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.

BANGKOK — A retired commander of the Thai armed forces has urged drafters of the new constitution to allow His Majesty the King to intervene directly in politics in order to prevent further coups in Thailand.

Gen. Saiyud Kerdphol, former Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, said in a press conference today that the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) should "clearly" outline channels for the King to intervene and "solve any political crisis in the country" in the new charter. 

"In the past, constitutions have not clearly defined the scope of the King's royal authority, especially when crises take place in our country," said the 92-year-old retired general. "So I want the CDC to define and write about such power very clearly in the new constitution."

The CDC, whose members were appointed by the military junta that staged a coup on 22 May 2014, is currently working to write Thailand's 19th Constitution. A draft of the charter is expected to be completed by late 2015. 

According to Gen. Saiyud, His Majesty the King should have the constitutional authority to exercise power "through the military, or the Statesman that he has appointed." In Thailand, the honorary title of "Statesman" is currently held by Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, the former unelected Prime Minister who is now serving as a top adviser to King Bhumibol. 

Gen. Saiyud said he believes this measure will help prevent more military coups in Thailand by allowing His Majesty to solve political crises as soon they arise, thereby freeing the Thai military from "needing" to intervene.

"I think solving problems with military coups is not a right thing to do. A coup will only run into an abyss," the general told reporters. "I believe that members of the military don't like [coups] either. They don't want to take the risk. Therefore, there should be a clear channel to find solutions to crises."

However, Gen. Saiyud was one of several retired generals who issued a joint statement in early May calling on then-army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha to stage a coup against the elected government in response to mass protests in the capital city.

Calling themselves Ratthabukkol (Men of the State), the group also requested Gen. Prayuth seek "royal advice" from the King on appointing a "neutral" government to replace the toppled administration.  

Upon receiving the open letter, Gen. Prayuth said he admired the Men of the State for expressing their loyalty to the monarchy, but did not comment on whether he had plans to stage a takeover.

Less than two weeks later, Gen. Prayuth led the 22 May coup, which he said was necessary to prevent the street protests from spiraling out of control. Gen. Prayuth is now chairman of the ruling military junta and Prime Minister of the interim government appointed by the junta after the coup. 

Under previous Thai constitutions in recent decades, His Majesty the King has been cast as constitutional monarch who only exercises symbolic power through signing off on the government’s laws, decrees, and official appointments.

However, King Bhumibol, who turned 87 last December, has directly intervened in Thai politics on several occasions. His Majesty famously instructed the military junta and anti-junta protesters to stop their confrontations during the Black May uprising in 1992, in which more than 50 demonstrators were killed by security forces. 

More recently, His Majesty the King urged a group of judges in a televised broadcast to nullify the 2 April 2006 election, which was boycotted by parties opposed to then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Constitutional Court voided the poll in May of that year.