Releasing all 25,000-plus political detainees from junta jails would pave the way for dialogue to ensure the military steps down from involvement in politics.
Those who have fled war in Myanmar should be integrated into the larger fabric of Thai society and allowed to contribute, rather than being left on the border.
The two communities must not take the bait and succumb to regime-fostered intercommunal strife.
The junta boasted it would crush popular revolt in six months; two and a half years later the Spring Revolution is making rapid advances across the country.
Bangkok is bracing for a possible influx of Myanmar asylum seekers as the junta begins enforcing its compulsory military conscription.
Ellen Goldstein’s Damned If You Do pulls no punches in its excoriating account of World Bank incompetence amid crisis.
After six decades of political wrangling, assassinations and opium trading, Shan forces remain bitterly divided, lacking a common vision for their people.
Thailand should adopt a practical approach to identify non-junta partners on transboundary issues, including haze management.
The multiple crises on Thailand’s border sparked by the Myanmar junta’s failed coup could present opportunities for Bangkok, but so far its approach has been flawed.
As civil war grips western Myanmar, the prospect of repatriation for 1 million refugees is dimming – yet a viable mid-term solution lies near at hand.
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