Myanmar Spring Chronicle – July 17 Scenes
MoeMaKa, July 18, 2023
How does the Thai foreign minister’s visit to Myanmar affect NLD party members and MPs?
In the news of July 11, the news of Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai’s secret visit to Nay Pyi Taw on July 9 came out. The reason for his visit was unknown then. A day later, on the morning of July 12, the news that the Thai Foreign Minister’s trip to Nay Pyi Taw was to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the news that he had the opportunity to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and that her message was likely to be delivered at the currently held ASEAN meeting, went viral abruptly. Apart from the words that she encouraged ‘dialogue’ from his meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, he has not disclosed any details so far. Only the Pan Orient News wrote that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said during her meeting with the Thai Foreign Minister that she does not recognize or support PDF or NUG.
The National Unity Government announced on July 14 that the Thai Foreign Minister’s unilateral report of the alleged views and position of Aung San Suu Kyi are unacceptable and illegitimate. It also stated that, regarding the recent visit of Don Pramudwinai, who is the current Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand, his statement at the ASEAN Foreign Minister Meeting and disclosure to the news media, of an engagement with the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on his recent trip to Myanmar contravene ASEAN’s authority, the ASEAN Five Point Consensus, and the role of the ASEAN Special Envoy.
On the same day, the Central Work Committee of the National League for Democracy released the Proclamation (8/2023) on July 14, 2023, stating that the claims made by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand were also inconsistent with the perspectives of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during her arbitrary arrest. Since the claims made by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand as statements of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were not made in a situation where she could freely express herself jointly with him so they doubt to take every statement as true.
It also stated, “Therefore, in order to freely present the will and opinion of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who is crucial as the entry point to resolve Myanmar’s political problems, to the people of Myanmar, we call on the leaders of ASEAN to put their efforts to ensure that all unjustly arrested and detained political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are released as soon as possible so they can freely express their opinions in accordance with ASEAN 5-Point Consensus.”
According to the opinion statement by the General Strike Coordination Body – GSCB dated July 13, it said that Thailand’s foreign minister ignored and insulted the Spring Revolution of the Myanmar people, as well as attempted to cause internal division politically. The GSCC also said that the Spring Revolution was based on “political principles” and not “individual”.
In the VOA interview today, Scot Marciel, a former US ambassador to Myanmar and currently a diplomat at Stanford University in the United States, told VOA that Thai Foreign Minister’s statement does not help Myanmar’s democracy. He also said that ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, needs to show more support to the National Unity Government (NUG) and the people of Myanmar.
Analysis of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, written jointly by Daw Moe Thuzar and Sharon Seah, expert researchers from ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, said about this. The BBC presented about it on July 17. Based on what Don Pramudwinai said, “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is mentally and physically healthy. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that she encourages dialogue and reconciliation, and so on,” to ASEAN and the media as the main points, the analysts reviewed.
Although it is true that Thailand’s solo efforts outside of ASEAN have received the kind of opportunities that ASEAN special envoys and UN special envoys have not had, Daw Moe Thuzar and Sharon Seah questioned whether it would be appropriate to sacrifice ASEAN if ASEAN’s unity is lost because of these actions. In their words, it is “Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Pains”.
As far as I can understand, Thailand has no basis to find a way out or a solution to the political problem arising from the election results, like in Myanmar. It is also a country that cannot get out from under the constitutional crisis due to the restrictions manipulated by the Thai generals’ parties and the privileged classes (the royal gang, the military group gang, and the crony gang members) in successive military coups. The parties that win because of public support usually are short-term. In Thailand, the king intervened to solve the problem with a short-term solution, and the country’s long-term problems were often postponed. That’s why analysts say that it is “Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Pains”.
One thing that is different from Thailand is the fact that public leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been able to stand with public support for more than 30 years and the NLD political party, are still in existence, and the fact that all forces and generations (political parties, ethnic groups, armed forces, civil societies, youths, etc.) are fighting together in the spring revolution movement, which has the ultimate goal of abolishing the military dictatorship. The establishment of a Hluttaw based on the result of the 2020 election, has become impossible due to the military coup, but the structures of the interim government, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the National Unity Consultative Council, and so on have been formed.
Some of the NLD party members and MPs have been seen participating in various roles since the spring revolution, while others are active in local administration, defense, and security departments under the NUG government’s ministries of Home Affairs and Immigration, and Defence. The NLD party members and MPs are also involved in other groups, civil groups, and armed groups.
However, as mentioned above, when a Thai minister said that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi encouraged dialogue, some NLD party members and MPs seemed to be swayed by raising questions about how to prepare for a settlement with the military dictators and separate thoughts from the struggle of nearly 3 years of the Spring Revolution. There are rumors that they have made internal criticisms about the relations between the NUG, CRPH, NUCC, ERO, other forces on the ground, and the current joint forces. Therefore, some middle-aged leaders from allied armed ethnic groups point out that they always have doubts about whether they can work together in the short and long term because of some members and MPs from the big NLD party who tend to sway like that.
No matter what the observers say at the moment, it is a time when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to show more support to the NUG National Unity Government and the people of Myanmar. It is a time when most give the opinion that ASEAN and neighbor countries need to resolve the Myanmar issue with one voice and that there is no need to support the military dictator. During this upheaval, some of the members and MPs of the NLD party, which has a long history, will only need to continue marching together with the Spring Revolution and the people of Myanmar.