Effects of United Wa State Army actions not limited to Myanmar, says People’s Party MP
PUBLISHED: 4 Dec 2024 at 18: 39
The House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy, and National Reform plans to address border tension involving the United Wa State Army ( UWSA ) on December 13.
The presence of the UWSA near the Thai borders is a growing problem, said Rangsiman Rome, the Women’s Party deputy president and chairman of the committee.
Long-standing problems along the frontier, especially the risk of attacks by Myanmar’s military authorities, which often harm innocent people, could result in over 2 million displaced people seeking shelter in Thailand, he said on Wednesday.
But, Thailand’s capacity to accommodate migrants is limited to about 100, 000, making it impossible to manage a massive flow.
Mr. Rangsiman emphasized that Thailand may avoid the effects of domestic wars in Myanmar. If crime intensifies, people will inevitably escape across the border into Thailand.
Thailand’s standing as a member of the UN Human Rights Council may be tarnished if they were rejected.
Regarding the UWSA, Mr. Rangsiman stated that the council would discuss the matter on December 13 in addition to the latest incident involving the Myanmar military firing on and seizing Thai fish boats.
In Mae Hong Son state, studies have recently indicated that some UWSA foundations are evicting Thai place. The Thai military disputed the allegations, saying that the two parties also have a positive relationship.
” The Wa are notorious for international acts, mainly drug smuggling. Information points to their impact in substance production, making cross-border attacks unacceptable”, said Mr Rangsiman.
The MP claimed that” these attacks may even be connected to Thailand’s serious drug problems in recent years.” He did not elaborate.
He cited also reports that suggested that electricity supplied from Thailand to areas of Myanmar under the command of the Wa, quite as Tachileik, might indirectly aid in drug production.
Although he was unable to verify whether Thai electricity is used to make drugs, the manufacturing process requires a lot of power, which raises questions about the supply of these utilities.
There is compelling evidence that businesses, monetary transactions, and animal accounts were linked to supporting illegal cross-border operations, according to Mr. Rangsiman, and the panel properly ask Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to speak when parliament reconvenes on December 12.