Monday, February 19, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

A Quick Guide to Inle Lake and Nyaung Shwe

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 05:44 AM PST

Inle Lake is a uniquely Myanmar attraction that is very popular with tourists. It is famous for its floating gardens, fisherman who row canoes with one leg (Intha), and wooden houses on stilts.

Inle Lake is situated in southern Shan State, about 650km from Yangon. Nyaung Shwe is the principal town near the lake and offers many things to do while also being just a pleasant place to hang out.

Even though Inle Lake is surrounded by mountains, when summer comes it gets very hot. So winter, when the Phaungdawoo Pagoda festival is held, is the perfect time to visit.

How to get to Inle Lake

There are many options including private car, bus or train. You can choose the way that best suits you.

If you go by bus, it costs around USD18 for a round trip from Yangon and takes about 10 hours. The road is good but not straight. I recommended the following express bus services: JJ, Elite, Shwe Mandalar and Lumbini Express.

If you choose to fly, there are daily flights from Yangon to nearby Heho. At Heho airport you'll need to take a 30-km taxi ride to Nyaung Shwe. Some hotels provide ferries for their guests; you just need to ask your concierge.

Where to stay

There is a wide range of accommodation depending on your budget and how many days you intend to stay in the area.

The entrance of the Novotel Inle Lake Myat Min/ Novotel Inle Lake
A view from the Novotel Inle’s swimming pool/ Novotel Inle Lake

If you want to stay at a luxury hotel, the Novotel Inle Lake, Sanctum Inle Resort, Myanmar Treasure Inle Lake, Inle Princess Resort and View Point Lodge are popular accommodations. Prices at these hotels start from USD150 per night.

The main building of the Sanctum Inle Resort/ Sanctum Inle Resort

If you are traveling on a tighter budget or just want to save your money to spend more time in Inle, the Inle Apex Hotel, Aquarius Inn, and The Hotel Emperor Inle have attracted a lot of good reviews. Rooms at these hotels start at USD40 per night.

Please note that these hotels are simply the writer's choice and there are many other good accommodations from which to choose.

The entrance to the Inle Princess Resort / Inle Princess Resort

What to do in Inle Lake

Explore the lake by boat

Inle has really beautiful scenery and the combination of the lake and the surrounding hills offer an amazing landscape. You can enjoy this beautiful view by taking a boat, which also offers the best way to experience the floating villages, wooden houses on stilts, floating garden and many others things. It's safe and the experience is amazing.

Lunch and visit the Burmese Cat Village at Inle Heritage

If you are a cat lover, you will definitely fall in love with this place. The entrance is free. You can look around the cat village and all the cats are friendly with people.

Inle Heritage also has an organic garden and you can have a fresh lunch at reasonable prices, and enjoy the terrific views.

Mine Thouk Village and Bridge

Mine Thouk Village can be accessed by bicycle from Nyaung Shwe. It takes only 20 or 30 minutes to get there and there is a pretty wooden bridge called 'Mine Thouk Bridge'. It's a fun experience to walk on the wooden bridge and watch the floating tomato gardens of the nearby villages.

Inle has many things to do depending on your travel dates. So, what are you waiting for? Start planning for an adventure around Inle!

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Myanmar Receives List of Returnees From Bangladesh

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 05:36 AM PST

YANGON — Bangladesh has provided Myanmar with a list of more than 8,000 mostly Rohingya refugees to have their backgrounds checked prior to their return, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced Saturday, after a nearly one-month delay in the repatriation process.

The list of 8,032 refugees from 1,673 households was handed over to Home Affairs Minister Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe on Friday during a bilateral meeting at the Bangladeshi Home Affairs Ministry in Dhaka.

The first group of refugees on the list will be repatriated once their prior residence in Myanmar has been verified.

Myanmar’s Home Affairs Ministry said it also urged Bangladesh to investigate and provide information about a list of suspected members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army it had previously provided Dhaka.

It said the two countries also discussed the pending launch of liaison offices in Myanmar’s Maungdaw Township and Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar to coordinate security and combat the cross-border trade of illegal drugs.

Late last year, Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to start repatriating the hundreds of thousands of mostly Rohingya refugees who have fled northern Rakhine State since late 2016 on Jan. 23. But Bangladesh delayed the process while tensions were rising in the Cox’s Bazar camps and as some critics of the deal voiced concerns over the lack of security guarantees for those who would return.

Despite the ongoing preparations for repatriation, more than 2,500 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh just this year. According to government statistics, an average of 75 Rohingya fled their villages each day between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15.

