Thailand to emerge as Myanmar donor<\/p>\n
Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters, Bangkok<\/p>\n
Thailand will emerge as a donor at a four-nation regional summit
\nin Myanmar next week despite the West isolating the country and
\ndemanding the release of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu
\nKyi, officials said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
They said Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would pledge
\nto help Myanmar, Cambodia and Loas to develop their economies
\nthrough grants and technical assistance at the summit in the
\ntourist town of Pagan next Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"We see the need to narrow the widening gap of development
\namong us by helping our neighbors develop their economies,\"
\nForeign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, there will be a commitment in the declaration for
\na better-off country to offer assistance to others.\"<\/p>\n
Thaksin, due to arrive in Yangon on Monday, will meet Myanmar
\nmilitary leader Than Shwe and Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and sign
\nan Economic Cooperation Strategy pact in Pagan.<\/p>\n
The pact, agreed among four commerce ministers last month in
\nBangkok, would touch on plans to reduce import duties on raw
\nmaterials to zero, the officials said.<\/p>\n
They said Thailand would be the obvious major buyer and
\nbenefit from cheap labor in its three poor neighbors, while the
\nincreased demand would create more jobs there.<\/p>\n
Thailand's promises followed the latest U.S. trade embargo on
\nMyanmar goods, the European Union's suspension of trade
\nprivileges over Yangon's alleged use of forced labor and Japan's
\nsuspension of fresh aid after Suu Kyi was detained on May 30.<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi, 58, has spent several lengthy spells in detention
\nsince returning to Yangon in 1988, shortly before a pro-democracy
\nuprising swept the country.<\/p>\n
The military, in power since 1962, ignored a 1990 election
\nvictory by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.<\/p>\n
Last month, Washington urged Thailand and its neighbors, which
\nare following a policy of \"constructive engagement\" with Myanmar,
\nto use every possible means to promote democratic change in
\nMyanmar and the unconditional release of Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Thaksin, without mentioning Suu Kyi, told reporters on Monday
\nhe would raise the issue of national reconciliation with
\nMynamar's generals and offer to mediate between the junta and
\nethnic armies fighting it.<\/p>\n
\"Thailand would like to see this region become more stable
\npolitically and economically, especially for democracy and
\nnational reconciliation to be established here,\" Thaksin said.
\n\"We have our own approach to pursue.\"<\/p>\n
But some Thai analysts say Bangkok's priority in Myanmar, also
\ncalled Burma, is more economic than political.<\/p>\n
\"They just want to work with any government that is in power
\nto maximize Thailand's strategy to be the epicenter of mainland
\nSoutheast Asia,\" said political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak
\nof Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.<\/p>\n
\"Thailand won't be boycotting, but granting loans and other
\naid schemes to Burma (Myanmar) -- which might not be good news
\nfor pro-democracy activists and ethnic groups.\"<\/p>\n
Another analyst said Bangkok would welcome any government that
\ncould bring stability and development to Myanmar, the source of
\ndrugs and illegal workers pouring into Thailand.<\/p>\n
\"I am not sure if Thailand really wants to see a democratic
\nMyanmar, but it doesn't want to see illegal immigrant workers or
\nrefugees fleeing to Thailand,\" said Pornpimon Trichot of the
\nBangkok-based Asian Studies Institute.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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