THAILAND JUNTA PALS WITH BURMA BOSSES
AFP
Trekking through dense jungle and mountainous terrain at night to avoid arrest, one couple from Myanmar endured a gruelling journey to Thailand -- grasping for an economic lifeline as jobs dry up in their coup-hit home.
Trekking through dense jungle and mountainous terrain at night to avoid arrest, one couple from Myanmar endured a gruelling journey to Thailand -- grasping for an economic lifeline as jobs dry up in their coup-hit home.
© Handout Undocumented migrants who are intercepted by the Thai authorities are immediately detained and processed for deportation
Myo Chit and his wife are among thousands of migrants who have made the crossing in recent months, spurred by the twin crises of a pandemic-hit economy and turmoil triggered by the junta's ousting of Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government.
Myo Chit and his wife are among thousands of migrants who have made the crossing in recent months, spurred by the twin crises of a pandemic-hit economy and turmoil triggered by the junta's ousting of Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government.
© Handout With borders between Thailand and Myanmar closed since the start of the pandemic, migrants have no choice but to make the journey illegally
Their two-day journey from Myanmar's coastal Tanintharyi Region took them through corn farms, rubber plantations and dense jungle before they reached the porous border, where they crossed into Thailand's Kanchanaburi province with the help of a smuggler.
Their two-day journey from Myanmar's coastal Tanintharyi Region took them through corn farms, rubber plantations and dense jungle before they reached the porous border, where they crossed into Thailand's Kanchanaburi province with the help of a smuggler.
© Handout Thai authorities say there is no tolerance in Bangkok for illegal migration
There they risked arrest and immediate processing for deportation by Thai police.
The couple then travelled to Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok, where Myanmar migrants have historically found work.
But for undocumented migrants in Thailand, life under the radar is grim.
Many spend their nights in overcrowded housing, or in the homes of friends and relatives, and their days evading authorities.
"But we could not stay (in our town)... we had to think about the future of our children," 45-year-old Myo Chit told AFP, using a pseudonym for fear of being tracked down by the Thai authorities.
He eventually secured the job he was desperate for at a clothing dye factory, earning $10 a day.
With a six-year-old child and an infant left in his in-laws' care in Myanmar, Myo Chit said leaving was difficult but had to be done.
"We could not stay there because of high prices -- we had to leave our village," he said. "We came here just to earn money."
- 'It is hard' -
Myanmar workers have long sought jobs in neighbouring Thailand. Pre-pandemic, an estimated two million were living and working in the kingdom.
With borders closed since March 2020, migrants have no choice but to make the journey illegally.
There is no official data on the size of the influx, but experts say one indicator is the number of migrants who have been caught by authorities.
In the months after Myanmar's February 1 coup, the number of arrests tripled, according to Thai government figures.
It peaked in November with more than 6,000 migrants intercepted -- more than a 10-fold increase from the 560 people arrested in January.
According to Geraldine Ansart, the International Organization for Migration's Thailand mission chief, for each person arrested, "it is realistic to assume that... at least one other Myanmar national could cross the border without being apprehended".
Thai-based migrant rights activist Roisai Wongsuban said the spike in arrivals is due to Myanmar's post-coup economic crisis, which has seen inflation soar and work opportunities evaporate.
With food prices doubling and fuel costs spiking as the value of the kyat, Myanmar's currency, plummeted against the US dollar, many people became destitute, she said.
"It is hard for ordinary people."
Seasonal workers, who for years had travelled in and out of Thailand, were left in the lurch after Covid-spurred border closures.
"The border has been closed for so long that there is no legal pathways for workers who want to come back to Thailand," Roisai added.
Thai army spokesman General Santipong Thammapiya said it was mainly Thailand's reopening to tourists in November that was drawing Myanmar workers back -- many of whom staff the kingdom's vital industries, including the service and restaurant sector.
"Workers... wanted to come back," he told AFP. "They also trust the Thai healthcare system, which can provide treatment for Covid."
- Zero tolerance -
Demand for Myanmar workers is high in Thailand, where -- given their status -- they have no choice but to accept lower wages.
According to the labour ministry, there is a shortage of up to 200,000 workers in Thailand.
But according to Santipong, there is no tolerance in Bangkok for illegal migration, and those arrested making the attempt are sent "for legal processing followed by... repatriation", he said.
Despite the obstacles, two people smugglers operating near Kanchanaburi province's Three Pagodas Pass border crossing told AFP business has been good.
Prices to make the crossing range from 13,000 to 25,000 Thai baht ($380 to $750), and desperation drives thousands to pay.
"Some are arrested, but there are even more people who are not," one smuggler told AFP on condition of anonymity.
bur-dhc/ser/pdw/dva
There they risked arrest and immediate processing for deportation by Thai police.
The couple then travelled to Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok, where Myanmar migrants have historically found work.
But for undocumented migrants in Thailand, life under the radar is grim.
Many spend their nights in overcrowded housing, or in the homes of friends and relatives, and their days evading authorities.
"But we could not stay (in our town)... we had to think about the future of our children," 45-year-old Myo Chit told AFP, using a pseudonym for fear of being tracked down by the Thai authorities.
