BANGKOK — The Canadian lawyer who was hired by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to represent the Redshirt movement says his engagement with the former leader has terminated.

A press release published on Robert Amsterdam’s website on 2 January 2014 states:

“Amsterdam & Partners LLP was first retained in April of 2010 by the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to defend the rights of the Red Shirt pro-democracy movement….However following a military coup last May which toppled the elected government, conditions for human rights have sharply deteriorated, and the engagement between Robert Amsterdam and former Prime Minister Thaksin has concluded.”

According to the statement, Amsterdam has launched a new campaign aimed at bringing criminal charges against “the coup leadership and those responsible for the 2010 Bangkok massacre.” The effort will be conducted on a pro bono basis, independent of any active political figures or parties in Thailand, the press release says.

“We are grateful to Khun Thaksin for the opportunity to become involved in these issues, and wish him the best in his endeavours," the statement says. "Our focus now will be to pursue alliances with civil society, NGOs, and other politically independent groups to continue advocating for the rights of citizens through all available avenues.”

Amsterdam and his international law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP were first retained by Thaksin to represent the umbrella organization of the Redshirts, the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), following the 2010 military crackdown on Redshirt protesters that left more than 90 people dead, mostly civilians.

Since 2010, Amsterdam has been pushing for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for allegedly committing a crime against humanity by authorizing the crackdown on Redshirt protesters. The ICC has yet to take up the case.

Noppadon Pattama, a legal adviser and spokesperson for Thaksin, confirmed today that Amsterdam is no longer working for the former leader.

"The contract has expired, and there is no renewal of the contract, because there is no particular work or agenda at the moment," Noppadon said. "Let me stress that there is no dispute between [Thaksin and Amsterdam]."

Although Thaksin was deposed in a military coup in September 2006 and has been living in exile since 2008 to avoid a corruption conviction, the former Prime Minister still retains significant influence as the de facto leader of the Redshirt movement. 

While Redshirt supporters hail Thaksin as a champion of the poor, many rival Yellowshirt activists in Thailand consider the former leader a corrupt tyrant who posed a threat to the Thai monarchy.

In April 2014, Yellowshirt activist Thaworn Senniam filed a complaint with Thai police accusing Amsterdam of committing lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) during one of his Skype calls to a Redshirt rally that month. 

In the Skype call, which was broadcast to demonstrators and translated into Thai by an assistant, Amsterdam urged Thai authorities to amend the lese majeste law, which criminalizes defaming the monarchy by up to 15 years in prison. 

BANGKOK — Peace talks with Islamic insurgents in southern Thailand will depend on the willingness and sincerity of separatist groups in the region, junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday.

"We are ready in all aspects to organize a long-lasting peace dialogue, but the problem is: are the people who use violence to fight us ready as well? Do they want to talk about peace?" Gen. Prayuth said to reporters at the Government House yesterday. 

Gen. Prayuth speaking to reporters at the Government House on 6 Jan 2015. 

"How many [separatist] groups are out there? If there are many groups, do all of them want to have peace with us?" Gen. Prayuth asked. "There are good people who want to have peace with us, don't worry, and violence has been decreasing these days, but as far as I know, they have not given up their fights."

In December, Gen. Prayuth met with the Prime Minister of Malaysia to discuss Malaysian-brokered peace talks between Thai authorities and rebels in southern Thailand who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the central government since 2004.

The two leaders stressed that all militant groups involved in the insurgency must cease their attacks and unite around a shared set of demands for the peace talks to go forward.

On the same day in December, dozens of banners were hung around southern Thailand questioning the sincerity of Thailand's military government. 

The banners, which were written in Thai, English, and Malay, read: "Is it appropriate to negotiate with the coup government? There is no guarantee for sincerity."

The near-daily bombings and gun attacks that have plagued Thailand’s ‘Deep South’ over the past decade have been launched by a number of shadowy Islamic insurgent groups who aim to revive the independent sultanate of Pattani, which was incorporated into Thailand in early 20th century. 

According to the Thai government, 4,000 people have been killed since violence broke out eleven years ago, but NGOs and other rights groups estimate the number of fatalities to be at least 6,000. The majority of deaths have been civilians.

In an effort to quell the insurgency, over 60,000 security officers have been deployed in the three southern border provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala.

During yesterday's press conference, Gen. Prayuth reiterated that Thai authorities will not sit for negotiations until a ceasefire is achieved.

"We can talk to them in an official way, but we have to wait for all of them to [stop the violence]. Otherwise, it would be like in the past. They can't pressure us like what they did in the past," the general said. 

According to a blogger on Deep South Watch who writes under the pseudonym Abu Hafez al-Hakim, insurgents in the south are divided over whether to participate in the government’s peace dialogue.

"There has been serious debate among the movement circles whether it is to their advantage to talk to the military junta at this juncture or better to wait for a legitimate democratically elected government in 1-2 years time," he wrote on December 12, 2014.

The former elected government’s efforts to organize peace talks with an insurgent group in 2012 failed to achieve any concrete gains, partly due to resistance from hawkish wings of the military who preferred to combat the southern rebellion with force. 

Critics also point out that the process did not involve all of the secessionist cells operating in the region, and that former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration did not offer increased autonomy for the Deep South – a vital demand shared by many insurgent groups.

The peace talks ultimately broke down after mass anti-government protests paralyzed the central government in late 2013 and paved the way for a military coup on 22 May 2014.

January 4, 2015 marked the eleventh anniversary of the insurgent attack on security forces in Narathiwat province that is widely considered the trigger of the recent decade-long wave of insurgent violence. 

According to the Southern Border Provinces Police Operations Center, the number of fatalities in the Deep South decreased in 2014 to 212 deaths, compared to 322 in 2013 and 326 in 2012.