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Thai FM Orders Protest Against Myanmar for Controversial Article
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai has instructed the Thai ambassador in Rangoon to lodge a strong protest to Myanmar government over a controversial article in a Myanmar official newspaper that is said to have insulted a much revered Thai monarchy, the Thai News Agency reported Friday.
Surakiat was quoted as saying that the state-run New Light of Myanmar on Monday published an article, which attacked a Thai King in the mid-19th century, distorting a Thai academic's work to accuse the monarch of wrongdoing.
He also ordered the Thai foreign ministry to summon the Myanmar ambassador in Bangkok to receive a memorandum on the protest, which is considered an act of the strongest protest in a diplomatic way.
The minister said he had called on the Myanmar government to step up efforts to ease the misunderstanding and give an assurance that the event would not happen again.
Surakiat said he had also assigned officials to stop spreading the distorted article since it has an English version and could be reached on the net.
The incident, he said, had caused a widespread discontent among Thai people, and it could inevitably cause damage to bilateral relations and impede efforts by governments of the two countries to normalize the ties.
After the incident, the Thai government is reportedly reviewing its stance towards Myanmar.
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