Myanmar has said it was ready to start receiving the refugees as soon as Bangladesh sends it a list of names.

Minister of Labor, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe told reporters in Naypyitaw on Monday that Myanmar would check that the listed refugees had resided in Myanmar within a week and then inform Bangladesh to start the repatriation.

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Army, Police Raid Drug Labs in Northern Shan State

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 05:22 AM PST

Soldiers and anti-narcotics police raided illegal narcotics labs in the Lwalkhan village area of Kutkai Township and seized amphetamines, precursor ingredients and drug-making equipment valued at 9.96 billion kyat, the Defense Ministry said yesterday.

In a report the ministry said a joint team of Army and police personnel raided four locations, turning up 34 makeshift buildings used for the production of narcotics, 12 generators, 22 freezers, 210 barrels of acid, 165 barrels of diesel, 60 barrels of gasoline, 32 boilers, 200 bottles of acid, 600 2-liter cans of acid, 750 bags of caustic soda, 150 baskets of hydrogen peroxide, 487,1000 stimulant tablets, 13 kg of stimulant powder, 43 kg of brown opium and 23 other categories of related materials worth over 9.96 billion kyat in total.

The joint team conducted its operation in the area from February 15-17, but the report did not mention any arrests or suspects, or what led to the raid.

The report said the joint team would hand the narcotics and related materials to the police in Kutkai, adding that further operations would be conducted in the area.

U Taung Htay, a police officer based in Kutkai town, said, "No one has been arrested yet. We are still working on it. We are not yet sure how we will proceed; our officers are discussing it. The anti-narcotics police have not yet come to us to press charges," said the police officer.

He said those running the lab may have been tipped off before the raid.

"We found a lot of equipment, but they all ran away," said U Taung Htay.

The joint team of Army and police had to trek one-and-a-half hours from outside Lwalkhan village to where the small huts had been set up in the jungle, he said.

"We will arrest them soon, but we are still investigating. We have even informed Interpol," said U Taung Htay.

Kutkai Township in northern Shan State is the scene of ongoing fighting between the Myanmar Army and a joint force of TNLA, KIA, AA, and MNDAA fighters. Illegal opium is grown in large quantities in the area, which is also home to large-scale illegal amphetamine production.

A local militia group, Kawng Kha, is also based in the Kutkai area. The TNLA reported that Lwalkhan village is under the control of the Kawng Kha.

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Chin State Bans Hunting, Picking Rhododendron Flowers

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 05:19 AM PST

YANGON — The Chin State government has issued a public warning against picking Rhododendron flowers and hunting wildlife across the state.

Rhododendrons, which sprout the state flower, grow mainly in the townships of Mindat, Matupi, Falam and Tedim. Chin State Chief Minister Salai Lian Luai said his government has banned the cutting of Rhododendron tree branches and the picking of its flowers as well as hunting wildlife, a traditional source of livelihood for hill tribes in the state and beyond for centuries.

"The state counselor [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] has instructed us to conserve Rhododendron flowers. Now hornbills are on the verge of extinction. We will take action in line with existing laws if there are violations," he said.

Rhododendrons bloom in December and January, and Chin residents are not happy that visitors pick the flowers and cut its branches. Recent photos of some visitors cutting off Rhododendron branches drew criticism after spreading on social media.

“The Chin State government has sought comment from the state Advocate General's Office on imposing the official ban," said Mang Hen Dal, state minister of agriculture, livestock, forestry and mines.

He said violators would be punished under the Forestry Law and the Wildlife and Conservation of Natural Areas Law.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Government Rejects EU Call For Independent Investigation Into Rohingya Exodus

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 05:14 AM PST

Naypyitaw—In response to an EU parliamentary delegation's demand for an independent investigation into alleged suppression of Muslim minorities in northern Rakhine State, the Myanmar government has said it does not believe any foreign investigation would be independent and fair.

"Myanmar has cooperated with Yanghee Lee (the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar), who talked about an independent investigation. But the claims she made after her visit were not fair. Therefore, we won't agree to a fact-finding mission [sought by the EU], nor investigations by foreign countries," U Zaw Htay, spokesperson of the President's Office told The Irrawaddy.

The European parliamentary delegation, led by Pier Antonio Panzeri, visited Myanmar from Feb. 12-16, and during a press conference on Friday, the Italian politician called for the government to allow an independent investigation into human rights violations of Muslim minorities in northern Rakhine State.

