Thaksin warns of waning ties with Myanmar

Thaksin warns of waning ties with Myanmar

BANGKOK (AP): Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warned on Friday that Thailand's relations with Myanmar could be destroyed because of growing mistrust following weeks of border skirmishes and angry words.

"Mistrust is a key reason of Thai-Myanmar problems. Mistrust started at the border level, which aroused hate between people of the two nations," Thaksin said.

"The mistrust is going to destroy government-to-government relationship if we are not careful," he told reporters.

On Thursday, Thailand's Foreign Ministry summoned Myanmar's ambassador, Myo Myint, to formally protest articles in a state- run Myanmar newspaper that allegedly insulted the Thai monarchy.

The protest came as long-standing tension between the two nations reached a new peak following Myanmar artillery shells landing Tuesday on Thai soil, narrowly missing a royal villa near the border. The two sides have been firing at each other since February.

Thaksin said the defense and foreign ministers are trying to solve the problems together. "It will take sometime to mend the conflict," Thaksin said.

He appealed to the Thai people to "understand the situation" and not "rise up to protest against Myanmar because of mistrust." Separately, Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said Thailand was not an enemy of Myanmar. "We want to sit down and talk before everything gets our of hand," he said.

But, he added, Myanmar's Foreign Minister has not made a decision whether to come to Thailand. "So we cannot proceed in solving the conflict," he said.

The tensions between the two countries stem from a series of problems, but principally over drug smuggling.

The Thai press and officials accuse Myanmar's military government of ignoring the large scale production of the illegal drug methamphetamine by ethnic minority groups, mainly the United Wa State Army, based along the border for sale in Thailand.

Wa has been named by the U.S. State Department as a major drug producer in the area.

Myanmar's state-controlled press has retaliated with sometimes crude articles and cartoons attacking Thailand for alleged hypocrisy and historical misdeeds. The articles in The New Light of Myanmar daily which Thailand said insulted its monarchy referred to matters that took place in the 19th century.

Meanwhile, the New York-based Human Rights Watch called on Friday for the release of 85 people who were elected to parliament in 1990 but later detained after Myanmar's ruling military annulled the poll results.