Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat speaks to the press in Bangkok on May 22./ AFP
By The Irrawaddy 5 June 2023
The leader of Thailand’s Move Forward Party (MFP), which won last month’s general election, said his country now has an opportunity to bring stability to a Myanmar politically and socially devastated by the 2021 coup.
Pita Limjaroenrat told Thailand’s Channel 3 recently that both world powers, the United States and China, want stability in Myanmar.
The country has been engulfed in armed conflict since 2021, as the junta conducts a brutal crackdown on the nationwide armed uprising against military rule. China is a major investor in Myanmar, while Thailand shares a border of more than 2,400 kilometers with its neighbor, an important trade partner.
MFP leader and prospective prime minister Pita said his talks with the US and China showed that both countries want stability restored in Myanmar.
“Thailand has the ability and opportunity to make this happen. We can guide the leaders of Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries to collaborate to help Myanmar,” he said.
Thailand’s proximity to Myanmar also gave it an advantage that other ASEAN countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia lack, he added.
As a neighbor, Thailand could invite ASEAN leaders for roundtable discussions on Myanmar that would benefit the country.
“We [Thailand and Myanmar] are neighbors. If your neighbor gets cold, you are affected, too.”
Thailand is under pressure from the influx of Myanmar refugees, as well as fighting between junta troops and resistance forces on its frontier, and disruption to border trade.
“Even if they are illegal migrant workers, we have to take care of them as they are humans and we are sharing the border,” Pita said of border-crossers.
The 42-year-old prospective PM has been a consistent critic of Thailand’s policy on Myanmar, where the junta has been attacking both resistance forces and civilians, by bombing villages, schools, and clinics.
Pita revealed his policy on Myanmar at a post-election press conference on May 15, saying, “We want to push ahead to make sure the Five Point Consensus is really achieved.” The consensus is the peace plan for Myanmar adopted by ASEAN in the wake of the 2021 coup and bloody crackdown. The junta has ignored the plan and continued killing civilians.
Pita said the Move Forward-led government would restore Thailand’s leading role in ASEAN and work to curb the violence in Myanmar.
“We will start a humanitarian journey, especially with the Burma Act passed by US Congress, which means we can start that work with the international community to ensure the right amount of pressure and incentives for people to resolve their conflict.”
The Burma Act authorizes US funding of non-lethal support for resistance forces in Myanmar.
Unsurprisingly, Pita’s policy declaration on Myanmar rang alarm bells with the regime next door.
Shortly after the election-winner’s announcement, regime No. 2 Vice Senior General Soe Win issued a directive to his regional commanders to watch the border, saying, “The Move Forward Party is pro-West and they will assist terrorists [resistance groups active along the border] … We have to watch the border and get information about them, their movements and their activities.”
