PUBLISHED: 10: 20 on February 6, 2024.
Three decades after a coup that sparked unrest and waves of crime across the nation, Vice Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow stated that the new Thailand-led charitable initiative aims to open the door for talks between opposing camps in Myanmar under military rule.
In order to provide food and medical supplies to local areas and the 20, 000 people who have been displaced by fighting, Thailand plans to establish a charitable safe territory later this month at its border with Myanmar, close to the Mae Sot-Myawaddy passing, according to Mr. Sihasak.
The program, according to Mr. Sihasak, may strengthen the efforts of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has made vain attempts to mediate a truce between the defense and its adversaries among ethnic minority forces and an armed resistance movements.
The final objective was to command the conflict and create dialogue channels.
He added that the process must be “effective, credible, and transparent” because” we do n’t want to see a Myanmar that is further destabilized.”
The Thai and Myanmar Red Cross will offer items on the ground while being watched by Asean’s humanitarian aid organization thanks to the program, which was supported last week by foreign ministers from that country and a member from Myanmar.
Since the government took over in 2021, Myanmar has been embroiled in turmoil, ending a decade of hesitant democracy and reform. According to the UN, more than 18 million people need help and at least 2.6 million have been displaced as a result of preventing.
The union is frustrated with the junta’s lack of commitment and has yet to move forward with its proposed peace strategy for Asean, which the generals of Myanmar agreed to in April 2021. The commanders refer to the conflict between rival troops as “terrorists” and refuse to cooperate with it.
According to Mr. Sihasak, the Thai-led plan may result in discussions involving the coup, ethnic armed teams, and a dark National Unity Government allied with pro-democracy militias.
If the coup had consented to such conversations, he made no mention of it.
Without going into detail, Mr. Sihasak said,” Some sort of dialogue process may start maybe at the middle of the year.”
Thailand had sought the advice of foreign allies, including Myanmar’s another neighbors, China and India, he continued.
It’s about making it possible for Myanmar to interact effectively with the rest of the world once more, he said.
” This is an option for some speech, constructive dialogue to start.”