Bangkok shakes hands with Myanmar junta
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
source : Asiatimes/(Inter Press Service)
08-09-01
BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's attempt to pen a new chapter in his country's foreign policy toward Myanmar is being derided by champions of democracy in Thailand, but is winning praise from others.
Critics took the prime minister to task following the effusive manner with which a high-ranking official from Yangon was treated during a three-day visit which ended Wednesday. For them, the visit by Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's military intelligence chief, provided more "disturbing" clues about a perceived turn in Thai policy toward its neighbour - one that places greater emphasis on building friendly ties than being a critic of its dismal human rights record.
"It is very disturbing. Now the military guy from Myanmar is being given a red carpet welcome as if he comes from a respectable government," Thepchai Yong, group editor of the independent daily The Nation told IPS. "They have been longing for this handshake, this mark of respectability from Thailand. The generals in Rangoon [Yangon] will get the wrong signal from this - legitimizing the military junta."
For Sunai Phasuk, it marks a departure from the way the Myanmar junta was viewed by Thaksin's predecessor, Chuan Leekpai. "Chuan was a trenchant critic of the military rulers in Rangoon and always raised the human rights issue," said Sunai, a senior researcher at Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), a Bangkok-based rights watchdog. The Chuan administration's stance on Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) was also evident in a suspension of visits between government leaders of the two countries. "By not going, Chuan sent a strong message to the military leaders about what he thought of their policies," added Sunai.
Western as well as some Asian governments have put Myanmar at arm's length because of its repressive policies and poor human rights record. And althouth the junta and the opposition leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, have held talks on possible political reforms, many believe it is too early to say that the military government will end its rule.
By contrast, the Thaksin administration struck a cordial note with Khin Nyunt, the third-ranking member of the SPDC, on a range of bilateral issues that needed ironing out - like stamping out the drugs trade, illegal migration into Thailand, and border disputes. The level of cordiality was also evident in the treats offered to the general, including a dinner party on board a luxury riverboat hosted by General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Thailand's Defense Minister. On that occasion, Chavalit described Myanmar as Thailand's "best friend". Khin Nyunt was also given an audience with Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Signs of a shift in Thailand's Myanmar policy surfaced in June, when Thaksin visited Yangon only a few months after border clashes between the troops of the two countries. The justification for such a visit emerged earlier when the Thaksin administration said it was seeking "forward engagement" with Yangon, meaning the government was prepared to seek informal ties with Myanmar. This was different from "constructive engagement", a term used by some Southeast Asian nations to describe the way they deal with governments they want to persuade to adhere to international norms.
The path Thaksin has chosen has come in for some praise, too. This week, Myanmar specialists in Thailand welcomed developments that stemmed from Khin Nyunt's visit. "I can't say I am impressed with the visit, but I am pleased with the outcome and approach," Pornpimol Trichot, a Myanmar specialist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
What was significant to her was an unprecedented development: "The first time the two countries had put on the table all contentious issues, like illegal labor, refugees, border disputes and border demarcation, and agreed that they were shared problems. This time both sides went directly to these points," she said, pointing out that previously the Myanmar leadership had refused to acknowledge such problems existed.
But such achievements do not impress a Myanmar journalist, who did not want to be identified. "It doesn't surprise me at all, the 'good news' coming out of this week's talks," he told IPS. "Thanks to Thaksin's foreign policy,the rulers in Myanmar will feel that the relationship between the two countries is friendly and normal again. It will help them claim legitimacy in the international community after being ostracized and treated like a pariah."
The irony of this was not lost on Sunai, the Forum-Asia researcher. "Thaksin is an elected leader and one who won with the biggest majority in a Thai election. But he is ignoring his democratic credentials to flirt with an oppressive regime."
Furthermore, this policy is also undermining Thailand's reputation as a vibrant democracy in the region, he added. "It says we don't care much about the plight of people who lack rights and don't enjoy democracy. Or they are secondary matters."