Thailand Considering Fence Along Myanmar Border

[george]

Thailand considering anti-drug fence along Thai-Myanmar border

BANGKOK: -- The Thai government is considering building a high-security fence along its border with Myanmar to stop drug traffickers coming into Thailand.

The proposal will be raised during an official visit to Bangkok by Myanmar’s Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt this Friday.

However, a Thai government spokesman has said that although the fence could be built on the Thai side of the border, there is still the issue of who will fund the project.

But how serious is the problem of drug trafficking, especially given last year’s high profile anti-drug drive in Thailand?

Felix Tan put this question to Professor Chaya Choke (CC), of the Department of International Relations at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok:

CC: “Well, after the campaign by the government, the fear is still there, but I think there is a kind of wait and see tactic by the drug traffickers. What I mean is this – a lot of those who are not caught are still around. They try to wait if the government is weakened or the government is not interested – the government might have other issues, so they can open the lid and come out again. Therefore, I think the feeling of the drug problem is still around.”

Who could be the biggest perpetrators of this drug smuggling ring, so to speak?

CC: “Well, you know, in terms of production and large amount would be coming from some of the minorities tribes in Burma. Of course we also have to admit that on the Thai side, we also have producers or manufacturers of drug as well, but the amount would not be as many as what has been produced in Burma.”

What kind of impact would this have on both countries, especially in terms of the lives of the Thais and the Burmese people?

CC: “Before answering the people as a whole, I think one has to see this – if Thailand and Burma has good relations, then the help from each other side, in terms of eradication of the drug trafficking would be to a high level, that means the drug traffickers would be hard pressed by the Thai government as well as the Burmese government. But as soon as we have problems with the Burmese and the Burmese have problems with the Thais, this sort of drug problems will be overlooked in one way or another. That is the problem. That is why Thai government tries to find many ways as possible to eradicate here and there. But if you talk about the people as a whole, actually, some the Burmese and the Burmese minorities, some of them have turned to become drug addicts as well. Therefore, it also hurt the Burmese who got into this sort of problems. But anyway, in terms of producers, according to my knowledge, the drug making is not that easy and it cannot be produced as much in a short time. It takes a long time to make or to produce some kinds of a drug. Therefore, if we slowly eradicate this sort of thing, it can help.”

I also understand that the Thai government has said that they intend to build a high-security fence along its border with Myanmar to stop these smugglers. Now, how would a fence help to address this problem of drug trafficking then?

CC: “Well, if you build a fence the border with your neighbours, first of all, you have to inform and have to be quite transparent in doing the thing – at least the Burmese government has to be informed and understood why it has to be built. But to me, if you ask whether it will be effective or not, or how it will go into stopping or producing drug trafficking, I do not quite believe that the fence will do any good. Why? Well, we have, along the land border, the Thais and Burmese have a common border for over 2,000 kilometres. Though it might include a little bit of short waterways and rivers and all that, but most of them are land. And over 2,000 kilometres like this, how could you build fences along the border. But again, in building a fence, you cannot station the soldiers at all spot and the drug traffickers can easily come in at night, come up to the fence and come through. So, I do not think that that will be effective except that we might try to slow down them approaching into Thai territory – that is all.”

What other options are being tried out at this moment?

CC: “Well, good relations between the two countries, first of all. And then we might have common patrol, at the same time; the Burmese government thinks that if they can see our sincerity in terms of eradication of the drugs, then they might try to help us by reducing the output within the border. We have to understand each other too, that the Burmese, they also have their problems too look after, therefore we cannot really ask them to go into drug eradication at all costs.”

Myanmar’s Prime Minister Gernal Khin Nyunt will be coming down to meet Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra on Friday. Now, will this issue of the anti-drug fence or even this issue of drug trafficking figure prominently in their meeting?

CC: “I think that this thing will be one of the major issue during the talks, but I think that General Khin Nyunt probably wants to make some kind of rewards and explain the situation in Burma in terms of its constitution, forum and reforms. I think that might be more important issue from the Burmese side.”

And that was Professor Chaya Choke, of the Department of International Relations at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, speaking to Felix Tan

Transcript: Radio Singapore 2004-06-01

[ovenman]

BANGKOK: -- The Thai government is considering building a high-security fence along its border with Myanmar to stop drug traffickers coming into Thailand.

A 2000 km fence? One wonders which government pooyai's relative is in the fence-construction business...?

[stumonster]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

sack him

or at least put him one of those inactive positions and give him 2000klms of gutters to sweep

[Yohan]

A fence would be a good idea to separate the Thai Muslim areas from the other part of Thailand and to grant some autonomy to that dangerous region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. It would help a lot to separate Islam and Buddhism and to clarify, where the Moslems have something to say, and where they have nothing to say. Might be a first step for a peaceful solution.

Johann

[castelleone]

[QUOTE]A fence would be a good idea to separate the Thai Muslim areas from the other part of Thailand and to grant some autonomy to that dangerous region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. It would help a lot to separate Islam and Buddhism and to clarify, where the Moslems have something to say, and where they have nothing to say. Might be a first step for a peaceful solution.
[/QUOTE]

Yohann, I dont think a fence, seperating the muslims would work. Thailand should solve its problems more pragmatically and rather one by one. The country can hardly "fight" too many battle fields. In any case, the idea of a "fence" sounds ridiculous to me and since the fall of the iron curtain fences are "out".

