Irrawaddy-May 22
Shortly after Thailand’s Move Forward Party (MFP), a party of young liberal activists that campaigned on a promise to reform the monarchy and the armed forces, won the largest number of seats among the contestants in the country’s May 14 polls, the second-most powerful man in neighboring Myanmar’s military junta issued a directive to his regional commanders to watch the Thai-Myanmar border. In his message, Vice Senior General Soe Win said: “The Move Forward Party is pro-West and they will assist terrorists … we have to watch the border and get information about them, their movements and their activities,” The Irrawaddy has learned. The “terrorists” he refers to in the message are anti-Myanmar regime resistance groups active along the border. The general has reason to be wary. The MFP’s leader, Prime Minister-elect Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, has been a consistent critic of Thailand’s policy toward neighboring Myanmar, where the regime has been attacking civilians—including bombing villages, schools and clinics—as well as resistance forces. Soe Win’s concern was compounded when Pita revealed his policy on Myanmar at a post-election press conference on May 15, saying “We want to push ahead to make sure the Five Point Consensus is really achieved.” The consensus is a peace plan for Myanmar adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the wake of the military coup in 2021. The junta has ignored the plan and continued killing civilians. Read more at:
