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BURMA RELATED NEWS - JUNE 09,
2002.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters - Centuries of distrust divide Myanmar
and Thailand
AP - Thailand to move away from links with
Myanmar guerrillas, Thai premier says
Bkk Post - East Timor invited, but Burma in cold
Bkk Post - `Buffer state' policy against Burma
to end
Independent - Myanmar urged to release
journalists
TI - Rebels hold 21
Myanmar soldiers prisoner
Bkk Post - Burmese troops retake outpost from
SSA
The Nation - Are we too far gone in hatred for
Burma?
The Nation - Safety top concern
----------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday June 9, 9:41 AM
FEATURE-Centuries of distrust divide Myanmar and Thailand By Andrew Marshall BANGKOK, June 9 (Reuters) - As
insults go, it was rather arcane.
When Myanmar's state-run media denounced Thailand last week after a series
of border clashes they called the country "Yodaya"
-- a phrase which left many observers scratching their heads.
It turned out the word was a corruption of the name of the city of
Ayutthaya -- the glittering capital of Thailand until it was sacked and
plundered in 1767 by an invading army from Myanmar which left the city in ruins
and carried off 90 percent of its inhabitants.
Three centuries have passed, but the hostility has not died.
An eruption of tension this year between Thailand and Myanmar
-- formerly known as Siam and Burma respectively -- has its roots in
hundreds of years of conflict and distrust.
Both countries have been turning to the history books to support their
cause -- and annoy each other as much as possible.
The destruction of Ayutthaya, a fabled city of thousands of temples and
Buddha images until the Burmese took it apart brick by brick, still rankles the
Thais -- as Myanmar's media was well aware when it criticised the "Yodayas" last
week as "spiritually and physically weak and insincere people".
A previous battle between the two countries, in 1549, came back to haunt
bilateral relations last year when a blockbuster Thai movie dramatised the
exploits of Queen Suriyothai, who was killed as she rode an elephant against an
invading Burmese army.
The movie, Suriyothai, was the most successful ever made in Thailand and
has been re-edited by Francis Ford Coppola for an international audience.
Myanmar's military government, however, was not amused, and Myanmar newspapers
criticised the film.
WHITE ELEPHANTS AND RED BULL
The uneasy relations between the two countries have been complicated in
recent years by the issue of drugs. Bangkok says ethnic armies allied to the
Yangon junta produce most of the methamphetamine pills flooding into Thailand.
The latest eruption of tension between the two countries was provoked by
the movement of thousands of Thai soldiers to the Myanmar border last month.
They were ostensibly there for a training exercise, but military sources had
said they were planning a strike on a notorious druglord operating in the Golden
Triangle.
Myanmar reacted angrily and relations plummeted.
Newspapers in both countries have been fighting a war of words and Myanmar
expelled hundreds of Thai workers and banned advertisements for Thai products.
The row is a setback for the policy of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, who has been trying to improve relations with Myanmar through
"personal diplomacy".
Thailand tried to defuse tensions by sending videotapes of two popular Thai
soap operas to Yangon, but the gesture did little to soothe frayed tempers.
Senior Myanmar officials have publicly attacked Thailand, and the
government announced last month that a white elephant with pearl-coloured eyes
had been found in the west of the country. Analysts say the announcement was
timed to annoy the Thais.
In the past, white elephants were considered a sign of power and prosperity
in southeast Asia, and rival kings would compete to get hold of as many as
possible for their royal courts.
"Burmese kings felt an increased sense of power when they possessed a white
elephant," said the Irrawaddy magazine, based in Thailand and staffed by exiled
Myanmar journalists.
"As Burma becomes embroiled in another border dispute with Thailand some
Burmese feel the regime is attempting to use the elephant as a display of its
power."
The row has also spilled over to affect popular Thai-made energy drinks.
During a bout of tension last year, with the Thai media accusing Myanmar of
flooding Thailand with drugs, the junta responded by saying Thai energy drinks
were a dangerous menace.
Striking back at Thai media publicity about the destruction of seized
drugs, Myanmar television last month proudly announced the destruction of
121,632 cans of the Thai Red Bull drink.
