Chavalit flies a kite to placate the junta
source . The Nation
The recent remarks of Defence Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh concerning Burmese students in exile who supposedly use Thailand to carry on their "war" with Burma needs some clarification. With Chavalit's well-documented lucrative relationship with the Burmese junta his remarks are evidently aimed at placating his Burmese friends.
Burmese in exile in Western countries, having gained either permanent residency or citizenship of their new country, certainly do visit Thailand in order to visit friends still waiting for exit visas. If the Thai Immigration Department has any doubts about these ethnic Burmese with new nationalities and valid passports they would presumably either refuse them entry or would deport them.
As far as I am aware to date neither of these occurrences have happened. So it would seem that Chavalit is simply flying a kite to placate the Burmese generals, who rightly see these political exiles as a thorn in their flesh.
If the defence minister has any evidence of untoward activities by exiled Burmese being conducted in Thailand or evidence that when they visit Thailand they break the law, he should at once give this evidence to the prime minister or to the security services.
Burmese students now forced to live abroad as political exiles are grateful that the Kingdom of Thailand once gave them shelter and a safe haven. They are not so foolish as to incur the anger of the Thai government and people by conducting any kind of overt activity against the illegal Burmese government from Thailand.
They can do this quite well and legally from their new homes in the Western countries. These exiles still have many problems to face and they do not need a gratuitous smear from a minister of the crown.
Dr Paul Webb
DARWIN, AUSTRALIA