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Myanmar Govt on Border Incidents with Thailand
A Myanmar government information sheet said on Monday evening that in its recent campaign against the Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA), an anti-government Shan ethnic armed group led by Lieutenant-Colonel Ywet Sit, great care was exercised by the Myanmar side to ensure that their shells and bullets did not stray into Thailand.html target=_blank>Thailand.
The statement said such assurance was made more difficult as the SURA camps were located right on the Myanmar-Thai border line which stretches for over 2,080 kilometers.
It maintained that the campaign launched against SURA was purely for eradicating the scourge of narcotic drugs.
It stressed that Myanmar has never allowed anti-government organizations from neighboring countries to operate from its territory.
It complained that this "good-neighborly" policy was not reciprocated by Thailand as these organizations continue to enjoy refuge and sanctuary in that country.
It disclosed that the situation in the border region has not returned to normal with the border still closed due to existence of some tension which it said arose out of the organizations being allowed to operate along the border and even within Thai territory.
It said Myanmar would like to see the return of peace and tranquillity to the two countries' border without further deterioration in the relations between the two sides, emphasizing that it has always been Myanmar's policy to make big issues become smaller and for smaller ones to be resolved completely.
It warned that it is time for Thai officials, including military officers, to stop providing support and assistance to " insurgent groups", which it said the main reason for the present unhappy situation.
Meanwhile, Thailand charged Myanmar troops with intrusion of Thai territory, saying that Myanmar soldiers seized one of its border outposts on February 10 and hit Mae Sai with stray shells during a battle against the SURA.
The tension between the two countries has prompted Thailand to shut down the Mae Sai border check point.
Thailand has urged Myanmar to show goodwill by not deploying excessive troops near the Thai border, warning Yangon not to divert attention from the real cause of the problem that Myanmar troops had encroached on the Thai soil, while Thailand has taken the leading role in drug suppression.
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