Brunei May Not Host Thai Talks
By Shafiyi Azahari

Bandar Seri Begawan - Thailand's Department of Information yesterday denied any definite plan to select Brunei Darussalam as a venue for informal peace talks between the Thai government and southern insurgents.

"The Foreign Ministry has no information with regard to the proposal mentioned in the news" that quoted executive director of Perdana Peace Global Organisation (PPGO) Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir as saying on December 19 that Thailand might hold informal peace talks with the southern insurgents in Brunei, a press officer at the Thai Department of Information, Saksee Phromyothi, told The Brunei Times through an e-mail.

However, "the Foreign Ministry acknowledges well-wishing and readiness in order to promote peace and unity in the south of Thailand," Saksee quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kitti Wasinondh, as saying in response to the news report. Kitti also said that the ministry was satisfied with the cooperation with the Malaysian authorities at every level.

Mukhriz, as reported by the Associated Press (AP), said that Brunei could be selected as a neutral venue for informal peace talks between the Thai government and southern insurgents.

However, Mukhriz, as reported by AP, said that he did not know if the government of Brunei had been formally approached.

The PPGO is an NGO that mediated' the first round of peace talks between Thai authorities and Muslim insurgent leaders between October 2005 and July 2006 on Langkawi Island in Malaysia, that produced little results. Violence in the southern province has killed more than 1700 since January 2004. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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