GLARING STATUES
The historical baggage that burdens Thai-Myanmar relations is symbolised by
two statues that glare at each other across the border on Thailand's northern
frontier.
On the Myanmar side, in the town of Tachilek, a large bronze statue of King
Bayinnaung stands just 100 metres (yards) from the border, arms crossed, eyes
staring into Thailand.
Bayinnaung was the king whose army razed Ayutthaya. Some historical
accounts say his savage invasion was provoked by the king of Siam's refusal to
gift him a white elephant.
Across the frontier in Thailand is a statue of King Naresuan the Great,
erected in 1998, two years after the Myanmar statue.
Naresuan -- depicted in the statue brandishing a sword -- was a grandson of
Queen Suriyothai and, according to legend, was taken to Burma as a hostage after
Ayutthaya was destroyed. He returned to rebuild the shattered kingdom and defeat
the Burmese.
Thai newspapers are urging the government to take a stronger line with the
Yangon junta.
"Our diplomacy and national resolve are being tested," the Nation daily
said. "It's time for our leaders to stand up and show some spine."
And with Myanmar's newspapers publishing articles daily criticising the
Thais, there seems little prospect of a change in the centuries of mutual
hostility.
"In the past, every time Burma was weak, Yodayas began to attack the remote
areas to grab them easily," said an article in the English-language New Light of
Myanmar.
"Thus, Burma had to march into Yodaya to attack and crush Ayutthaya. Now,
let's see whether the description of Yodayas made by our forefathers is correct
or not."
Thailand to move away from links
with Myanmar guerrillas, Thai premier says
Sat Jun 8,12:39 PM ET BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced he would try to mend frayed
relations with neighboring Myanmar by cutting ties with ethnic insurgents who
have been battling Myanmar government troops near the two countries'
border.
Thaksin indicated to reporters Saturday that Thailand would no longer use
Myanmar anti-government ethnic guerrillas to help provide a security buffer for
Thailand against Myanmar's army.
Traditionally, Thailand ? especially its military ? has maintained close
links to the ethnic rebels, who have been struggling for decades for autonomy
from Myanmar's central government.
Operating along the Thai border in northern and eastern Myanmar, ethnic
groups such as the Shan and the Karen keep frontier areas insecure for Myanmar
government forces, providing an extra level of defense for Thailand.
Although Thailand discourages the rebels from staging armed attacks from
Thai soil, it has allowed them to support their fighters from Thai territory,
and turns a blind eye to the rebels' political organizing among refugees. There
are more than 100,000 Karen refugees ? most supporters of rebel groups ? in Thai
camps along the border.
"The buffer zone (concept) must be totally abandoned," Thaksin said
Saturday.
He didn't give details of how Thai policy might change, but said the
activities of the many non-governmental organizations working along the border,
mostly giving aid to refugees, might be restricted.
Thaksin said the policy shift was agreed to by the military, which has
traditionally set border policy, sometimes putting it at odds with political
leaders including Thaksin.
There was no immediate reaction from Myanmar's military regime, which has
criticized Thailand's policy toward the rebels for many years.
Myanmar says the Thai military shelled its territory on May 20 in support
of ethnic Shan rebels' attacks on Myanmar army outposts. Thailand says it merely
fired warning shots across the border after the fighting spilled on to Thai
soil.
After the shelling, Myanmar closed its border with Thailand, freezing
overland trade, and banned Thai officials from visiting.
Thaksin responded with placatory statements and tried to rein in the Thai
army.
The Thai military kept clear of fighting this past week as Myanmar's army
attacked Shan guerrilla positions in the area where the May 20 incident took
place, about 750 kilometers (470 miles) north of Bangkok.
Fighting appeared to have abated by Saturday. But Karen guerrillas, Thai
military officials and witnesses in Myanmar said about 40 truckloads of Myanmar
troops were moved Thursday to positions across the border from Thailand's
western Tak province, 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of Bangkok.
Mahn Sha, secretary general of the Karen National Union anti-government
group, said his guerrillas were preparing to defend themselves from government
attack.
