Thai PM cancels trip to Myanmar<\/p>\n
Reuters, Bangkok<\/p>\n
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has canceled a visit to a
\ndrug-producing region in neighboring Myanmar after Thai
\nintelligence officials cited security concerns.<\/p>\n
Thaksin, who has waged a bloody war against drugs in his own
\ncountry, and Myanmar Prime Minister Khin Nyunt had been due to
\nvisit Yong Kha village on Friday where a Thai-sponsored farming
\nscheme aims to shift farmers away from drug production.<\/p>\n
\"With all the reasons, I'd better attend my party seminar,\"
\nThaksin said on Tuesday, referring to a meeting of his ruling
\nThai Rak Thai party on Friday.<\/p>\n
Thaksin did not explain his decision, but on Monday he had
\ncited Thai intelligence reports suggesting that the area was
\nunsafe to visit.<\/p>\n
The village, about eight km (five miles) from the northern
\nThai-Myanmar border, is in an area controlled by the United Wa
\nState Army, former rebels in eastern Myanmar's Shan State allied
\nwith the military junta in Yangon since 1989.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think the prime minister should go, it does not
\nprovide us a comfortable feeling,\" said Deputy Prime Minister
\nChavalit Yongchaiyudh, who is in charge of security affairs.<\/p>\n
Thailand has singled out the Wa as the sole producer of
\nmethamphetamine. Thai anti-drug authorities say one billion pills
\nof the stimulant drug flood into Thailand each year.<\/p>\n
Thaksin said in March his life was in danger because drug
\nkingpins in the Wa area were enraged by his bloody war on drugs.<\/p>\n
Thai newspapers then quoted unnamed security sources as saying
\nthe drug lords had offered a bounty of 80 million baht to
\nassassinate him.<\/p>\n
In August, Thaksin became embroiled in a war of words with
\nMyanmar authorities after he ordered Thai troops to kill Myanmar
\ntraffickers crossing the border and accused Yangon of ignoring
\nthe problem.<\/p>\n
Relations between the neighbors and historic enemies have
\noccasionally deteriorated over Thai complaints about what it sees
\nas Myanmar's failure to act on drugs, and Yangon's accusations
\nthat Thailand backs rebels fighting the junta.<\/p>\n
Myanmar authorities said Khin Nyunt would send deputy
\nministers and an army commander of the region there to welcome a
\nsimilar Thai delegation. \"Prime Minister Khin Nyunt's planned
\nvisit to Yong Kha has been canceled,\" a Myanmar anti-drugs
\nofficial told reporters.<\/p>\n
Thailand has followed a policy of engagement with Yangon's
\ngenerals in recent years and opposed Western sanctions against
\nthe junta over its lack of progress toward democracy and the
\ndetention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Thaksin has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and
\nloans to Myanmar, and helped to broker talks between the
\ngovernment and other rebel groups.<\/p>\n
Last week, Thailand brought together a dozen countries to hear
\nMyanmar explain its plan to bring democracy to a country ruled by
\nthe military since 1962.<\/p>\n
But Yangon's pledge at the meeting to embark on a \"road map to
\ndemocracy\" next year drew skepticism from diplomats and the
\nopposition.<\/p>",
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