He eventually secured the job he was desperate for at a clothing dye factory, earning $10 a day.
With a six-year-old child and an infant left in his in-laws' care in Myanmar, Myo Chit said leaving was difficult but had to be done.
"We could not stay there because of high prices -- we had to leave our village," he said. "We came here just to earn money."
- 'It is hard' -
Myanmar workers have long sought jobs in neighbouring Thailand. Pre-pandemic, an estimated two million were living and working in the kingdom.
With borders closed since March 2020, migrants have no choice but to make the journey illegally.
There is no official data on the size of the influx, but experts say one indicator is the number of migrants who have been caught by authorities.
In the months after Myanmar's February 1 coup, the number of arrests tripled, according to Thai government figures.
It peaked in November with more than 6,000 migrants intercepted -- more than a 10-fold increase from the 560 people arrested in January.
According to Geraldine Ansart, the International Organization for Migration's Thailand mission chief, for each person arrested, "it is realistic to assume that... at least one other Myanmar national could cross the border without being apprehended".
Thai-based migrant rights activist Roisai Wongsuban said the spike in arrivals is due to Myanmar's post-coup economic crisis, which has seen inflation soar and work opportunities evaporate.
With food prices doubling and fuel costs spiking as the value of the kyat, Myanmar's currency, plummeted against the US dollar, many people became destitute, she said.
"It is hard for ordinary people."
Seasonal workers, who for years had travelled in and out of Thailand, were left in the lurch after Covid-spurred border closures.
"The border has been closed for so long that there is no legal pathways for workers who want to come back to Thailand," Roisai added.
Thai army spokesman General Santipong Thammapiya said it was mainly Thailand's reopening to tourists in November that was drawing Myanmar workers back -- many of whom staff the kingdom's vital industries, including the service and restaurant sector.
"Workers... wanted to come back," he told AFP. "They also trust the Thai healthcare system, which can provide treatment for Covid."
- Zero tolerance -
Demand for Myanmar workers is high in Thailand, where -- given their status -- they have no choice but to accept lower wages.
According to the labour ministry, there is a shortage of up to 200,000 workers in Thailand.
But according to Santipong, there is no tolerance in Bangkok for illegal migration, and those arrested making the attempt are sent "for legal processing followed by... repatriation", he said.
Despite the obstacles, two people smugglers operating near Kanchanaburi province's Three Pagodas Pass border crossing told AFP business has been good.
Prices to make the crossing range from 13,000 to 25,000 Thai baht ($380 to $750), and desperation drives thousands to pay.
"Some are arrested, but there are even more people who are not," one smuggler told AFP on condition of anonymity.
bur-dhc/ser/pdw/dva
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Cambodia’s Hun Sen in Myanmar to meet military leaders
Cambodia’s Hun Sen in Myanmar to meet military leaders
BOTH CHINA SATELLITE STATES
By ELAINE KURTENBACH
Protesters burn an image of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a rally against the upcoming visit to Myanmar by the Cambodian leader who is also the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, on Jan. 3, 2022 in Mandalay, Myanmar. Prime Minister Hun Sen begins a visit to strife-torn Myanmar on Friday, Jan. 7, that he hopes will invigorate efforts by Southeast Asian nations to start a peace process, but critics say will legitimize the rule of the military that took power last year and its campaign of violence. (AP Photo)
The Myanmar military has a history of bloodshed, including a brutal campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Its seizure of power provoked nationwide nonviolent demonstrations, which security forces have quashed with deadly force. The military has recently engaged in violent suppression of all dissent, disappearances, torture and extra-judicial killings. It has also launched air strikes and ground offensives against ethnic armed rebel groups.
Security forces have killed about 1,443 civilians, according to a detailed tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. As the crackdown has become more severe, an armed resistance has grown inside the country.
Hun Sen was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, the current ASEAN special envoy, and other top Cambodian leaders.
Hun Sen, who has retained power by exiling or imprisoning the Cambodian opposition, may be hoping his visit will burnish his own tarnished international image.
The National Unity Government, an underground Myanmar opposition group and parallel administration, also urged Hun Sen to stay away.
“Meeting Min Aung Hlaing, shaking blood-stained hands. It’s not going to be acceptable,” said Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for the group who uses one name.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Myanmar’s leader will continue to be excluded from ASEAN meetings unless some progress is made.
“Should there be no significant progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, Myanmar should only be represented at a non-political level at ASEAN meetings,” Widodo tweeted after speaking to Hun Sen.
Associated Press journalists Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Kiko Rosario in Manila, Philippines, and Jerry Harmer and Patrick Quinn in Bangkok contributed to this report.
By ELAINE KURTENBACH
In this photo is provided by Cambodia's government state news agency AKP, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen waves from a plane before heading to Myanmar, at Phnom Penh International Airport, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Friday, Jan. 7, 2022.
(Khem Sovannara/AKP via AP)
BANGKOK (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is visiting Myanmar, seeking to revive a diplomatic initiative to restore peace following a military takeover nearly a year ago. Critics contend his mission will just legitimize the army’s seizure of power.
