Thailand, BRN sign peace agreement

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Rebel group ready to talk peace

BRN insurgents tipped to ink formal peace pact

Published: 28 Feb 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

KUALA LUMPUR - The national security chief signed a peace agreement with the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) on Thursday just ahead of an official visit to Malaysia by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

It is the first formal engagement between the government and insurgents.

National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Paradorn Pattanatabutr said the BRN is a group that Malaysia believes operates in the deep South.

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Smithy
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Discussion 28 : 28 Feb 2013 at 19.4528
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A few points:
1) BRN does actually have active fighters in south(unlike PULO)
2) JI has nothing to do with south thailand issue AT ALL
3) Sign is in English because this is international language
4) Such negotiations never start big, and take long process to reach peace. This is start of long and rocky road, but it IS a start
5) People calling for violent solution to problem ('send in more marines') have no compassion for people living in 3 border provinces.
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cadcolin
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Discussion 27 : 28 Feb 2013 at 19.1327
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D20
Pretty hard line being advocated by you more soldiers harder oppression
two things happen there
1) you force people that are unsympathetic to the cause to start thinking thinking things can be better without the Thai government

2) you will then make people who are sympathetic but passive in there opposition into active participants

if your going to send soldiers you need to form specilised small units highly trained in counter terrorist tactics not ordinary soldiers or conscripts unskilled in crowd control and counter terrorist tactics
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peterd
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Discussion 26 : 28 Feb 2013 at 18.0626
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#19. "In fighting terrorism, appeasement will never work and it will backfire". No for Spain, Ireland, South Africa and a lot of countries. The Guns don't work better than the dialogue. And "Terrorism" is subjective. Example, the nazis called "terrorists" the resistants. All the authoritarian systems do the same with their political opponents.
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onlyasking
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Discussion 25 : 28 Feb 2013 at 18.0225
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Many commentors miss the point. The BRN isn't the only group, but by opening negotiations with them and with Malaysia being the facilitor pressure can be put on other groups to join negotiations. Remember the biggest number of people killed in the south are Muslims. Let say the negotiations break down due to BRN demands or the other groups refuse to negotiate, the Thai government can then put pressure on Malaysia to stop the support of the terrorists, as they have shown willingness to find peace.
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ACR
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Discussion 24 : 28 Feb 2013 at 17.3724
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Social unrest caused by Thai Government sponsered:
1. Tourist industry
2. Rubber tree plantations
3. National forest & Ocean reserves
4. Commercial fishing
5. Gov schools demagoging the local lifestyle
6. Military heavy-handed crack-down on protesters
7. Heavy-handed enforcement of Illegal Drug Policies

ALL of these have displaced the locals and resulted in destroying their ability to earn a VIABLE income and maintain their social heritage.

They can try - new farming methods (north Thailand), crop support (Isaan) or direct payments (Thai Communist)...
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englishbob
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Discussion 23 : 28 Feb 2013 at 17.3723
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Disc14 Hillfarang... I truly hope this is a genuine move towards peace.

However, the pessimism displayed here is well-earned by Peua Thai. They (white) lied about the state of the economy. They lied about the Government to Government rice sales. The tablet computers have sputtered to an end. No progress has been made on land reform, Article 112, nor reconciliation (in fact the current witch hunt is making things worse).

If making false promises were a sport, Peua Thai would be world champions. Let's see if anything improves before patting anyone on the back.
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sirron
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Discussion 22 : 28 Feb 2013 at 17.2922
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Nobody has any talks scheduled with JI or RKK. These are the most violent of the groups. JI is Indonesian based and purported to have al Queda ties, so their ultimate goal is not on anyome's agenda. RKK, who the Thai police reported resposible for the recent assasination of five fruit buyers, is somewhat/sometimes under BRN. We'll see if the signing slows them down. They give themselves names with such legitimate sounding names, but they're still just a bunch of terrorists.
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oldairman
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Discussion 21 : 28 Feb 2013 at 16.0921
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D14 What you call pessimism others call realism. The text of the agreement was not revealed so nobody really knows who agreed to what.
AFAIR the BRN does not have any active fighters in the South.
Lt Gen Paradorn said before leaving Bangkok Wednesday that several rebel leaders had approached him for talks.
The army has estimated that about 9,000 militants are active in the deep South. If any of the rebel leaders are from those groups that good for Lt Gen Paradorn, the government and most importantly the people of the region.
I would love to give the PM credit for doing something but what has she done? Talked at high levels is all.
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pointman-1
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Discussion 20 : 28 Feb 2013 at 15.5620
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Signing peace agreements with militants won't work. I'd station more Thai-Marines in the south and eleminate the insurgency problem. I'd inform Malaysia, the Thai-border is closed to insurgents/radicals and I'd strickly enforce my border policy. I would never talk peace with those who have no compassion for human life.
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nui
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Discussion 19 : 28 Feb 2013 at 14.4719
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In fighting terrorism, appeasement will never work and it will backfire. Especially with Islamic radicals or extremists. Look at Spain , India , Israel and many other countries. Even the Moro Liberation Front in the Philippines, after they received a certain autonomy in the South, are still fighting the Christian government in Manila. I expect very soon new attacks in Thailand's most southern provinces.
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Thailand, BRN sign peace agreement | Bangkok Post: news

Rebel group ready to talk peace

BRN insurgents tipped to ink formal peace pact

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