By Paskorn Jumlongrach
Let’s read a report prepared by a Thai authority;
“1. On 23 April 2024, Colonel Maung Chit Thu offered to be a mediator to hold talks with Senior General Soe Win, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Force and other armed ethnics organizations (KNLA, etc.) to explore solutions to minimize losses among the people. Some actions have been proposed during the talks including;
1) There shall be no armed fighting in Myawaddy and the area shall be designated as a safe zone for all and an economic area for transportation of goods necessary for daily life of the people in Myanmar.
2) The Myanmar troops who remain at the at the 2nd Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge (inside Myanmar) shall relocate to their Infantry Battalion 275 units at Pha Song military camp. The KNA has inspected the area and deployed its forces to ensure security at the Pha Song camp on 23 April 2024 at 07.00.
3) The officers who used to work at the 2nd Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge (inside Myanmar) including the customs, the immigration, etc., shall resume their duties as usual.
4) It is expected that such operations can be completed within 2-3 days.”
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It prompts me to ask these questions immediately;
1. What are the causes or motives that prompted Colonel Chit Thu to change sides and cooperate with the SAC and hold talks with Gen. Soe Win, the SAC no.2 military leader even though he has been claiming that the Myanmar armed force will conduct airstrike on his economic hub at both Shwe Kokko and KK Park, the hub of criminal activities along the Moei River? This does not sound logical. If he harbors any fear, it should have happened since before the operation to lay siege to Myawaddy. Why does he just become fearful now?
Most importantly, the fact that such world-class criminal hub by the Moei River continue to run their underworld businesses and torture tens of thousands of victims from around the world while not showing any fear of the armed conflict, this could only be made possible by “secret deals” of all the top brass including several Generals in the Myanmar armed force, Thailand’s police top brass and politicians and some influential people from China as well as those who stand to reap the profit under the arrangement by Colonel Chit Thu.
Despite efforts by media from around the world to expose the dark side of such criminal hub, these criminal rings are still able to run their business as usual. Should there be any sign of the risk of war, these people can easily cross over the Moei River to seek their refuge in Mae Sot since they all have their passports stamped for entering Thailand at the Suvannabhumi Airport. There should not be a problem for them to check in at hotel here.
2.According to the aforementioned report, it is not only the SAC who stands to reap the benefit, but Thailand will also benefit from this since the caravan of trucks to transport goods can be resumed. Such scenario is echoed in the interviews by some policy makers in Thailand who place an importance on trade and economic benefit more than national security. Therefore, a question can arise if these Thai security agencies or the Thai government have been involved in the talks between Colonel Chit Thu and Gen. Soe Win or not?
The reason that prompts me to ask such questions is previously when the Thai government offer humanitarian assistance to the Karens who fled from war in the three villages, the Thai armed force’s units relied on help from the BGF which coordinated with the KNU, although they tried to conceal names of the agencies involved in this operation. It should be noted, however, that just as KNU issued a statement on the sending of humanitarian assistance and mentioned names of the Thai armed forces units, the next day, there was an invisible hand that erased such names from the KNU’s statement.
I am concerned about these issues since people around the world are so disgusted with the hub of underworld businesses by the Moei River in Myawaddy since it involved the heinous trafficking in person, online scammers that cause immense suffering to people in Thailand and around the world. Some buildings there are used as a place to manufacture illicit drug as well. There has been much evidence from testimonies of the survivors who have been rescued from this place. Meanwhile, apart from reaping the profits from collecting rent of the land on which the criminal activities are situated, the BGF troops have also been involved to prevent the escape of the victims and to protect the interest of these Chinese mafia while earning income from various other downstream business.
If the Thai government or the security agencies opt to use services from Colonel Chit Thu and the BGF, this would not be different from relying on help from criminals and murderers. And we shall not be able to answer questions from people around the world. As the Thai government continues to show ambivalence about how to deal with the criminal hub right by its border, this would serve as a timebomb that will have serious consequences on the nation as a whole.
I only hope as far as the talks between Colonel Chit Thu and Gen. Soe Win are concerned, the Thai government or its security agencies are not involved with such backdoor deal.
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This is a translation of original Thai article https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=38285
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