Myanmar Spring Chronicle – April 07
MoeMaKa, April 08, 2024
Myawaddy, where the military council’s authority has dwindled
Myawaddy, situated in Karen State, and Mae Sot City in Thailand’s Tak District, are neighboring border towns divided by the Thaungyin River. Since Myanmar’s socialist era, known as the Masala period, Mae Sot has thrived as a hub for border trade, facilitating the exchange of goods between Thailand and Myanmar through border gates like Hpalue and Waw Lay. Following the 1988 uprising, the Mae Sot-Myawaddy route became increasingly busy, serving as a vital trade conduit officially recognized under the SLORC junta regime. Over three decades, Myawaddy has flourished into a bustling town, thanks to infrastructure development like the Myawaddy-Kawkareik-Indu Highway, constructed with financial aid from institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, facilitating smoother and faster transportation.