The official signing of the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on March 27 may provide hope to or inspire several parties concerned in Thailand that the peace process in the restive Deep South may lead to an end of the senseless violence and restoration of durable peace.

Except for security officials, barely anyone outside the restive Deep South know about PerMAS which stands for Persekutuan MahasiswaAnakmudadanSiswaPatani or the Federation of Students and Youths of Patani.

"In E-sarn, the people there sell their rice to buy gold. But at Ban Phu Khao Thong, we sell gold in order to buy rice," so said Auntie Saeng-aroon Chanhom, aka Pa Waen, when she described about the way of life of the residents in her village in Sukhirin district of Narathiwat.

Good intelligence and the seizure of a map of the Marines’ outpost in Narathiwat’s Bacho district from Islamist insurgents are two key elements attributable to the Marines’ success in the defence of the outpost and dealing a lethal blow to the attacking insurgents on February 13.

The newly-appointed chief of the National Security Council is in favour of gradually lifting Emergency Decree which has been imposed in most of the far South for more than seven years.