AFTER nine years of violence in Thailand's southernmost provinces and 5300 lives lost, the government will on Thursday initiate peace talks with the enemy.
But exactly who that enemy is and whether it will be genuinely represented on the other side of the table remains to be seen.
The breakthrough agreement for public peace negotiations was reached in Malaysia on February 28, after six years of sporadic secret talks.
Previous administrations have rejected high-profile talks to avoid lending legitimacy to the insurgents, whose apparent goal is the independence of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces.
Brokered by the Malaysian government, the latest agreement to talks was finalised by Paradon Pattanatabut, secretary-general of Thailand's National Security Council, and Hassan Taib, liaison officer of the rebel Barisan Revolsi Nasional-Coordinate (BRN-C).
But many insurgents in southern Thailand do not recognise Taib, who has reportedly been living in Malaysia for the past 20 years.
"The Thai government is holding talks with people we don't even know," said one militant of the Runda Kumpalan Kecil, a splinter group from the BRN-C.
Attacks on authorities and civilians in the south have increased since the February 28 deal.
Thailand's problem with the insurgency has been confounded by the murkiness surrounding various Muslim separatist groups behind the violence.
The first thing observers are watching is who will come to the table. No representative from the Thai military, which has more than 90,000 troops in the three southern provinces, has yet been appointed to join the talks.
The government side has been trying hard to attract Sapae-ing Basor, a Muslim leader and a key player in the BRN-C, and leaders of other groups, according to Don Pathan, foreign affairs director of the Pattani Forum, an advocacy group for Muslims rights in the South.
"But they want a guarantee of immunity before the agree to come," Pathan said. An arrest warrant was issued for Sapae-ing in 2005.
The second thing to look for is whether the government will discuss some sort of self-administrative zone, a minimum requirement from the separatists.
And the third question is whether there will be an ebb in the rebel's bombing attacks.
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