Bangkok Post - Sunday 09 June 2002
East Timor invited, but Burma in
cold
Thais want Rangoon included in talk club
Anuraj Manibhandu
Thailand expressed concern over Spain's welcome for newly independent East
Timor while keeping Burma at arm's length from an Asian-European forum.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai was commenting on the Spanish
invitation to Ramos Horta, East Timor's foreign minister, to attend an informal
dinner on Thursday with 25 Asian and European counterparts gathered here.
But on Friday, a statement released in the name of the Spanish chairman
said the ministers would recommend that the leaders take up in 2004, rather than
at the upcoming summit in September, the issue of whether Burma, Cambodia and
Laos could join the Asia-Europe Meeting.
Asian members had emphasised that East Timor should be invited to dinner as
guest of the Spanish host, not as part of the Asem process, Mr Surakiart
said.
``We are concerned about the signals this might send,'' he added. While
European members had not accepted Burma, Cambodia and Laos even though they had
long shown interest in being part of Asem, ``a new country in Southeast Asia
which we have helped rehabilitate in terms of democracy has been
invited.''
Asem groups seven member states of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations _ Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam _ with China, Japan and South Korea, and the 15-strong European
Union.
Asean last year actively advocated the admission of the three remaining
members into Asem, which was launched in Bangkok in 1996. Vietnam is hosting the
Asem summit in 2004, while Denmark, reputed to be less conciliatory to Burma, is
preparing to host the leaders' meeting from Sept 22-24 in Copenhagen.
Mr Surakiart claimed all the Asian members of Asem felt that the Spanish
host should have also invited Laos, Cambodia and Burma here as his guests. If
Europeans were ``still in the process of adjusting their Burma policy,'' the
invitation could have been extended to only Cambodia and Laos with whom they had
no problems, he added.
``It is something we are not very comfortable or happy with,'' the minister
added, referring to the preferential treatment for East Timor.
Mr Surakiart, however, said mention of the enlargement issue in the
chairman's statement represented progress. Moreover, though the time frame
amounted to a delay, other conditions seemed to have weakened. ``Before we faced
conditions as well as a time factor. Now we face only the time factor,'' he
added.
Burma came up in Mr Surakiart's bilateral meetings with Italian secretary
of state for foreign affairs Margherita Boniver, and Austria's federal minister
for foreign affairs Benita Ferrero-Waldner. He also met separately with South
Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sung-Hong.
Politics was high on the agenda of the fourth Asem foreign ministers'
meeting here. But Mr Surakiart joined many in expressing dismay at the small
turnout of fully-fledged ministers, including only three from the European side
_ Denmark, Spain and Portugal _ and five from the Asian side, Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam.
Though every country had limitations both Asians and European should show
the importance they lend to a pre-planned visit like this one by ``redoubling
efforts'' to send full ministers.
For the first time, the Asem ministers issued separate statements on the
world's most contentious conflicts, between nuclear-powered India and Pakistan,
and in the Middle East. The chairman's statement noted ministers' welcome for
the June 10 coming-together in Kabul, Afghanistan, of the Emergency Loya Jirga.
They also recognised the importance of East Timor's independence.
In discussions on terrorism, they stressed the importance of stepping up
Asian-European co-operation against the scourge. They supported Singapore's
proposal to form linkages between police agencies in the EU, Asean, China, Japan
and Korea so as to facilitate intelligence gathering.
As part of the discussion on migration, Mr Pique stressed the need to
``make legal immigration a positive integration factor'' while combating illegal
migration. As a follow-up to the Lanzarote declaration in April on the
management of migration flows, the ministers endorsed a meeting of experts that
China and Spain would sponsor in Denmark later this year.
Mr Surakiart, in a speech on transnational issues, called for more European
support in the drug fight through participation in intelligence sharing, law
enforcement, prosecution, and control of chemicals used in producing drugs. He
also hoped that the Asem initiative on HIV/Aids spearheaded by Britain and
Malaysia would ``provide inputs'' for the International Conference on Aids
Thailand is hosting in 2004.
