---

Thailand signed the first agreement ever with a separatist group on Thursday, pledging to work towards peace talks and end the violence in the deep South.


Rebel group ready to talk peace

KUALA LUMPUR - The national security chief signed a peace agreement with the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) on Thursday just ahead of an official visit to Malaysia by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

It is the first formal engagement between the government and insurgents.

National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Paradorn Pattanatabutr said the BRN is a group that Malaysia believes operates in the deep South.

"It's another attempt by the government to tackle the unrest. It does not mean the peace agreement will end the ongoing violence."

The BRN official was identified as Hassan Taib, "chief of the BRN liaison office in Malaysia". Barisan Revolusi Nasional in Bahasa Malaysia means "National Revolutionary Front". It refers to the separatists' concept that the three southernmost provinces and part of Songkhla represent a distinct nation.

http://www.bangko...dy-to-deal