Panzeri said that the latest developments in Rakhine State called for such an investigation because the report conducted by the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission was made some time ago, and did not cover the current situation.

"According to my experience, if democratic transition stalls for some reason, the country is likely to face renewed challenges that it had already experienced," he said.

U Zaw Htay said that there was a huge gap between the understanding of the Myanmar people and foreign countries' perception of the Rakhine issue. And that gap would continue to exist if foreign countries did not take the concerns and experiences of the Myanmar people into consideration.

"The majority [of Myanmar people] don't believe that an independent international investigation would be fair and independent. They don't think it is necessary," he said.

Over 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since Aug. 25 last year after the Myanmar military cracked down on insurgents in Rakhine State. The Myanmar government has rejected the UN's label of the military's activities as ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar's main problem is not the Rohingya issue, but democratic transition, ethnic affairs analyst U Maung Maung Soe said.

"Of 330 townships in Myanmar, this problem is happening in just two townships. An excessive focus on this problem will affect the democratic transition of the country. It is important for us to explain to the international community what is really important for the country," he said.

It would be difficult, he added, for any government to accept an international investigation, but the Myanmar government should allow access to information as much as possible.

Former Thai foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai, who was appointed by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to chair the Advisory Board of the Committee for the Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State, told The Bangkok Post that the civilian government and Myanmar Army had some differences over implementation of the recommendations submitted by the Annan commission.

The EU parliamentary delegation noted that over 650,000 people would not flee without reason, and demanded that EU representatives be allowed to visit the disputed area, adding that the case had upset the relations between Myanmar and the member states of the European group.

The UN's Lee has said that the Rakine issue is unlikely to reach an international court as Myanmar is not a member of the International Criminal Court and the UN Security Council is unlikely to declare the Tatmadaw's treatment of the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing because China, as a permanent member in UN Security Council, could veto such a declaration.

Surakiart suggested that the UN refugee agency, the International Red Cross Society and Asean countries should take part in the early stages of repatriating and resettling refugees from Bangladesh.

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Rakhine Gov’t Blames Misunderstanding for Complaints Over Waterside Project

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 05:02 AM PST

Sittwe—Following complaints from people who bought land at a new waterfront city project west of Rakhine State's capital Sittwe, the state government said that its project partner, BXT Co, had sold the plots without its permission because it did not understand the procedures.

"The company doesn't understand the procedures. So, it has sold land plots to the public without the permission of the government. In fact, it is not authorized to sell land," State Agriculture Minister U Kyaw Lwin told The Irrawaddy.

The project is a joint venture between Rakhine State government and Korea-based BXT to reclaim land on the western bank of the town and establish a new waterfront city.

After the land reclamation work was completed, and Rakhine State Transportation Minister U Aung Kyaw Zan and BXT officials held a press conference to publicize the project in Yangon on Dec. 28, the company started selling land plots on Jan. 6.

BXT sold the land at a price of 500,000 to 600,000 kyats per square feet of land with buyers also being asked to put down a deposit of one million kyats. The company handed over only receipts for payment but no other documents, said the buyers.

More than one month passed with no construction work being done on the site. Then on Feb. 13, the company informed the buyers they were required to pay 30 percent of the price of the plots in cash, which raised their suspicions.

"I bought the land because the government is involved in the project. [The company] said we will get a grant [for the land] and will build this and that. So, I bought it. But so far, they have done nothing," said physician U Maung Maung Than of Sittwe People's Hospital.

"The company showed us the design of the project and sold us land plots. And they asked us to pay 30 percent of the price while nothing has been done. So, we reported it to the chief minister and he said that the government didn't know about the sale of the land," said U Hla Maung Thein who also bought a land plot.

On Feb. 14, the government instructed BXT to stop selling land plots.

The project was launched in March 2016 on 90 acres of land as a 30-70 joint venture between the state government and BXT.

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How Prepared Is Myanmar To Counter Terror Attacks? 

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 04:39 AM PST

Concern is growing about possible terrorist attacks in Myanmar, and questions are being asked about the government's ability to counter such threats. We are not talking about the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) terrorists who provoked retaliatory operations from the military by staging attacks against security forces, innocent civilians, ethnic tribespeople and Hindus in northern Rakhine State.

We are talking about foreign terrorists who will surely try to exploit the situation by launching spectacular attacks in coordination with radical elements inside the country.

Myanmar is indeed vulnerable to such attacks.

Two weeks ago, Southeast Asian defense ministers issued a joint statement on the need for improved cooperation on and combating of Islamist militants and foreign fighters.