The ministers took note of Thai development initiatives as potential
candidates for Asia-Europe co-operation.
They incuded proposals for an information and communication technology
``performance reference forum,'' an Asem e-education hub and to raise awareness
about the danger of drugs.
They also saw prospects in proposals for promoting tourism, training and
technical assistance in the banking sector, and exchange of experiences in
fiscal policies.
The ministers considered ``key Asem initiatives'' for a seminar on
anti-terrorism co-sponsored by China, Spain, Japan, Denmark and Germany, a
workshop on employment and labour quality by Germany, Spain, Ireland and China,
and a conference on cultures and civilisations by China, Denmark, France,
Singapore and Malaysia.
China announced a US$1 million contribution to the second phase of the
Asia-Europe Foundation, after stressing the need for mutual respect, equality
and mutual benefit.
Bangkok Post - Sunday 09 June 2002
`Buffer state' policy against
Burma to end
Govt and military think alike, he says
Yuwadee Tunyasiri and Penchan Charoensuthipan
Thailand will give up its ``buffer state'' policy against Burma. All
outside concerns helping minority groups there should stop interfering, Thaksin
Shinawatra said.
The prime minister was asked whether the government and army thought about Burma along the same lines. If Bangkok wanted to undermine Rangoon, a buffer state policy would
encourage it to back a rebel group fighting the military junta, such as the Shan
State Army.
Burma has accused the Thai military of helping anti-Rangoon minority
groups, in particular the Shan State Army.
The Thai army in turn says Rangoon turns a blind eye to the United Wa State
Army, the largest drug producer in the Golden Triangle, which sells
methamphetamines in Thailand.
Mr Thaksin denied the government and the armed forces pursued different
policies towards Burma.
The government has been at pains to keep relations cordial, with Mr Thaksin
famously telling troops last week not to ``over-react'' to cross-border
shelling.
``The government and the armed forces have to move in the same direction,''
Mr Thaksin said.
``Before we didn't stress this but it will be made clear now _ we must give
up the buffer state policy.
``The government and the armed forces are thinking along the same
lines.''
Mr Thaksin said NGOs and United Nations outfits helping minority groups in
Burma could be scaled back once the countries were on better terms.
``These organisations should not interfere because they will cause problems
for reconciliation attempts.
``Burma should be left to work out its own problems,'' Mr Thaksin
said.
Meanwhile, speakers at a panel discussion yesterday said Burma was picking
a fight with Thailand to divert the attention from economic and domestic
problems.
They said Mr Thaksin should look beyond his family's telecommunication
interests in Burma, and criticised him for warning the Thai army not to
over-react to the border conflict.
Somchai Homla-or, Forum Asia secretary-general, told the forum that only
talks between Burma and minority groups could solve Rangoon's internal problems,
and the drug and illegal immigration problems spilling across the border.
Kiatchai Pongpanich, foreign editor of Khao Sod daily, said the military
junta was using conflict with Thailand to divert attention from economic and
political problems for which they had found no solutions.
Mr Kiatchai said Thai efforts to suppress the Wei Hseuh-kang drug gang in
Burma had caused Burmese military backers heavy losses.
The pair criticised Mr Thaksin for his over-reaction comment, saying it was
improper to tick off soldiers trying to defend Thai sovereignty.
The Association of South-East Asian Nations should be asked to help Burma
resolve its conflicts with minority groups, the forum was told.
Meanwhile, Maj-Gen Manoonkrit Rupkachorn, the senate speaker, said
diplomacy alone would not do the job.
He advocated ``an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'' policy to safeguard
the Thai military's honour.
Maj-Gen Manoonkrit said the government had to pursue and juggle many goals
with respect to Burma _ diplomacy, national defence and protection of Thai
property _ in handling its relations with Rangoon.
Independent-bangladesh
Myanmar urged to release
journalists
BANGKOK, June 8: An international press-freedom watchdog has called for
Myanmar's ruling junta to release a journalist who led a hunger strike as well
as hundreds of political prisoners held in the country's jails, reports AFP.
Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders - RSF) said in a
statement received in Bangkok Saturday that it "condemned the reprisals against
the photographer Sunny (Khin Maung Win) and at least 25 other political
prisoners who had started a hunger strike" March last year.
"It is now becoming a matter of urgency for the military junta to proceed
to the massive and unconditional release of the hundreds of political prisoners,
and notably the 16 journalists, who are languishing in prison," RSF Secretary
General Robert M®nard said in a letter to Home Affairs Minister Colonel Tin
Hlaing.
"This would be a significant gesture towards the international community."
The Paris-based group was joined by the Burma Media Association, a group of
exiled Myanmar journalists, in its condemnation of the junta.
The Times of India
Rebels hold 21 Myanmar soldiers prisoner
AFP [ SATURDAY, JUNE 08, 2002 6:09:41 PM ]
CHIANG MAI, Thailand: An ethnic Shan rebel group said Saturday it was holding 21 Myanmar troops prisoner as fierce fighting continued along the Thai border, and said it wished to hand them over to an international agency. "We are holding 21 people, including two women, prisoner after the Shan
State Army captured Burmese (Myanmar) outposts late last month," Shan State Army
(SSA) spokeswoman Nam Kher Hsem told AFP by telephone in Chiang Mai.
She said the group, which has been engaged in intense clashes in recent days with more than 500 Myanmar soldiers and their ethnic Wa allies, had unsuccessfully attempted to contact the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in order to hand over the prisoners. "We are worried for their safety as the security situation here is very
serious," she said, adding that the ICRC and other agencies could not be reached
as the border with Thailand had been sealed.
The SSA has been under heavy attack since Myanmar troops began their offensive earlier this week to retake border bases that Yangon said were overrun by the Shan last month. The latest operation saw hundreds of troops attack Pan Kan Kow, one of the
seven Myanmar border outposts captured by the Shan last month, according to Nam
Kher Hsem.
"We successfully defended the base", she said, adding that the Shan
launched their own attack against Si Kieu, a nearby Myanmar army base on a
strategic hilltop.
"This is a life or death situation for the SSA," a Thai officer from Pha
Mueng Task Force in Chiang Rai province told the Bangkok Post.
"If they manage to eject Burmese and Wa forces from Si Kieu, it will deny
Burmese troops a base from which to attack the SSA base in Kaw Muang," he added.
Yangon had asked Bangkok for permission to enter Thai territory to conduct their assault against the Shan, but they were refused, the newspaper said. On Thursday a senior Thai army source said that up to 70 Myanmar troops had
been killed and another 100 injured since their offensive began.
Yangon Tuesday declared its intention to stage an all-out offensive against
the SSA, which it considers a terrorist group, and warned Thailand not to
interfere in its operations.
The SSA are one of a few major armed insurgent groups in Myanmar yet to
sign a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta. They have been fighting for an
independent state for decades.
Bangkok Post - Sunday 09 June 2002
Burmese troops retake outpost from
SSA
Thai soldier injured by stray artillery shell
Subin Khuenkaew and Cheewin Sattha
Burmese troops have retaken a military outpost overrun by Shan State Army
rebels last month, a border source said yesterday.
After a three-day effort they had recaptured a small base opposite Ban Pak
Sam. SSA rebels could not withstand the offensive and withdrew from the outpost
opposite Chiang Mai's Wiang Haeng district, said the source.
SSA leader Col Yod Suek said the rebels were in high spirits despite the
offensive.
The source said mortar shells landed on Thai soil near Lak Taeng border
pass yesterday, injuring a Thai soldier.
Fighting had stopped in the area opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang
district. However, Burmese troops were expected to renew their attacks on the
Shan bases within a few days.
On Friday night, shells landed on Thai soil, damaging 11 houses. There were
no reports of injuries.
In contrast to the past, Thai soldiers did not fire warning shots or
retaliate with live rounds when stray shells fell.
uSecurity forces have been told by the prime minister to keep watch for
strangers after the arrest of a suspected Burmese spy here.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he had told all military and police
units along the border to keep an eye out for strangers and arrest any
suspicious-looking ones.
