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Considering the influence of the Thai military in relations with Myanmar

Considering the influence of the Thai military in relations with Myanmar

The new candidates for the Thai parliament, led by the leader of the Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the Thai election, Pita Limjaroenrat, entered the Thai parliament for the first time on June 27 after being approved by the Thai Election Commission.

A coalition of eight parties, including the Move Forward party, which analysts hope will resolve the Myanmar crisis, has won 312 seats in the Thai parliament.


photo credit - The Nation

According to the Thai constitution drafted and enforced by the military, 376 votes from both upper and lower houses of parliament are needed to be approved and appointed the new prime minister.

As the Senate has up to 250 members appointed by the Thai military, Pita, the leader of the Move Forward party, who came up with the slogan of removing the Thai military from the political arena, was uncertain about getting the position of Thai prime minister.

In a meeting with the media at the Thai Parliament on June 27, Pita said that he has received enough votes in the Thai parliament to be appointed as prime minister.

The leader of the Move Forward Party, Pita, said that he met and talked with many MPs. He talked about getting a promise from the MPs elected by the people for the position of Prime Minister that they would not oppose the person appointed.

Regardless of the new Thai government's policy changes, U Aung Thu Nyein, a Myanmar affairs analyst based in Thailand, considers that the influence of the Thai military will remain in relations with Myanmar.



"Throughout the Thai Myanmar relations policy, the Thai military has taken the main place. So, even if you want to change, there is a sense that you won't get much. Another thing is that in recent years, the Democratic government has become more difficult. When it comes to Myanmar affairs, the Thai military often takes over for security reasons. The border between Thailand and Myanmar is over 2,400 km. He started putting their party's policy as Human Security. Security is broad. In addition to our traditional security, we think that refugees and IDPs, domestic war refugees, and such issues will be mainly dealt with. "

When the leader of the Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, became the Prime Minister of Thailand, On June 20, he published a five-point statement on his Facebook and Twitter pages about what the policy will be applied to Myanmar affairs.

If Move Forward comes to power, Erich Parpart, a senior editor of the English-language Thai Enquirer magazine, said that the party's position has been briefly published as relations with Myanmar, which is ruled by a military council, have become uncomfortable and critics have expressed concern that Thailand's interests will be harmed.


"If you look at what Pita wrote about the Myanmar issue, if he becomes the prime minister, he will continue to implement the five ASEAN common agreements. The most obvious thing is to establish a corridor to provide humanitarian aid to Myanmar and accept more refugees from Myanmar.

As the Move Forward party, we will emphasize human rights; We have said that we will apply a rule-based policy. Therefore, the new Thai government will show more opposition to the actions of the Burmese military council. The previous time when Myanmar military jets entered Thailand's territory, there was no strong reaction from the Thai government, but the upcoming civilian government may see a stronger reaction. In any case, the new Thai government will definitely need to cooperate with the Thai military when it comes to Myanmar affairs. Until now, the Thai military has not said anything about the statements of Pita, the leader of the Move Forward Party for Myanmar Affairs.

Thai parliament meetings will begin on July 3, and voting for a new prime minister will begin on July 13, according to Reuters.


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