"We, the defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), note with grave concern the rise of terrorism in our region, perpetrated by individuals and groups with increasingly sophisticated and deadly tactics and weapons," they said at the conclusion of their two-day meeting in Singapore.

"The scale and complexity of the terrorist threat faced by our region continues to grow with the influx of returning foreign terrorist fighters and cross border movement of terrorists."

Indeed, the concern over a resurgence in radicalism in the region is real, with hundreds of Islamic State sympathizers known to be based in Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population.

In Yangon, foreign embassies have beefed up security and Myanmar authorities and immigration officials have stepped up surveillance and increased scrutiny of visa applications.

People from Middle Eastern and majority-Muslim countries are likely to face more scrutiny and possible denial of entry visas. Some security analysts believe it's only a matter of time before the country experiences a terror attack. Despite this, there has been no preparation for coping with the aftermath of such an attack. Who would step in to calm the public and prevent a bloodbath?

According to some analysts, the most vulnerable targets would be Myanmar's embassies around the region.

In 2014 an Indonesian court jailed an Islamic extremist bombmaker for seven-and-a-half years for his role in a plot to attack the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta. The suspect was reportedly seeking to avenge the killing of Rohingya (known as Bengalis in Myanmar).

In November 2016, police in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, arrested two men over another alleged plot to bomb the Myanmar Embassy, again in protest at the country's treatment of Bengalis or Muslims living in northern Rakhine.

Indonesian police show items recently seized, including weapons and bomb-making materials, that they say were intended for use in attacks on government buildings and the Myanmar Embassy, at police headquarters in Jakarta on Nov. 25, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

And in September 2017, a petrol bomb was thrown at the embassy in Jakarta as anger flared anew over violence against the Rohingya.

In January 2017, Malaysian authorities detained a suspected IS follower who was allegedly planning to head to Myanmar to carry out attacks. An Indonesian national, he was planning to perform jihad against the Myanmar government, according to counter-terrorism official Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.

These incidents show that the effects of sectarian unrest within Myanmar have spread outside the country. If left unchecked, they could further encourage extremists.

Helping hand from Jakarta 

Myanmar officials have sought assistance from Jakarta. A few weeks ago Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Security, Law and Political Affairs Wiranto said Jakarta will help Myanmar in coping with the possible emergence of terrorism in the country. "We want to help by sharing knowledge and experience to prevent terrorists from establishing new bases in the region," the minister said.

As IS is getting weaker and losing ground in the Philippines, it is highly possible that it will look to set up bases elsewhere in the region, he warned.  "It is impossible for one country alone to overcome terrorism; countries have to cooperate, as terrorism has no borders and is not bound by regulations," he said.

Myanmar has voiced concern over the threat of IS-linked militants slipping into the country alongside Rohingya refugees returning from Bangladesh, Wiranto said.

But if foreign terrorists want to launch spectacular attacks on Yangon or historic sites, they will need local partners to set up an infrastructure of extremists inside the country.

Some analysts familiar with terrorist organizations in the region said an al Qaeda-linked unit was more likely to strike than a pro-IS group.

Worryingly, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has made several strong statements in favor of jihad in defense of oppressed Muslims in Myanmar. The question is how high Myanmar is on AQAP and IS's list of priorities. It is assumed they have more pressing targets.

Last June, the Institution for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), which focuses on conflicts in Indonesia and the Philippines, released a report saying pro-IS groups in Southeast Asia are trying to recruit Bengali (Rohingya) migrants in Malaysia to join Islamic militants fighting Philippine security forces.

In the report, "How Southeast Asia and Bangladeshi Extremism Intersect," published in May, IPAC states that developments in Syria, Bangladesh, and Myanmar put the relationship between South and Southeast Asian extremists "on a much more dangerous footing."

Rohan Gunaratna, a security expert at Singapore's Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said IS operatives in the region were "determined to mount attacks both inside Myanmar and against Myanmar targets overseas".

"The highest threat to Myanmar emanates from Islamic State networks," Rohan said.

"The Rohingya conflict is emerging as one of the rallying issues for IS. At a strategic level, Myanmar should resolve the Rohingya conflict to prevent IS influence and expansion."

Rohingya refugees walk through water after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border at a port in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Oct. 25, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

But caution and greater analysis are needed.

Last year, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report that the coordinated attacks on Myanmar police in Rakhine State were carried out by a group called Harakah al-Yakin. While the group had links to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, it would be wrong to "over-interpret the significance of the international links", ICG said.

