PM: Burma to open checkpoints on Oct 15

Published on Oct 9, 2002

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday said Burma would reopen all border checkpoints on October 15, following four months of closure.

Thaksin said Burma had agreed to the opening during a visit to Rangoon by permanent secretary for Foreign Affairs Tej Bunnag.

"All three checkpoints - in Chiang Rai, Tak and Ranong provinces - will resume services next Tuesday. Burma agreed to do so without any conditions," he said.

However, Thaksin said that regulations at the checkpoints would have to be tightened to prevent any new misunderstandings between the two countries as well as to crack down on the trafficking of drugs and other contraband.

In May, Rangoon closed all the checkpoints in response to a series of border clashes and a propaganda war between the neighbouring countries. Bangkok worked to negotiate the reopening of the border for the sake of political relations and border trade.

Meanwhile, in a move seen as a gesture of goodwill ahead of Tuesday's official re-opening, Burma yesterday opened its checkpoint in Myawaddy province - adjacent to Tak province - to allow several trucks to travel to Bangkok to participate in a regional trade fair.

The opening came soon after Thaksin made the announcement.

Rangoon's deputy director general for the international trade department U Aye Hju said the trucks were bound for the Asean Trade Fair, which is to be held in Bangkok on October 14-20.

The trucks were carrying jewellery, furniture and food, he said.

Mae Sot customs chief Bunthiem Chokvivat said that border trade volumes had decreased during the four-month border closure.

The value of daily exports of Thai products fell from Bt15 million to Bt3 million, while imports of Burmese goods fell to Bt800,000 from a previous daily average of Bt3 million.

Burmese radio yesterday also broadcast that the checkpoints would be reopened next Tuesday.

"Yesterday's reopening of the Myawaddy gate for the trucks is a gesture that relations with Thailand will soon return to normal," the broadcasts said.

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