Thailand Foreign Minister to visit Naypyidaw
Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Maris Sangiampongsa will meet with the regime in Naypyidaw on Thursday. Bangkok wants to speed up the release of four Thai fishermen who have been held in detention in Kawthaung, Tanintharyi Region, for the last two weeks. Four Thais and 27 Burma nationals were arrested by the Burma Navy in 15 fishing boats after alleged “encroaching” into Burma territorial waters on Nov. 30.
“If we don’t conduct our own investigation, how can we be sure about the alleged encroachment? Moreover, the investigation doesn’t affect the safety of the crew,” Julapong Yuket, a Thai member of parliament, told the Bangkok Post. He went on to criticize Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s handling of the case after she discussed the release of the four Thai fishermen with the regime’s deputy Prime Minister Soe Win.
The regime accused the 31 detained fishermen of having connections to “terrorist groups” in Burma. Thai media reported on Monday that the Kawthaung District Court handed a six year prison sentence and a 200,000 kyat ($45 USD) fine to all 31. Thai officials stated that the four Thais would be released in an amnesty on Jan. 4. Bangkok said that one Thai fisherman died while attempting to evade arrest by the Burma Navy, which was denied by Naypyidaw on Dec. 2.
Malaysia Prime Minister picks ‘informal’ advisors
As Malaysia is set to take over as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2025, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is forming an informal advisory team to assist him on regional issues. Channel News Asia (CNA) reported that former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been selected as one of the informal advisors due to his relationship with leaders in Burma.
“Thaksin can play a strategic role in engaging with the rebel groups, keeping the Malaysian government at a distance,” Abdul Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow in the Southeast Asia Programme at the Lowy Institute, told CNA. He added that Thaksin is “well received by the junta” to assist Malaysia in brokering a peace deal in Burma with the ASEAN Five Point Consensus (5PC).
At the 37th Asia Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur in June, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hinted that ASEAN needed to get tough on Burma. In May, Thailand’s Defense Ministry reported that Thaksin offered to negotiate between ethnic armed groups and the regime. ASEAN wants the regime to implement its 5PC, which was adopted in April 2021 and agreed to by Min Aung Hlaing but never implemented upon his return to Naypyidaw.
Myanmar civil society wants people-led solution to crisis
Two hundred and sixty civil society organizations in Burma called on ASEAN to “move beyond” its 5PC on Monday. The civil society groups would rather it establish a people-centred solution to the crisis since the 2021 military coup than continue attempting to negotiate with the regime.
“ASEAN has severely undermined the people’s efforts for a sustainable peace, ultimately resulting in a complete lack of trust from the Myanmar people. ASEAN must immediately move beyond the 5PC, end all engagements with the military junta, and unequivocally denounce the junta’s plans for a sham election,” said Bo Bo, the executive director of Generation Wave – one of the 260 civil society groups.
ASEAN Foreign Ministers will meet this Friday in Bangkok, Thailand for “informal talks” on how to find a “Myanmar-owned, Myanmar-led solution [to the crisis]” according to the Laos ASEAN Department, whose director general made this comment at a forum in Vientiane, on Nov. 25. The 5PC calls for an immediate end to violence in the country, dialogue among all parties, and the release of all political prisoners, including detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.
News by Region
KAREN—The Embassy of India in Yangon stated on Saturday that six of its citizens had escaped a cyber scam center in southern Myawaddy Township and made it to a local police station, where they were able to contact the embassy, on Dec. 13. It called the area a “danger zone” for human trafficking victims. The six Indians will be soon deported from Burma back to India.
“We urge Indian nationals not to accept any job offers along the Thai-Burma border,” added the embassy. It went on to claim that more than 100 Indian citizens – forced to work at cyber scam centers in Myawaddy – have been repatriated from Burma since July. The Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP) Myanmar has documented that nearly 50 cyber scam centers operate along the Thai-Burma border.
SAGAING—Five civilians were killed, 12 were injured, and three homes were destroyed by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on two villages, including Kyaukhlayga, in Kanni Township on Monday. Kanni is located 40 miles (64 km) north of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa.
“Four bombs dropped from the aircraft on our village, killing four civilians instantly. One injured civilian was killed on the way to hospital,” a Kyaukhlayga resident told DVB. A People’s Defense Force (PDF) member told DVB that there was no fighting ongoing in the township.
YANGON—The Shwepyitha Strike Committee announced that two of its members were arrested by the military during a raid at a motel after staging a flash mob protest to mark Human Rights Day in Shwepyitha Township on Dec. 10.
“We have been told that they are being interrogated and transferred to a military court,” a Shwepyitha Strike Committee spokesperson told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The two protestors are accused of burning a copy of Burma’s 2008 constitution and the flag of the Yangon Region Military Command (RMC) headquarters.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,420 kyat)
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