ARSA link to foreign terrorists

There is no doubt that ARSA has connections with foreign extremist groups, despite its blanket denials. For instance, Abdus Qadoos Burmi, a Pakistani of Rohingya descent, the group's mentor based in Karachi, has called for "jihad" in Myanmar and has well-documented links to Lashkar-e-Taiba (the Army of the Righteous), one of South Asia's largest Islamic terrorist organizations, whose operations are based mainly in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded in Afghanistan in 1987 with funding from now deceased al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. Abdus Qadoos has even appeared at meetings with Lashkar-e-Taiba supremo Hafiz Mohammed Syed.

ARSA is the real cause of concern and partly responsible for the flight of hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants. It has received foreign donations and training from broader Islamist terror networks in East Asia and militants in Bangladesh. In the camps, ARSA leaders have threatened refugees not to go back to Rakhine State and killed several camp leaders who wanted to take part in repatriation. ARSA members and local Bengalis who have coordinated with ARSA also committed several brutal killings against ethnic tribes in Rakhine State prior to the attacks in August. They are not freedom fighters; they are terrorists.

Authorities in Bangladesh are concerned about possible contacts between Bangladeshi extremists and ARSA. New Delhi has some concrete information on ARSA's connection to extremist groups in East Asia, particularly in Pakistan.

JI members from Indonesia are rumored to have visited Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and met with ARSA members. Analysts in Jakarta believe that Indonesian salafi preachers (they are non-violent) successfully traveled to Rohingya camps around Cox's Bazar. If they can get in without government clearance, presumably worse characters can as well.

Since 2014, foreign terrorists have staged attacks against Myanmar embassies around the region. Now the warning is of possible terrorist attacks inside Myanmar. Still, the government and military are unprepared. Analysts are also worried that homegrown terrorists who are familiar with the landscape should be on security officials' radar. Also on the watch list should be those sympathizers who are not necessarily local Myanmar or Burmese, but who live in the country.

If attacks happen in Myanmar, how long will it take for national leaders to appear on TV screens to address the country in order to prevent a bloodbath? Of course, there is also the danger of the light being turned off on Myanmar's fragile political transition. The government must ensure that human rights and the rule of law will not be impacted in the event of terrorist attacks. Even in northern Rakhine, we have seen reporters who went to cover stories unjustly arrested, charged and intimidated.

As always in Myanmar action is belated and coordination is messy. Public relations is appalling but the people in Myanmar deserve to know how prepared their government, security forces and national security experts are to prevent attacks and foil plots. The public should be aware of the possible scenarios and make preparations in case attacks take place. At the same time, the government must safeguard press freedoms, basic human rights and the rule of law.

The fact is, Myanmar is a basket case and cannot afford public mobilization exercises of the kind seen in Singapore (believed to be very much on foreign terrorists' radar) a few weeks ago. However, the public should be warned not to be complacent and know what to do in case of attack.

Cooperation with Jakarta is on the right track but much more needs to be done. It is time for Myanmar to start preparing for any possibility. The threat is real and a counterterrorism strategy is needed. Myanmar's luck in this area won't last forever.

The post How Prepared Is Myanmar To Counter Terror Attacks?  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Girl’s Rape, Murder Sparks Protest for Suspect’s Execution in Mandalay

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 12:36 AM PST

MANDALAY — About 1,500 residents of Mandalay Region’s Maddaya Township took to the streets on Sunday to demand the death penalty for the suspect in the Feb. 13 rape and murder of a two-year-old girl.

Ko Phyo Htet Aung, 23, a neighbor of the girl, Ma Sanyadi Myint, was arrested the day she was attacked.

"We want the culprit, and anyone who rapes and murders minors, to receive the death sentence and be executed in front of the public," said the girl’s grandmother, Daw San San Maw.

The girl’s parents left her at the grandmother’s house on Feb. 13 while they went out to collect firewood but found her missing when they returned. The girl was found later that day unconscious in a banana plantation on the outskirts of the village after she had been raped.

"We found the culprit had just run away, so I ran after him and punched him and he was arrested with the help of the other villagers. Then we handed him over to the police," U Hlaing Zin Myo, the girl’s father, told The Irrawaddy.

The parents rushed their daughter to the general hospital in Maddaya, where she died.

"We want him to be executed in front of us,” the father said. “I want to kill him with my own hands and I want him to suffer the way my daughter did.

"We do not want other families to suffer like us…. We want rapists who admit to this kind of violence to be seriously punished."

Police say Ko Phyo Htet Aung has been charged with rape and murder and that he was being detained at the main prison in the state capital Mandalay.

