Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s discreet meetings with Myanmar opposition groups and some ethnic revolutionary organizations (EROs) to discuss possible solutions to the country’s ongoing civil war have not only failed to elicit a response from Myanmar’s military junta, but also left some EROs feeling uncomfortable.
Thaksin and his team met separately with representatives of revolutionary groups including the Karen National Union, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the Kachin National Organization and the National Unity Government in Chiang Mai in March and April. He also met with representatives from the Restoration Council of Shan State.
The meetings were unpublicized at the time but have been confirmed by Thailand’s new Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, a longtime associate of Thaksin. Maris said the talks were conducted on a private basis, and were not part of any official Thai foreign policy initiative.
Sources said Thaksin wished to mediate between the EROs and the junta, who have been fighting since Myanmar’s military seized power from an elected government in February 2021. The talks came as the junta struggles to contain a nationwide armed resistance movement that has inflicted a series of humiliating defeats on the regime, especially in the country’s north, west, southeast and south.
Thaksin is the de facto leader of Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party, though he holds no official position. The controversial former prime minister was accused of abusing his power and having autocratic tendencies during his tenure, and was convicted of corruption after being deposed by the army in 2006.
“We have to admit that Mr. Thaksin is well-known and has connections. Myanmar [the military junta] believes that he can help,” said the new foreign minister.
Thaksin, who is believed to be close to Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing, has reportedly requested permission to visit Myanmar. He visited Min Aung Hlaing in 2013 during a trip to the country, and had business interests there under the previous regime.
Since the meetings in March and April, however, the Myanmar junta has been silent on the issue, as well as on Thaksin’s visit request.
A well informed Thai source familiar with the matter said the meetings had backfired on Thaksin.
“Thaksin is now being grilled by the media and opposition. It’s good for him to step back without losing face, as Min Aung Hlaing didn’t respond to his request,” the source said.
On Wednesday, Thailand’s House Committee on State Security and Border Affairs, which is led by a key MP of the opposition Move Forward party, announced it would investigate Thaksin’s talks with anti-junta groups, saying the meetings could cause confusion regarding Thailand’s role in restoring peace in the neighboring country.
Sources also said the Thai army is keeping a close watch on those whom Thaksin has been meeting, including the Myanmar opposition groups and EROs. They said the ethnic armed organizations and EROs based along the Thai-Myanmar border are not sure whether the Royal Thai Army is happy to see Thaksin meeting with such groups, as some of the EROs are militarily active.
One source from an ERO that participated in a meeting said Thaksin brought a formal document, granting himself the authority to act as a mediator, for each group to sign, Thai news website The Nation reported.
“No group has signed the document presented by Thaksin,” the source said, citing concerns over upsetting the Thai government.
Furthermore, the meetings didn’t go as the former prime minister had hoped. During talks with the NUG, Thaksin was only able to meet with mid-level officials from the shadow government despite expressing a desire to meet with its senior leadership.
U Aung San Myint, Secretary 2 of the KNPP, told The Irrawaddy that during his meeting with the group, Thaksin said he wanted to mediate Myanmar’s ongoing issues.
“We didn’t strike any agreement with him. We said now is not the time for dialogue. We discussed how humanitarian assistance could be helpful for people as there is fighting. We didn’t discuss anything else,” he said.
Despite Thaksin’s eagerness to mediate the Myanmar crisis, another Thai source familiar with the situation doubted he would be able to do so, as Thaksin has little fresh information about the Myanmar situation.
The source said that rather than just listening to him, the Myanmar opposition side really needs to feed Thaksin information on the situation in the country.
“If they just go and listen to him, this is not the right approach; tell him what he needs to know and do not mislead him,” the Thai analyst, who has met Thaksin, said last week.
Rangsiman Rome, a key MP of the Move Forward party and the chair of the House Committee on State Security and Border Affairs, asked in what capacity Thaksin hosted the meetings.
“Thaksin has no position in this government and the government did not assign him to create peace in Myanmar,” he said.
“Any talks with Myanmar’s warring groups should only be conducted by legitimate and authorized representatives,” Rangsiman added.
So far, neither Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin nor Foreign Minister Maris have said anything critical about Thaksin’s meetings.