Live video on Hun Sen’s official Facebook page showed Hun Sen, the first head of state to visit Myanmar since the military seized power last February, being welcomed by senior Myanmar officials after his arrival in the capital of Naypyitaw early Friday. Myanmar’s state media also broadcast his arrival.
In his role as the current chairperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Hun Sen will meet with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging the country into violent conflict and economic disaster.
Hun Sen is himself an authoritarian leader who has held power for 36 years and keeps a tight leash on political activity in Cambodia.
Cambodia holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Hun Sen plans to meet with Myanmar’s leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to promote a five-point peace plan for Myanmar endorsed by ASEAN last year.
Hun Sen said on Wednesday in Phnom Penh that he had not set any pre-conditions before his visit.
“What I would like to bring to the talks is nothing besides the five points, consensus points that were agreed upon by all ASEAN member states,” he said late Wednesday.
Last April, ASEAN leaders mutually agreed with Min Aung Hlaing on a five-point roadmap toward a peaceful settlement, which included an end to violence and the start of political dialogue between all stake-holders. The Myanmar leader was barred in October from attending ASEAN meetings after the then-ASEAN special envoy was prevented from meeting with Suu Kyi and other political detainees.
Myanmar’s military has said Hun Sen also will not be allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, who was convicted in December on charges of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions and sentenced to four years in prison — a sentence that Min Aung Hlaing then cut in half.
The army’s takeover prevented Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party from beginning a second term in office. It won a landslide victory in national elections in November 2020 and independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.
Min Aung Hlaing’s move undid 10 years of progress toward democracy as the army loosened its grip on power after decades of repressive military rule.
BANGKOK (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is visiting Myanmar, seeking to revive a diplomatic initiative to restore peace following a military takeover nearly a year ago. Critics contend his mission will just legitimize the army’s seizure of power.
Live video on Hun Sen’s official Facebook page showed Hun Sen, the first head of state to visit Myanmar since the military seized power last February, being welcomed by senior Myanmar officials after his arrival in the capital of Naypyitaw early Friday. Myanmar’s state media also broadcast his arrival.
In his role as the current chairperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Hun Sen will meet with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging the country into violent conflict and economic disaster.
Hun Sen is himself an authoritarian leader who has held power for 36 years and keeps a tight leash on political activity in Cambodia.
Cambodia holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Hun Sen plans to meet with Myanmar’s leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to promote a five-point peace plan for Myanmar endorsed by ASEAN last year.
Hun Sen said on Wednesday in Phnom Penh that he had not set any pre-conditions before his visit.
“What I would like to bring to the talks is nothing besides the five points, consensus points that were agreed upon by all ASEAN member states,” he said late Wednesday.
Last April, ASEAN leaders mutually agreed with Min Aung Hlaing on a five-point roadmap toward a peaceful settlement, which included an end to violence and the start of political dialogue between all stake-holders. The Myanmar leader was barred in October from attending ASEAN meetings after the then-ASEAN special envoy was prevented from meeting with Suu Kyi and other political detainees.
Myanmar’s military has said Hun Sen also will not be allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, who was convicted in December on charges of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions and sentenced to four years in prison — a sentence that Min Aung Hlaing then cut in half.
The army’s takeover prevented Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party from beginning a second term in office. It won a landslide victory in national elections in November 2020 and independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.
Min Aung Hlaing’s move undid 10 years of progress toward democracy as the army loosened its grip on power after decades of repressive military rule.
Protesters burn an image of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a rally against the upcoming visit to Myanmar by the Cambodian leader who is also the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, on Jan. 3, 2022 in Mandalay, Myanmar. Prime Minister Hun Sen begins a visit to strife-torn Myanmar on Friday, Jan. 7, that he hopes will invigorate efforts by Southeast Asian nations to start a peace process, but critics say will legitimize the rule of the military that took power last year and its campaign of violence. (AP Photo)
The Myanmar military has a history of bloodshed, including a brutal campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Its seizure of power provoked nationwide nonviolent demonstrations, which security forces have quashed with deadly force. The military has recently engaged in violent suppression of all dissent, disappearances, torture and extra-judicial killings. It has also launched air strikes and ground offensives against ethnic armed rebel groups.
Security forces have killed about 1,443 civilians, according to a detailed tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. As the crackdown has become more severe, an armed resistance has grown inside the country.
Hun Sen was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, the current ASEAN special envoy, and other top Cambodian leaders.
Hun Sen, who has retained power by exiling or imprisoning the Cambodian opposition, may be hoping his visit will burnish his own tarnished international image.
The National Unity Government, an underground Myanmar opposition group and parallel administration, also urged Hun Sen to stay away.
“Meeting Min Aung Hlaing, shaking blood-stained hands. It’s not going to be acceptable,” said Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for the group who uses one name.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Myanmar’s leader will continue to be excluded from ASEAN meetings unless some progress is made.
“Should there be no significant progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, Myanmar should only be represented at a non-political level at ASEAN meetings,” Widodo tweeted after speaking to Hun Sen.
___
Associated Press journalists Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Kiko Rosario in Manila, Philippines, and Jerry Harmer and Patrick Quinn in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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