Irrawaddy/NationThailand-Aug 20
The Myanmar military junta has abruptly closed the country’s main land route for large-scale exports and imports to and from Thailand in a bid to control what it said was illegal trade activities that are funding armed groups near the border. The No. 2 Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge between Myawaddy, Karen State and Mae Sot, Thailand was suddenly closed on Monday. The closure followed junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s recent order to take action against illegal border trade, due to concerns that armed groups in the border regions will collect taxes through illegal trade and use the funds to strengthen their forces. “It was an order from the Union government. Myanmar and Thailand discussed the closure first,” Saw Khin Maung Myint, Karen State’s junta-appointed commerce minister, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. The closure was carried out to control illegal trade, he said, adding that there are many unofficial trade routes controlled by various armed groups including the junta-allied Border Guard Force (BGF) and Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army – Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC); as well as the anti-regime Karen National Union (KNU) and allied People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) in Myawaddy and Hpa-An townships. “They [the armed groups] … earn money from these trade routes,” the minister said. He explained that Myanmar Customs can’t control the situation as there are many unofficial trade routes and traders use them to evade official channels. On July 30, Vice-Senior General Soe Win, regime boss Min Aung Hlaing’s deputy, stated that 132 lorries were found to be carrying illegal goods in Karen and Mon states. Authorities had allowed the illegal trade to flourish by neglecting to conduct inspections, he said. The closure has had an immediate economic impact. The bridge normally facilitates more than US$120 million worth of trade between Myanmar and Thailand every month, according to Thai customs figures. On the Thai side, the closure has brought the flow of large goods to a halt and is threatening bilateral border trade worth an estimated 130 billion baht ($3.9 billion) a year, The Nation reported, saying the move came without any prior warning to Thai authorities, including customs officials in Mae Sot. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/junta-abruptly-closes-thai-myanmar-trade-bridge-to-cut-off-rebel-funding.html
