Thai PM to explain domestic crisis to Burma

By Agence France-Press

Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday he would pay his first official visit to Burma next month, ahead of rare elections in the military-run country.

“Arrangements are being made for a one or two-day visit,” Abhisit told reporters.

Abhisit did not disclose who he would meet during the early August trip but said it would kick off a round of overseas engagements aimed at explaining the political situation in Thailand in the wake of deadly opposition protests.

The Thai premier had planned to travel to Burma last July, but the visit was postponed because it would have coincided with the trial of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home.

Suu Kyi has been locked up for almost 15 of the past 20 years and the authorities used the case to extend her detention.

Burma is set to hold its first elections in two decades sometime later this year, although Suu Kyi has been barred from standing and the polls are widely thought to be a sham aimed at entrenching the power of the generals.

In an interview with AFP this week, the Thai leader said he “would like to see inclusiveness” in the elections, although he added that there was “still a lot of uncertainty”.

Thailand, along with Burma’s other Asian neighbours, has come under criticism from the international community for not putting enough pressure on the junta.

“I do not think we have different objectives,” Abhisit said when asked about the pressure from Western allies to take a tougher line against Burma.

“The problem is what is appropriate in terms of the way you pursue that objective might differ when you are afar and when you are right next door,” he said.

“Instead of criticising each other, I have always supported the idea that we might undertake different tracks that lead to the same destination,” he added.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Agence France-Press.

My opinion:

Can we trust Thailand Prime Minster that he is coming to Burma for both countries' benefits or Burmese benefits?