Book row ruins Thai-Myanmar ties

Book row ruins Thai-Myanmar ties

By Edward Tang

BANGKOK: The year: 1549. The place: Ayutthaya province of Thailand.

Thousands of Myanmar soldiers are looting, raping and killing. They burn everything, including Buddhist temples and relics, to the ground.

Men and women join hands in the fight to protect the ancient Thai capital from the cruel invaders.

Among the heroes that day is Thai Queen Suriyothai, who dies while leading troops into battle. Her image is one of a brave and faithful consort, as the final curtain is lowered.

It is yet another movie, but it will no doubt stir up strong emotions when released in Thailand in August, in conjunction with the present Thai Queen's birthday.

Suriyothai, the most expensive Thai movie ever, is likely to stoke the flames of animosity currently raging between Thailand and Myanmar, which last week released a new textbook portraying Thais as lazy and frivolous.

The book, taught to fourth-graders, also criticized the Thai monarchy and blamed Thailand for the drug problem and for supporting anti-Myanmar insurgents.

The Thai government is considering lodging a protest with Myanmar, pending a review of the book. It could be another issue to add to the laundry list Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to raise with his Myanmar counterpart when he visits Yangon later this month.

Bilateral relations have been bedeviled by border skirmishes, the presence of anti-Myanmar dissidents at the Thai border, over a million illegal Myanmar migrants in this country, and allegations that Yangon was abetting drug lords.

Relations plunged in February after both sides exchanged artillery fire at the Thai northern border town of Mae Sai, resulting in the death of two civilians. Since then, Myanmar has closed all checkpoints along its 2,400 km-long border with Thailand.

The move has affected tourism and border trade, which accounts for 40 percent of Thailand's export to the country. Thai fishermen have also been barred from entering Myanmar waters.

The latest controversy over the textbook is not the first incident, nor will it be the last, to mar relations. History and the lack of trust and understanding are major constraints to better ties, said political science professor Chayachoke Chulasiriwongs of Chulalongkorn University.

"Thailand must bear some of the responsibility for the present decline in relations. We must review our textbooks, which are also guilty of portraying our neighbors negatively," he told The Straits Times.

Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are often portrayed as the enemy in Thai history books, he said. The 18th-century Laotian King Anuvong, for example, is depicted as a womanizer. According to some books, the king, revered even today by Laotians, invaded Thailand but was later seduced by Thai women agents who killed him in his sleep.

Similarly, Cambodia is often sidelined in Thai history as a junior kingdom. Myanmar is portrayed as the cruel nation which twice invaded Ayutthaya, the ancient Thai capital. Because of the many wars between the two countries, the image of Myanmar as arch rival and hated adversary is ingrained in the Thai psyche.

Thai movies, novels and textbooks are replete with such references. For example, last year's hit movie, Bang Rajan, tells of a young man who led villagers against invading Myanmar forces in the 18th century.

In contrast, he said Myanmar did not have a record of distorting history to smear its neighbors -- although it uses state-owned media to attack its opponents.

He believed that the latest propaganda drive against Thailand could be directed by Myanmar Army Commander Maung Aye, the country's second-most senior leader, who apparently does not want the two countries to normalize relations.

Gen. Maung Aye, who is also vice-chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), is believed to have a personal hatred for Thailand following a snub by a Thai general at a meeting a few years ago. It is said he represents vested interests in the Myanmar leadership that are opposed to Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, the powerful intelligence chief and a moderate leader in the SPDC.

According to Prof. Chayachoke, the controversial textbook and recent criticisms of the Thai monarchy by the New Light of Myanmar newspaper could be designed by Gen. Maung Aye to embarrass his rival and to jettison Thaksin's visit. Thailand's Nation newspaper has charged that his long-term aim was to instill hatred among future Myanmar generations against Thais.

Thai-Myanmar relations are also dogged by mutual distrust and suspicion. For a long time, Myanmar has tried to persuade Thailand to evict thousands of dissidents seeking refuge on the Thai side of the border.

It has always suspected Thailand of harboring and arming ethnic minorities like the Karen and Shan rebels.

The previous Thai government headed by Chuan Leekpai was also perceived to be meddling in Myanmar's politics by veering away from the long-standing principle of non-interference among ASEAN members.

"The permanent solution lies in confidence building, not retaliation," said historian Chalong Suntaravanich, who believed that the bulk of Thailand's problems with its neighbor resulted from inept political handling. "Thais and the Myanmar people are like brothers. We do not hate them and I don't think they regard us as enemies."

-- The Straits Times/Asia News Network