Standing at the border in Mae Sot on Tuesday, Thailand’s foreign minister said his government is ready to mediate in Myanmar. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, who is also a deputy prime minister, said initial talks had already taken place with the military government and with ethnic groups, some of them armed.
“They haven’t had the time to discuss with us yet, but they are aware that we are ready to act as a mediator and to comprehensively resolve Myanmar’s issues to restore peace quickly,” he said. He named the Myawaddy faction among the groups contacted.
The prime minister had named Parnpree on Monday to chair a special government committee on the crisis. Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Defense Minister Sutin Klungsang went with him to Mae Sot. Officials said the trip showed how serious the situation had become.
Thailand also wants ASEAN involved, since Myanmar is a member. Parnpree said Bangkok had told the bloc so and expected a reply soon, which could lead to a bloc-level meeting.
Fighting on the doorstep
The trip followed a bad few weeks across the river. On April 10, the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, and its allies captured junta Infantry Battalion 275 in Myawaddy, which sits opposite Mae Sot. Last week, rebels intercepted a junta convoy heading to retake the town and injured more than 100 soldiers. The junta answered with a helicopter attack two days later.
Refugees are crossing into Thailand. The Tak Provincial Public Health Office reported 735 people from Myanmar in Tak, 255 of them children, and 114 had been treated in local hospitals as of Monday. The Thai-Myanmar Border Command Center in Tak said fighting, including aerial bombing, had come within roughly 1.5 to 12 km (1 to 7.5 miles) of the Thai border this week. It reported no effects on the Thai side.
Calls for a plan
Analysts and activists say the response so far is too narrow. Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, told BenarNews that Bangkok is “lacking a long-term plan, mostly addressing immediate issues.” She thinks the Myanmar military is “faltering significantly” and that a move to a federal system is almost certain.
Her suggestions: host a special ASEAN meeting that brings in civil society, media and groups from Myanmar, and talk to the National Unity Government. She also said one humanitarian corridor is not enough. “Multiple aid locations should be established across the country,” she said.
