Insurgent leaders have one month to show the government that they can control southern militants by ordering them to avoid shooting civilians, says National Security Council (NSC) chief Paradorn Pattanatabut.
All parties concerned will consider the demands posed by the militant leaders, Lt Gen Paradorn said on Friday after reporting the outcome of the first round of peace talks to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
But the government also hopes the six representatives of the Barisan Revolusi National (BRN) and Pattani United Liberation Organisation will show that they can control their operatives in the southernmost provinces.
The next round of talks has been set for April 29 in Kuala Lumpur.
The BRN should use the period from now until the day when both sides meet again to prove that it can end violence against innocent civilians as the government has demanded, Lt Gen Paradorn said.
The separatists at this week's talks in the Malaysian capital were led by BRN liaison office chief Hassan Taib. They submitted a demand for an amnesty for southern insurgents which included the lifting of arrest warrants against suspected insurgents, release of prisoners convicted in southern violence cases, clearance of pending cases against suspected insurgents, and lifting of a rebel suspects blacklist.
Lt Gen Paradorn said in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday night that he rejected the demand to release prisoners, while the other points would be discussed with the Justice Ministry and other relevant agencies.
"I'd like to be more optimistic, but I'm afraid my sense is that if these talks are going to accomplish anything, it's going to take a long time," said Liow Chin Yong, an international studies professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.
"It remains to be seen whether (BRN representative) Ustaz Hassan Taib has any clout at all over those fighting on the ground."
The meeting was held as violence continued in the southernmost region.
Dulloh Pako, a defence volunteer, was seriously injured by shooting from suspected insurgents while walking from his motorcycle to a mosque in Panare district, Pattani, on Friday.
Pol Col Sompan Chapinchai, deputy chief of the district police station, said a 38mm bullet cartridge was found at the scene.
Another volunteer, Anant Kamol, was injured by a roadside bomb while accompanying police and district officials to join marines to hunt suspected militants in Sungai Padi district of Narathiwat.
A paramilitary ranger outpost in Raman district of Yala province was attacked on Thursday night, but no troops were hurt, police said.
Pol Lt Col Suphachat Yeekongwang, chief of Jakua police station in Raman, said on Friday that gunmen opened fire with assault rifles at a ranger outpost in Ban Tanoh Poyoh in tambon Kehror of Raman district.
The rangers fired back and about five minutes later the attackers stopped shooting and left, he said.
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed concern that there was no sign of a letup in violence by militants. He said continued violence until the next round of peace talks could indicate the success or failure of the process.
Lt Gen Paradorn admitted after the meeting that there were factions in the BRN stirring violence in the southern region to show their opposition to the attempts to restore peace in the region.