Thailand affected by situation in Burma

by Usa Pichai
Wednesday, 07 October 2009 14:21

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The ongoing conflict between the Burmese Army and ethnic armed groups and Thailand’s energy dependence on its neighbour has significantly affected Thai security policy and bilateral relations between the two countries, according to a conference in Bangkok.

Bhornchart Bunnag , Director of the Bureau of Border Security Affairs and Defence at the National Security Council (NSC) said in a conference at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on Tuesday that Thailand was affected the most by the situations in Burma. The bilateral policy has many angles which need to be considered.

“Thailand’s policy towards Burma has changed in the past few years. These include development projects that would link it with Burma China and Lao. It would not only affect trading but could lead to more trans-border crimes. We should prepare for that eventuality,” he said.

“In addition, Thailand is dependent on energy resources from neighbouring countries particularly Lao and Burma. It increasingly affects security and bilateral affairs,” Bhornchart said at the conference.

The conference “Thailand’s Position, Roles and Policy towards Burma/Myanmar” was organized on Tuesday by the Faculty of Political Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. Participants included diplomats, and scholars focusing on Burma and the media.

Bhornchart added that the government would continue to abide by the current policy of not forcing refugees back to unsafe areas. He said, "Any repatriation of displaced people would be voluntary," according to a report in The Nation newspaper on Tuesday.

Moreover, Bhornchart said, the refugee situation could worsen if the Burmese Army launched more attacks against cease-fire groups, such as the Shan or the Wa rebels.

Democrat Party MP Kraisak Choonhavan and Chairperson of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus said that the international community and Thailand should be more concerned regarding the plight of displaced people, particularly Karen and the Shan groups, both inside Burma and those residing in camps along the Thai border.

Kraisak pointed out that the development projects which Thailand had invested in led to more human rights violations in Burma as in the case of dam construction projects on Salween Rivers. Here the Burmese junta forced the relocation of numerous of ethnic people. In addition, the recent clashes between the Burmese Army and the Wa armed group on Thailand and China borders could force many more refugees into Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces.

He also drew attention to a well-known report, ‘License to Rape,’ saying the outrage committed against minority women by the Burmese military is occurring in resource-rich areas.

Assistant Prof Puangthong Pawakapan, a scholar from the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University, dismissed suggestions that conflict and human rights violations inside Burma were their internal problems not because of international influence but because Thailand is at the receiving end.

"Thailand doesn't have a coherent policy on Burma. We want cheap migrant labourers and natural resources such as timber but we don't seem to realize that the Burmese junta forces their own people from that area so that we can have these concessions," she added.

General Vaipot Srinual, former Deputy Permanent-Secretary of the Ministry of Defence said that Thailand’s military still has to take preventive measures for low-scale conflicts along the border. Burma, however, should be the main actor in solving its problem.