All Thais Urged to Lend Support to the Peace Dialogue Process on the Southern Situation

(12/03/2013)

A call has been made for all Thais to lend support to the Peace Dialogue process regarding the situation in the southern border provinces. The call was made by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who also urged all perpetrators of violence to join the Peace Dialogue in order to achieve a solution to the southern situation through concerted efforts. Mr. Surapong referred to the draft General Consensus Document on Peace Dialogue signed by the Thai Secretary-General of the National Security Council, Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanatabut, and the representative of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Coordinate on 28 February 2013. He pointed out that the Document clearly states that the form of discussion agreed upon is a peace dialogue with groups whose opinions and ideologies differ from that of the State. This, in turn, is an extract from Article 8 (2) of the National Policy on Administration and Development in the Southern Border Provinces 2012-2014, which states, “to further promote the continuity of the peace dialogue process with those whose opinions and ideologies differ from that of the State … as part of the stakeholders of the Southern Border Provinces’ problem in a unified manner as well as to seek further cooperation from foreign states or non-governmental organizations to support the said dialogue.” The policy had been widely debated and acknowledged by Parliament on 28-29 March 2012. In this regard, Mr. Surapong said that the Dialogue will take place strictly within the framework of the Thai Constitution 2007 (B.E. 2550), which stipulates that separatism is not legally permissible. Thus, it is evident that the signing of the General Consensus Document strictly adheres to existing legal frameworks and only entails the beginning of a dialogue process between the National Security Council and groups holding different views and ideologies to that of the State. The signing does not confer any recognition upon the groups taking part in the dialogue, as mistakenly reported by some members of the Thai media. Mr. Surapong explained that the result of the discussion between Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Mr. Najib Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, states that 1) Malaysia does not condone the use of violence in resolving the situation in the Southern Border Provinces; 2) Malaysia does not support any form of secession; and 3) Malaysia does not provide shelter to the perpetrators of violence. He said that during Prime Minister Yingluck’s visit to Sweden and Belgium, the leaders of both countries, as well as the European Union, all commended and supported the efforts undertaken by the Royal Thai Government to engage in a peace dialogue. He stressed that all efforts by the Foreign Ministry on this matter have been exerted with the utmost care and circumspection, especially the consultation given to the National Security Council on the wordings of the General Consensus Document with due consideration for relevant laws and regulations. All actions taken with regard to this matter have been entirely in line with the framework of the Thai Constitution and have but one aim: to initiate the Peace Dialogue with various groups and stakeholders.