Thai police have been alerted to arrest anyone related to Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) found to be staying in Thailand.
The kingdom’s intelligence sources said the alert was issued a few months ago. Law enforcement officials have also been ordered to raid places suspected of sheltering NUG members—especially ministers and deputy ministers—who have been opposing Myanmar’s military regime.
Since the regime’s crackdowns on its protesters in late March, many regime opponents have fled to neighboring Thailand either to evade arrest or to continue their resistance activities. Some NUG members are believed to be among them.
The parallel government was formed mostly by elected lawmakers from the ousted National League for Democracy and their ethnic allies, and has sought to topple the regime by all means since its formation in April.
So far, no one has been arrested. However, with the NUG’s call for war on the regime on Tuesday, many fear Thai authorities will crack down on them.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is close to Myanmar coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and his government’s policies favor the junta. A few months ago, journalists and their associates from Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), a Myanmar online news site outlawed by the regime, were arrested for illegal entry by Thai authorities after they were found to be staying in Chaing Mai in the country’s north. They were later deported to a third country.
Since the coup, Thailand has reportedly told diplomats that it will not accept anyone who is in the opposition to the regime, but would allow those fleeing the military’s persecution to transit if the international community provides them support and shelter.
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