Thai foreign minister urges Myanmar military not to strike back at rebels in captured border town

(12 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mae Sot, Thailand - 12 April 2024
1. Wide of Thai soldiers at border point facing Myanmar
LOCATION: MAE SOT, THAILAND
2. Mid Thai soldier
3. People from Myanmar at immigration point, entering Thailand
4. Mid of Sulai, Myawaddy resident, on phone
5. SOUNDBITE (Burmese) Sulai, Myawaddy resident:
“They are afraid of the silence with no sound of fighting. Those with experience say, it means the fighting is much more likely to continue. When we heard elderly people talking about the possibility of things becoming worse, we fled the town.”
6. Thai Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara on bridge, between Thailand and Myanmar, with media
7. Wide of Bahiddha-Nukara speaking to media
8. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, Thai Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister:
“We are most concerned about Myawaddy and want peace there. Not only because of trade, it's our neighbor. We do not wish for any violence. We will be very welcoming of any possible talks. If they want us to mediate, we are ready to help coordinating.”
9. Various of Thai troops at a second bridge between Thailand and Myanmar, near Myawaddy
STORYLINE:
Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara on Friday urged Myanmar’s military to show restraint after guerrilla fighters claimed control over a major trading town on the border with Thailand.
On Thursday, guerrillas from the Karen ethnic minority and pro-democracy forces said they captured the last of the army’s outposts in Myawaddy township in eastern Myanmar, virtually clearing the way for them to take over the town which is a major crossing point for trade with Thailand.
Myawaddy, in Kayin state, is opposite the Thai district of Mae Sot in Tak province and is connected by two bridges across the Moei River.
Bahiddha-Nukara spoke to journalist during a visit to Mae Sot and he hoped there could be talks between the warring sides to prevent retaliatory attacks.
“We are most concerned about Myawaddy and want peace there. Not only because of trade, it's our neighbor. We do not wish for any violence," he said.
There is concern that the Myanmar military might launch a concerted attack against Myawaddy, which could send thousands fleeing into Thailand for safety and badly disrupt border trade.
The fall of Myawaddy would be another major setback in the army’s war against resistance forces since last October, when an alliance of three other ethnic rebel groups launched an offensive in the country’s northeast.
Thai troops kept watch across the Moei River on Friday. Their presence provides reassurance. It also ensures that pockets of trapped Myanmar soldiers do not try to slip across the border.
Myawaddy residents say there have been frequent explosions in the past few days from air strikes against captured positions, but Friday was quiet. Thai immigration officials said visitor numbers from Myanmar were unexceptional.
But for some, quietness was the problem. A Myawaddy resident who only gave his name as Sulai told the Associated Press that the sudden silence had triggered him to flee.
“They are afraid of the silence with no sound of fighting. Those with experience say, it means the fighting is much more likely to continue,” he said.
Over the past five months, the army has been routed in northern Shan state, where it surrendered control of several border crossings with China, and in Rakhine state in the west, and is facing active challenges elsewhere.
AP video by Jerry Hamer
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