Deep South, was an exaggeration. He said it could be implied by National Security Council (NSC) chief Paradorn Pattanatabut's remark that BRN representatives, who were "elevated" by the dialogue, were unable to control insurgents in the field while BRN also made clips to try to humiliate the Thai government.

This suggested a failure of the NSC's dialogue process, which was apparently being pushed in keeping with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra's roadmap.

Thaworn urged the government to send 17 ministers to take care of things, including improving quality of life, economy, and other issues in the region, such as drug trafficking, border trade, transport, education, corruption suppression, and preservation of local identity and culture - not just focus on national security.

Thaworn urged the government and NSC to review their approach to the dialogue's third round by postponing it pending a deal on conditions to reduce violence in the region. He urged PM Yingluck Shinawatra to be in charge of the Deep South issues and assign 17 ministries and 66 agencies to work.

He said the NSC should not be the leader's "yes man" that fails to solve daily problems, which risk people's lives and properties on a daily basis, and not appoint the wrong man for the wrong job and then refuse to review or correct the mistake.

Meanwhile, security officials defused a roadside bomb in tambon Tohdeng in Narathiwat's Sungai Padi district yesterday morning. The bomb was reportedly planted only 300 metres from a bomb that narrowly missed a team of 12 soldiers patrolling on Friday afternoon.

Internal Security Operations Command spokesman Pramote Phromin said yesterday that attacks over the past six months had fallen, thanks to various factors. They included military operations to suppress the insurgency, the arrest and killing of insurgents, as well as political operations, working to promote good understanding with locals and opportunities given to insurgent sympathisers to turn over and join the peaceful solutions.

Pramote said there were 221 incidents in which 117 people were killed and 306 were wounded from October 2012 to March 2013 (38 in Yala, 87 in Pattani, 93 in Narathiwat and three in Songkhla). This was lower compared to the October 2011 to March 2012 period's 415 incidents in which 168 people were killed and 21 were injured.

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/06/02/defer-talks-with-brn-until-a-deal-is-done-on-cutting-violence-thaworn/