A suspected Burmese spy identified as Tuelae, 18, was arrested in Samoeng
district on his way from Tak's Mae Sot to Chiang Mai's Mae Chaem district.
Yesterday, Regional Police Bureau 5 was told that 15-18 men in pick-up
trucks were seen looking for food near Samoeng district town.
Police believe the men, who were heading for Mae Chaem district, might be
guards for a drug caravan.
In Wiang Haeng district, district chief Adisuan Nantarachaiyanan said 11
houses in Lak Taeng border village were hit by stray bullets from fighting in
Burma.
People had been evacuated previously.
Many Burmese and Red Wa troops were killed on the third day of attacks on
the anti-Rangoon Shan State Army's two strongholds opposite Wiang Haeng.
The Nation
Are we too far gone in hatred for
Burma?
Thanong Khanthong
Published on Jun 9, 2002
Two hundred and thirty-five years after the sacking of Ayutthaya by the
Burmese, the Thais today still refer to that haunting tragedy with pain in their
hearts. The trauma runs deep in the national psyche, with the Burmese being cast
as the evil enemy of the Thai nation.
"The latest border conflict has not only heightened bilateral tensions; I
fear that it might also develop into widespread anti-Burmese sentiment if it is
allowed to drag on or if it is mishandled," said Dr Sunait Chutintaranond, a
distinguished historian at Chulalongkorn University.
Just take a look back at the Thais' reaction with hatred last year to a
group of Burmese inmates who broke out of a prison in Samut Sakhon and tried to
make their way, with severalhostages, to the Burmese border through Ratchaburi.
Predictably, they never made would never make it to Burma. The dramatic shooting
that left them dead ?? was broadcast live to the living-rooms of Thai viewers.
Then came a film titled "Bang Rachan". This blood-soaked movie sought to
glorify the villagers of Bang Rachan in Sing Buri as heroes and heroines who
fought the Burmese to the death in 1767.
In other words, the Burmese are always the bad guys in the eyes of the
Thais.
The Cornell-educated Sunait, who mastered the Burmese language, has spent
most of his academic career trying to understand the many facets of the
Thai-Burmese relationship. He and co-author Than Tun published a landmark book,
"On Both Sides of the Tenasserim Range: History of Siamese-Burmese Relations"
(Chulalongkorn University Press, 1995).
The book depicts the changing perceptions of the Siamese - or the Thais -
toward the Burmese through different periods.
Sunait's premise is that the image of the Burmese in the eyes of the Thais
is one of evil, demons or agents of dark forces. But this image of the Burmese
first as the enemy of the Buddhist faith and later on as the enemy of the Thai
nation did not originate by chance. It has been deliberately implanted and
shaped by the Thai ruling class and even by learned monks since the early
Rattanakosin period.
Thereafter the mass media, consciously or unconsciously, have carried on
this task of branding the Burmese as the enemy who cannot be trusted for their
unforgivable plundering of Ayutthaya.
Sunait found that before the Rattanakosin period, which started in 1782,
none of the Ayutthaya chronicles explicitly expressed antagonism toward the
Burmese. For example, there is no such sentiment in the famous and quite
reliable "Luang Prasert Chronicle of Ayutthaya" of 1680.
Although Ayutthaya armies were was defeated by King Bayinnaung of
Hongsawadi (Pegu) in 1564 and 1569, the Siamese kingdom was spared total
destruction. Bayinnaung, in the words of Prince Damrong's "Our War with the
Burmese", conquered Ayutthaya with the primary purpose of reducing Ayutthaya to
a vassal state as he set his sights on expanding his kingdom in the manner of a
king of kings (Rachathirat).
But the Burmese attack on Ayutthaya inthe second half of the eighteenth
century 1767 was dramatically different from the Bayinnaung period. This time
they sacked Ayutthaya and burnt the city and its marvellous temples to the
ground. The Burmese commanders-in-chief, Mahanawrahta and Thihapate, showed no
interest at all in accepting a total surrender by King Ekkathat (1758-1767), the
last king of Ayutthaya.