I cannot help it but have the feeling that the pm wants to distract from these main problems in Thailand such as poverty, drugs, muslim separation etc. by opening a side topic like the stakes in Liverpool.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

A fence would be a good idea to separate the Thai Muslim areas from the other part of Thailand and to grant some autonomy to that dangerous region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. It would help a lot to separate Islam and Buddhism and to clarify, where the Moslems have something to say, and where they have nothing to say. Might be a first step for a peaceful solution.

Johann

You are too late Yohann, Cheerless and Fearless Leader has already decided to fence off Malaysia. Like many, many of his ' good ideas ' nothing has, as yet, happened. He's primarily an idea's man.

[Up2U]

A fence would be a good idea to separate the Thai Muslim areas from the other part of Thailand and to grant some autonomy to that dangerous region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. It would help a lot to separate Islam and Buddhism and to clarify, where the Moslems have something to say, and where they have nothing to say. Might be a first step for a peaceful solution.

Johann

And where there are Buddhist families in Muslim villages, or Muslim families in Buddhist villages do you advaocate fencing-off individual houses? Or segregating and relocating families and communities as the British did with India in 1947?

Get real.

[castelleone]

[B]

And where there are Buddhist families in Muslim villages, or Muslim families in Buddhist villages do you advaocate fencing-off individual houses? Or segregating and relocating families and communities as the British did with India in 1947?

Get real.

Or as it did not work in Cyprus since 1974

[astral]

Clearly the persone who came up with this "wonderful suggestion"

has never visited the moutainous region that makes up the border with Myanmar. I would be a logistic nightmare costing BILLIONS to fence that border.

[englishoak]

what a brilliant idea well done that man! give him a bonus for constuctive effort

Muppets

[dfwbkk]

excellent going toxin...

[Yohan]

A fence would be a good idea to separate the Thai Muslim areas from the other part of Thailand and to grant some autonomy to that dangerous region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. It would help a lot to separate Islam and Buddhism and to clarify, where the Moslems have something to say, and where they have nothing to say. Might be a first step for a peaceful solution.

Johann

And where there are Buddhist families in Muslim villages, or Muslim families in Buddhist villages do you advaocate fencing-off individual houses? Or segregating and relocating families and communities as the British did with India in 1947?

Get real.

Where are these Thai Buddhists in the Muslim areas?

Can you explain me that?

Do you know, that over 82 percent there are ethnic Malays, who are Moslems and their native language is not Thai?

The rest - less than 20 percent - are also not Thais....mostly Hokkien Chinese from Kedah, Malaysia, and some Indians....

Thais are brought in from North by orders of the government as soldiers, policemen, government officials, teachers, railway workers and such jobs, and they are not from South, but from Central or Northern Thailand. Let them go home to their families....Nobody likes them there...

I think, you have never been in this Southern Thailand region.

Johann

[Yohan]

Yohann, I dont think a fence, seperating the muslims would work. Thailand should solve its problems more pragmatically and rather one by one. The country can hardly "fight" too many battle fields. In any case, the idea of a "fence" sounds ridiculous to me and since the fall of the iron curtain fences are "out".

European iron curtain was politically motivated, and after that period, reaction was 50/50 - Germany united, but others like Croats and Serbs separated....

You cannot keep even now the border open, as you like to suggest it, as in Europe you have still to watch the Eastern border against illegal immigrants, criminals...

The Eastern European Border is existing, in a less dangerous form, but it is existing to prevent that everybody can walk in and out as he likes.

USA is still constructing a giant fence against Mexico...and Hongkong has also a fence against China -I was thinking, Hongkong is now a part of China..right?

The fence alone is not enough in South Thailand of course, there should be a political system worked out as an autonom region for Moslems...it is their homeland, and in fact Thai Buddhists are there the real outsiders - 82 percent ethnic Malay is a clear and huge majority in that area....this cannot be denied.

Johann

[highlander]

Land mines, surely that would work

Ask the Koreans

[konangrit]

I was under the impression that parts of the Thai-Myanmar border were under dispute. Is this still the case? If it is, then that will be a show stopper in it's own right, let alone the technical, physical, and financial barriers to this project.

As usual absolutely no thought has been given as to how this can be implemented before they announce another head-line grabber to divert attention away from the real problems this country faces.

[splitlid]

Johann

You are too late Yohann, Cheerless and Fearless Leader has already decided to fence off Malaysia. Like many, many of his ' good ideas ' nothing has, as yet, happened. He's primarily an idea's man.

His ideas are so big they have their own solar system!!

[ASIC]

As far as I know, Columbia is quite far from the USA, and drugs still flow in like nobody's business. I don't think they drug lords would have any problem buying a few airplanes and some parachutes. The Myanmar fence is a joke.

ASIC

[sonthaya]

How about the Berlin wall

[snowleopard]

A fence would be a good idea to separate the Thai Muslim areas from the other part of Thailand and to grant some autonomy to that dangerous region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. It would help a lot to separate Islam and Buddhism and to clarify, where the Moslems have something to say, and where they have nothing to say. Might be a first step for a peaceful solution.

Johann

You are too late Yohann, Cheerless and Fearless Leader has already decided to fence off Malaysia. Like many, many of his ' good ideas ' nothing has, as yet, happened. He's primarily an idea's man.

Like many, many of his ' good ideas ' nothing has, as yet, happened.

He's often on the fence nowadays,isn't he!?

Is he too busy mending his own fences?

Snowleopard.

[Johpa]

I suppose that building a fence along the Burma border is an idea that rates right up there with other mahaa-great ideas emanating from the Land of Smiles, why rating right up there with the idea of buying massive pumps to control the flooding in Bangkok. Amazing Thailand. Now first they will just have to define the border a wee bit more precisely. Maybe we will get another dog and pony show up at Doi Lang.

[dfwbkk]