Paradorn Pattanatabut, Thailand's National Security Council chief (second from left), meets with Thai officials ahead of a third round of Deep South peace talks in Kuala Lumpur on June 13th, 2013. All parties to the talks, which stalled after the third round, are hopeful they will resume. [Mohammad Rasfan/AFP]

Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, participants in last year's Deep South peace talks are holding out optimism they can resume and ultimately bring peace to the violence-torn region.

Three rounds of talk took place after Thailand's National Security Council and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) signed an historic dialogue deal in Kuala Lumpur in February 2013.

But talks stalled in July, as both sides accused one another of violating a Ramadan ceasefire. They took another hit in December when the government roundly rejected five demands that BRN negotiator Taib Hassan presented in a YouTube video.

Since then, political uncertainty in Bangkok puts the peace process in limbo. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's caretaker administration lacks authority to schedule a fourth round of talks.

Nevertheless, on the first anniversary of the Kuala Lumpur deal, National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut affirmed support for the peace process and suggested other Deep South militant groups had agreed to join it, according to The Bangkok Post.

"We are always ready to talk. But at this moment we need to solve our internal political problems, too," he was quoted as saying.

An offer of peace

For his part, BRN leader Abu Hafez Al-Hakim voiced a commitment to dialogue in an unprecedented video speech aired during the "Pattani Peace Media Festival" hosted by Deep South Watch on February 28th, the one-year anniversary of the talks.

"This is the first time a peace process for Pattani is considered official and well-accepted by the regional and international communities," Al-Hakim said of the recent efforts.

"We still come to the table to seek alternative means, other than armed struggle, for a just, comprehensive and sustainable solution of the Pattani conflict. We believe that through dialogues and negotiations, violence can be reduced or even stopped entirely."

"Islam has taught us to accept an offer for peace, even from an enemy," he said.

Separately, former Malaysian intelligence chief Ahmad Zamzamin Hashim, who facilitated the talks, told reporters in Kota Bharu in mid-February that the talks had produced "reasonable progress, although there is still mutual mistrust" among the two sides.

Breakthroughs made during previous rounds had not been revealed to media to facilitate negotiations, Ahmad said, raising the possibility that other stakeholders might join future talks.

Even if Taib Hassan no longer serves as BRN negotiator, talks could continue with representatives of other groups, he suggested. He declined to give an exact date for when talks might resume.

"Only when both sides are ready," he said.

Abdulrahman Waeyusoh, head of the international relations department at Yala Islamic University, said he would like to see the talks resume.

"They must, because it is the only way to find peace," he told Khabar Southeast Asia. "I am glad to know that both sides are still committed to the process."