The visiting Burmese armed forces leader Min Aung Hlaing on Friday praised the decision by Thai generals to seize power in the May 22 coup.

Gen Min Aung Hlaing said he has confidence in the Thai armed forces as “they are duty-bound to maintain national security and ensure safety for the public,” the Supreme Command quoted him as saying in a press release on his talks with Thai Supreme Commander Tanasak Patimaprakorn.

“We also have confidence in the success of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) roadmap,” he added, according to the press release.

Burma went through a worse situation than Thailand in 1988, he claimed.

The Burmese armed forces cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988 and subsequently rejected the election in 1990 won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.

Gen Tanasak, who is the NCPO deputy chairman, claimed all Burmese workers in Thailand would be taken well care of. The junta is implementing a policy to end the use of illegal migrants and legalise their status in Thailand, according to the press release.

He pledged deepening cooperation with Burma at all levels including defence relations, strengthening border ties, an exchange of military personnel and the participation of Burma in the joint military drill Cobra Gold this year.

The coup regime set up the first centre to register illegal workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia in Samut Sakhon province on Monday. Similar one-stop centres are due to be opened in all provinces by mid-July as part of the policy to end the illegal, lucrative business of trafficking in illegal, smuggled labour.

This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 4 July 2014.

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