Authorities in Mandalay recorded two other rapes of children under 5 this month.

According the figures released by the Ministry of Home Affairs last week, 200 more rape cases of children under 16 were recorded across the country in 2017 than the year before.

During Sunday’s protest in Maddaya, some 1,200 people signed a petition they intend to submit to the union Parliament calling for the death sentence for rapists.

Daw Kin Saw Wai, a Lower House lawmaker from Rakhine State, made the same proposal during a session of Parliament earlier this month.

The post Girl’s Rape, Murder Sparks Protest for Suspect’s Execution in Mandalay appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ties Forged in ‘Brotherhood’

Posted: 19 Feb 2018 12:27 AM PST

During a three-day visit to Thailand, Myanmar military chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing spoke to reporters Wassana Nanuam and Kornchanok Raksaseri on the occasion of his receiving a second royal decoration from Thailand, the Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant. The reporters also asked him about the state of bilateral military relations, democratization, border issues and the crisis in Rakhine state.

How do you feel to have received the royal decoration?

I have received the royal decoration because [Myanmar] is a good neighboring country and the borders are 2,000 km long. We also have similar culture and religion.

The relationship between the two armed forces is quite good. This is why I have received the royal decoration, and I am proud of it.

The military leaders of both countries have been quite close for some years now.

I have had a close relationship with Thai generals starting with [chief of Defense Forces] Gen. Tanasak Patimapragorn’s predecessor, Gen. Songkitti [Jaggabatara].

The one I was closest to is Gen. Tanasak [who served in the post between 2011-2014] but I am also close to the others. His successors are Gen. Worapong [Sanganetra] and Gen. Sommai [Kaotira], then Gen. Surapong [Suwana-adth] and the current chief, Gen. Thanchaiyan [Srisuwan].

The close relationship led to trust and a better relationship between your military and mine.

The relationship between the two countries constantly develops.

The exchange of visits of leaders of the armed forces occurs often, especially Gen. Tanasak visiting Myanmar, and I also come to Thailand often.

Would you consider the relationship in the manner of friends or brothers?

We are like brothers.

Every time we meet, we exchange experiences.

Thailand is experienced in democracy and has passed so many things.

When we are close like brothers, we open up and share the experience.

The good things in this era contributed to the changes in Myanmar’s democracy.

The democratic process in Myanmar took place at the same time as the exchanges of experience.

The closer [the military leaders became], the more open the discussion between us.

Thailand is also in the process of going back to democracy at the moment. What can we learn from Myanmar? What is your advice?

Each country’s democracy has a different background. Myanmar’s background of democracy is one thing. Thailand’s democracy is different. We can only make use of good things we can apply, but we cannot say whose lessons should be applied to whom. In fact, a democracy or political system needs to be stable and not shaken. If it’s stable, the people will have confidence and live happily.

How will the countries cooperate in the future?

In many ways; so many.

Will there be joint training?

It depends on limitations and readiness. I cannot say right now. But I can assure there will be more cooperation.

How is the cooperation going on along the border?

We currently cooperate to fight drug problems. But drugs are not just an issue for Thailand and Myanmar but also a regional problem. It must be cooperation among every country in the region. In fact, we have to collaborate to prevent our children from being slaves of drugs. We have to prevent the problem from growing too. Every country must make drug eradication its first priority, as drug producers never think of society but only their own interests.

Recently you have reached a national ceasefire agreement. What is the latest situation of peace along the border?

My sincere intention is permanent peace along the Thai-Myanmar border. We will promote peace within Myanmar. While we were creating peace in Myanmar, Thailand also cooperated.

Did Thailand help during the peace talks?

No, just cooperation, not assistance, but that’s part of the promotion of peace in Myanmar.

How do you feel to be an adopted son of Privy Council President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda?

During the time when Gen. Tanasak was the defense chief, he gave me a chance to pay respects to Gen. Prem, who is the same generation as my father. When we met, we had an exchange of experiences, of being leaders. He [Gen. Prem] gave me advice. Being like father and son is very good and makes things better in many ways.

Do you have anything to say about the international community’s criticism of Myanmar over the problems in Rakhine State?

I would rather not talk about it. But I will only say that I will do my best to take care of the problem. Furthermore, in Myanmar there is no ethnic group called Rohingya. They are Bengalis who came from somewhere else. We will follow the laws. Now we are closely in touch with the Bangladeshi government.

The post Ties Forged in ‘Brotherhood’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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