EDITORIAL: Thaksin refuses to face Burma reality

Published on Sep 10, 2002

If his most recent radio address is any indication, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra might be looking to do some serious soul-searching over his policy towards Burma. The fact that his administration has been held up for scrutiny in diplomatic circles as the junta tramples all over the olive branch he has extended to Rangoon should be more than enough reason for the premier to rethink his dealings with the generals. In his latest weekly radio address, the prime minister catalogued a host of problems, including recent attacks against Thai school children in Ratchaburi, the 120,000 refugees along the border, Aids, malaria and over one million illegal foreign workers - all of which have a "Made in Burma" tag attached to them. But Thaksin apparently couldn't find it in him to spell out Burma as the source of all these woes. Perhaps he was afraid that the generals in Rangoon would take it too personally.

The premier went on to say that it was time the government re-evaluated its policy towards our neighbours. For a brief moment, there was some hope. But in the end, the weekly address ended on a very disappointing note. The prime minister just wouldn't stray far from his instituted brand of diplomacy, perhaps for fear that he would have to admit he was wrong from the very start. Never mind dignity. What appeared to have prevented him from doing so was his ego.

He just couldn't find it in him to admit to the public that he and his foreign policy team have been on the wrong track in their dealings with Burma. Instead, he went on discussing his theory of how economic prosperity will bring about stability and security along Burma's frontier and, thus, free Thailand from many more tedious years of dealing with refugees, insurgent groups, drug trafficking, and so on.

It makes all the sense in the world - well, for him anyway - to say this, as it permits some interest groups to continue to engage the Burmese regime economically, even at the expense of the nation's dignity and international standing.

Perhaps it would help if the prime minister spoke to some of the country's security officers who are at the front line and got their take on it. If they could speak freely, they would no doubt tell the prime minister that his brand of diplomacy is a sham and that his foreign policy team is out of touch with reality.

They would probably ask the prime minister how many of his so-called advisers know what the Thai-Burmese border looks like or whether they understand the complexity of it? Because if they did they would realise that the security arrangement along the Thai-Burmese border constitutes a very important aspect of Thailand-Burma relations.

Moreover, our men on the front line would tell the prime minister that permanent peace along the border can never be achieved until there is an adequate political settlement between the ruling junta and the armed ethnic groups, some of whom are still fighting Rangoon.

Last but not least, they would tell the prime minister that the private armies of drug warlords allied with the Rangoon government have in fact became the biggest card, a trump card perhaps, for Burma in its dealings with Thailand.

The prime minister must now step back and truly assess Thai-Burmese bilateral ties in a comprehensive manner. The public has heard enough of how his heart bleeds for the country and how he promises to make things better. It's time he delivered on the high expectations that the public has placed in him.

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