Thailand says its Myanmar comments justified

Thailand says its Myanmar comments justified

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand said yesterday that its expressions of concern over rising tensions between Myanmar's ruling military junta and the opposition did not contravene ASEAN's policy of non-interference in other member states.

"This is not against the ASEAN spirit," foreign ministry spokesman Kobsak Chutikul said in defense of the comments, which drew criticism from Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

Last Wednesday, the ministry called for restraint between the military junta and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

"Statements are made on a selective basis and on how issues affect Thailand," Kobsak told Reuters.

The SPDC said on Sunday that it was concerned anti-government elements could harm Suu Kyi in a bid to destabilize the country.

"At times of political tension, some anti-government elements might take advantage of the situation. We are concerned about her safety and that of prominent personalities around her," a government spokesman told Reuters.

Tension between the SPDC and the NLD has been building since late May, when Suu Kyi demanded the junta convene a parliament of elected representatives from a May 1990 election.

The SPDC, which lost the elections but ignored the result, rejected the idea of a new parliament, drawing Wednesday's expression of concern from Bangkok.

"We are concerned about the developments (in Myanmar). We urge restraint by all sides to avoid violent confrontation between the opposing forces," a Thai foreign ministry spokesman said.

Suu Kyi was stopped last week by the military and prevented from going to meet some elected NLD members in a northern town. After negotiations between the two sides, the military allowed the elected party members to visit Suu Kyi in her Yangon home.

The military also increased surveillance of NLD MPs in townships, saying it feared they could cause trouble ahead of a planned re-opening of institutions of higher which were closed after student unrest in December 1996.

Myanmar's foreign ministry responded to the Thailand comments by criticizing foreign governments for making statements on its internal affairs.

"Recent statements made by certain responsible ministers regarding their concern on the presupposed situation in the Union of Myanmar are found to be presumptuous," the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement last Wednesday.

It added that Thailand's comments could potentially affect relations between the two countries and were against the spirit of the regional Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping, of which both countries are members.

Thailand had said any instability or unrest in Myanmar could lead to problems along the common border between the two countries.

It had noted that as a result of any unrest, there could be a spill-over of refugees, border trade might be hampered and drug suppression activities at the border areas might be affected.