Bangkok: General Somsak Rungsita, head of the Southern Border Provinces Peace Dialogue Team, announced that he is currently waiting for orders to establish a negotiation team aimed at addressing issues in Thailand’s southern border provinces. The team, once formed, will include experts in various fields to facilitate comprehensive dialogue. He emphasized the need to clearly define Thailand’s role, which he noted has been overly influenced by Malaysia in the past.
According to Thai News Agency, General Somsak outlined the expected structure of the team, indicating that it will mirror the original framework. He mentioned that the Prime Minister advocates for a broad approach to solving southern conflicts, integrating the efforts of the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 Forward Command (ISOC), the army, police, the justice system, the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC), among others. General Somsak stated that his objective is to align these elements in a unified direction to strengthen dialogue efforts.
General Somsak also highlighted the importance of international cooperation, with ISOC Region 4 focusing on domestic matters and the army providing central connections. When questioned about Malaysia’s continued role as a facilitator, he expressed a preference for maintaining existing arrangements due to time constraints. He acknowledged the need for Thailand to establish a more assertive role, stating, “We’ve been too subservient to them in the past, so we need to be more rigorous on our side.”
Regarding the focus of the negotiations, General Somsak clarified that while the BRN (Barisan Revolusi Nasional) has been a key participant in past talks, the intention is to engage with all relevant groups. He assured that any developments will be communicated in due course.