By Luke Hunt
Thailand has followed a lead established by the Philippines and will enlist Malaysia as a “facilitator” after recognizing that Muslim insurgents in its troubled southern provinces have grievances that are worth addressing.
According to the agreement, the national security chiefs of both countries will tackle the issue together in the hope of identifying exactly who the insurgents are, finding out what they want and then – assuming all goes well – holding talks to end the strife.
More than 5,000 people have died since an undeclared war for autonomy escalated sharply in January 2004 along Thailand’s border with Malaysia, which straddles both Thailand and the Philippines where it has also had a hand in recent peace talks with Muslim groups fighting for their ethnic Moro homeland.
However, compared with the established Filipino groups fighting Manila from Mindanao, insurgents in the three Thai provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat have largely remained in the shadows, shunning publicity and preferring not to claim responsibility for their often devastating attacks on targets ranging from the police and teachers to government and military installations.
Read the full story at The Diplomat