Thais divided by the Rangoon connection
THE campaign by Nobel Peace Prize winners to pressure Rangoon's military regime into freeing the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has pushed Thailand's controversial relationship with Burma into the spotlight.
The seven Nobel laureates and Burmese opposition groups now in Bangkok have been careful to compliment the Thais for allowing them to enter the country. The South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said that Thailand could becomethe region's ''human rights centre'' if it carried on the good work.
Yet the director of the Bangkok-based Project for Ecological Recovery, Mr Witoon Permpongsacharoen, took the opposite view in an open letter to the Prime Minister Mr Chuan Leekpai a fortnight ago which complained that ''the Thai government has positioned itself squarely against Burma's pro-democracy movement''.
Mr Witoon was complaining about Thailand's decision to sign a business co-operation agreement with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), as the Rangoon regime styles itself. He said: ''These links finance SLORC's nationwide campaign of brutal repression and military offensives against the people of Burma.'' This seeming contradiction highlights the opposing forces at work in Thailand. It is too early to say if Mr Chuan and his colleagues plan to take positive steps to promote democracy and human rights in Burma. But observers are encouraged that the government has been prepared to admit the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, despite risking the wrath of China.
However, the sharp criticism from Thailand's army and air force chiefs, to the effect that allowing a bunch of do-gooders in could do more harm than good, was a timely reminder that some members of the Thai establishment have their own Burmese agenda. The army's commander-in-chief General Wimol Wongwanich tartly observed: ''If this were my home I would never allow the visit.'' Members of the Burmese opposition say the strength of Thailand's pro-Burma lobby was demonstrated five months ago when, minutes after obtaining King Bhumibol Adulyadej's formal permission to take up office, Mr Chuan announced that the policy of ''constructive engagement'' with Rangoon would be maintained.
This instant foreign policy contrasted strongly with pre-election calls by the Foreign Minister, Prasong Soonsiri, for a review of ties with Burma. But there is another factor. Elements in the military and some members of the government are said to have made substantial sums of money from cross-border trade.