Gen Chavalit looking to the past
Source : Aung Zaw, Bangkok Post (April 20)
Aung Zaw is the editor of Irrawaddy Magazine
The deputy prime minister has been close to the military regime in Rangoon for over 13 years and his recent elevation to power provides him with an opportunity to upgrade close political and business links
The recent offer by deputy premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to assist Burma has indicated an attempt to shift Thai policy towards its western neighbour. Yet this shift may spell disaster for both Burma and Thailand.
Gen Chavalit said he would push for development in Burma, including the construction of a port and a coalmine as a means of helping to solve drug trafficking and cross-border crimes.
"I would like to see our neighbours become prosperous at the same time as we do. If we are developed while our neighbour continues to live in poverty, then peace will not be possible,"Gen Chavalit has been a true friend of Burma for at least 13 years now. Soon after the military crushed the democracy uprising in Burma in 1988, Gen Chavalit, who was then army chief-of-staff, was the first high-ranking foreign official to visit Burma, breaking the country's diplomatic isolation. Gen Saw Maung, Burma's coup leader, welcomed him. This was in December 1988, three months after the coup. The purpose of the trip was not only to boost the political and economic ambitions of Gen Chavalit, but to also expand Thai investment in resource-rich Burma.
Afterwards, scores of Thai businessmen went to Burma to sign logging and fishing contracts. According to official documents and analysts, at least 20 concession areas were granted along the Thai-Burma border and many fishery companies received permission to catch 250,000 tons of fish in Burmese waters. Thus critics of Thailand's new found friendship towards Burma began to describe the relationship as one based on the co-operative looting of Burma's resources by both Thai and Burmese generals.
More importantly, Gen Chavalit's action saved the generals in Burma, as the country's foreign exchange reserves were very low, prompting analysts to predict the military government was about to fall. Ordinary Burmese criticised these friendly ties between the two army leaders. At that time, Burmese activists in Thailand were used as pawns. When Gen Chavalit returned home with a pile of business contracts, Burmese activists who had fled to Thailand from political persecution were told to go back home, as were hundreds of student activists.
Now, the generals in Burma must indeed be delighted to see that their old friend Big Jiew has again assumed a high-ranking position in the government. However, most Burmese at home and abroad see this as sign of trouble.
Now, it seems, Gen Chavalit wants to help Burma again. Since he became deputy-prime minister and minister of defence, many have been expecting that his policy toward Burma will be based on business and personal ties. Gen Chavalit has made no attempt to deny this, and he has no shortage of ideas to help Burma. One of them is cross-border development. He has talked about a Salween dam project, a port in the Gulf of Martaban and a coalmine opposite Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Ambitious ideas indeed. Yet what Gen Chavalit omitted in his proposals was to consider Burma's ongoing problems and conflicts. On the border areas with Thailand, insurgency is a part of life. Also, Burmese leaders have still not demonstrated their sincerity about fighting the drug problem.
Gen Chavalit's cross border development proposals will remain meaningless if he cannot comprehend the existing problems in ethnic areas. Take a look at the United Wa State Army, accused by Thailand of manufacturing massive quantities of methamphetamines for the Thai market. Rangoon claims that the UWSA-controlled town of Mong Yawn has flourished because of its border development projects and mining concessions, yet it is nothing but a big headache for Thailand.
All that is clear at the moment is Gen Chavalit's claim that he wants to assist Burma. Or does he simply want to repeat his 1988 business deals? In any case, it is obvious that he is looking forward to returning to an out-dated arrangement with Rangoon that has done absolutely nothing to ameliorate the poverty of ordinary Burmese, but has boosted the fortunes of the generals and their friends.
In February, Gen Chavalit sent his trusted aides, including Gen Pat Akkanibutr, to Rangoon to attend the funeral of Lt-Gen Tin Oo, who died in a helicopter crash in South Burma. These aides also met high-ranking Burmese officials, including Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. Subsequently, Gen Pat Akkanibutr, chief adviser to Gen Chavalit, launched a friendship association with Burma in a bid to promote ties between the two. As things stand, however, Chavalit needs to garner more support for his plan.
in the home front, Chavalit faces some obstacles. Professional Thai army leaders dislike him, and his proposal to visit Burma was strongly criticised. Today, given the current military stalemate between the two countries, going to Burma could be seen as compromising Thailand's national interests.
It is also debatable how much good new deals with Burma would do to help Thailand resolve its own economic woes. Thailand has an energy surplus, as demand has decreased since the economic bust in 1997.
Unfortunately, Gen Chavalit has sent the wrong signals to both the Burmese people and the international community, even though the Burmese leaders might be thanking him for expressing his wish to help their country. Burma needs more than shortsighted solutions to end its social, economic and political crises. Hopefully Thais will also realise that what their country needs is reform, not a return to a flawed vision of development that has already cost the region more than anyone cares to calculate.