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.