Thai parliament holds Myanmar seminar despite junta’s objection

File photo : Rangsiman Rome

The Myanmar military junta has “strongly objected” to the Thai parliament’s hosting of a seminar on the situation in Myanmar over the weekend in Bangkok.

The seminar was joined by senior figures from Myanmar’s anti-junta shadow government, Thai opposition lawmakers, democracy activists and others, according to Reuters.

Despite the objections, the event, “Three Years after the Coup: Towards a Democratic Myanmar and Its Impact on Security Along the Thai Border,” was held at Parliament House in Bangkok on Saturday and Sunday.

A few days prior to the seminar, the junta’s Foreign Ministry said in a “secret” letter sent to the Thai Foreign Ministry that hosting the event at Parliament House would create “negative impacts on the existing friendly bilateral relations between Myanmar and Thailand,” according to a copy of the letter viewed…