The tragic loss of Ayutthaya led to the founding of Thonburi and
subsequently Bangkok as the new capitals of the Siamese. King Taksin of
Thonburi, King Yodfa and the other early Rattanakosin kings viewed the Burmese
as the enemy principally of the Buddhist faith. Only later on, during the reign
of King Mongkut (1851-1868) and King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), were the Burmese
viewed as the enemy of the "Thai nation" as the concept of the nation-state
began to emerge, coupled with the process of building a national consciousness.
Sunait writes that in the reign of King Mongkut, when King Kavilorot
(1856-1870) of Chiang Mai presented to the Bangkok court a royal necklace on
King Mindon's behalf (1856-1878), King Mongkut refused to accept the gift. He
said his ancestors (pu ya ta yai) had forbidden him to be allied with the
Burmese. King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910) also mentioned that his ancestors had
put a curse on any of his children and grandchildren who wished to form
alliances with the Burmese.
Historical writings and school textbooks ever since have been casting the
Burmese as the enemy. The foremost Thai heroes of all are King Naresuan and King
Taksin, who fought the Burmese and successfully regained Thai independence. King
Naresuan in particular has been immortalised for his fight on elephant back
against the Uparacha, the Crown Prince of Burma.
"As for Thais' image of the Burmese in the present day, it has hardly
changed, at least in the fundamental sense," Sunait says. "The Burmese are still
perceived as the enemy in various dimensions. But the image and the stereotype
are always formed on the basis of Thai superiority.
"For instance, when the Thais refer to Burma, they normally look upon it as
a country rich with natural resources that are readily available for
exploitation. Then Burma is a backward country, which cannot be compared to the
more advanced Thailand. To put it another way, the Thais like to say that if you
want to turn the clock back 30 years, you only have to visit Burma."
Sunait warned that hatred of the Burmese might spill over into nationalism
if bilateral relations were not handled properly. The situation is even more
complicated in the private sector, he said, with the mass media, plays and
movies taking on the role of creating the image of the Burmese in the hearts and
minds of Thais.
The Nation
BURMA BORDER: Safety top
concern
Published on Jun 9, 2002
Thaksin attends briefing as fighting across the border continues
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday said provincial authorities
must closely monitor border skirmishes between Burmese troops and Shan
guerrillas in order to ensure safety in Wiang Haeng and Chiang Dao
districts.
Thaksin attended a briefing on the border situation in this northern
province following the launch of Burmese military operations to dislodge Shan
State Army (SSA) bases located opposite the two districts.
"The government considers the safety of villagers living along the border a
top most priority and hopes that peace and normalcy will soon be restored in the
border areas," he said.
He expressed disappointment that the Burmese junta and the Shan guerrillas
refused to settle their disputes through peaceful means.
Following the briefing, the prime minister expressed surprise that a group
of unidentified armed troops from Burma had on Friday intruded as far as Samoeng
district in search of food.
"We should not permit such a gross violation of our territorial integrity,"
he said.
Skirmishes continued across the border for a second day yesterday as the
sound of gunfire could be heard in Wiang Haeng district every 15 minutes.
District chief Adisuan Nanthachaiphan said many artillery and mortar shells
had strayed into Thai territory causing minor damage to 11 houses.
No casualties were reported as most villagers living near the conflict zone
had been evacuated earlier.
Adisuan said some 1,600 displaced Burmese had crossed the border to seek
safety and they would go back after the fighting ended.
Meanwhile, an activist yesterday suggested that the government should not
downplay the tensions between Thailand and Burma, and that it should ask other
Asean members to step in for mediation.
Somchai Homlaor of the Asian Forum said Thailand often tried to minimise
the seriousness of the conflict and compared it to one between "teeth and
tongue".
"I don't know who deserves to be teeth or tongue but Thailand appears hurt
every time," Somchai said.
The government made a mistake by putting its faith in personal diplomacy,
he said.
Despite efforts for closer personal contact between Thai and Burmese
leaders border conflicts have broken out twice in less than two years, he
added.
The Foreign Ministry should lobby Asean countries to help resolve the
bilateral conflict, he
said. |