Es gibt mal wieder etwas neues von der Grenze Mae Sot/Myawaddy. Wie ich bereits schrieb, geht es hier nicht um ein thai-burmesisches Problem, sondern um einen inneren Konflikt mit der DKBA und der burmesischen Diktatur.
Auf eine Übersetzung verzichte ich und unterstelle jeden, der in Thailand lebt und es betrifft, dass er entsprechend auch der englischen Sprache mächtig ist. Hierzu jetzt ein offizielles Statement dazu:
Quelle:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=19208
Border Closure May Last Longer than Expected
MAE SOT — After a meeting last week between Thai and Burmese officials failed to resolve the impasse over Burma's decision to close the border crossing at Mae Sot, Thailand, it appears that businessmen, traders and migrant workers will have to continue their anxious wait for the border to reopen.
Burmese military officials led by Lt-Gen Khin Zaw, chief of the Bureau of Special Operations-4 overseeing the coastal and southeast regional military commands, met Thai officials of the 4th Infantry Division, which is based in Tak Province and is tasked with securing nearly 2,000 square kilometers of Thailand’s border.
At the meeting, Khin Zaw would reportedly not guarantee the border would open in the near future. Confirming the suspicions of some observers, he said the dispute between the two countries over a Thai construction project maintaining the bank of the Moei River is not the only reason for closing the border. Border security concerns due to tensions over the Burmese regime's Border Guard Force (BGF) plan are also an issue.
“The Burmese general [Khin Zaw] told his Thai counterparts at the meeting that Burmese troops will launch an offensive against splinter groups of the DKBA [Democratic Karen Buddhist Army] if there is resistance on the BGF,” said a Thai military source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He also gave notice to Thai military officials that some accidents could occur on the border during the attacks.”
A Burmese intelligence officer in Myawaddy also told The Irrawaddy recently that the border may not reopen soon because the situation is complicated, and suggested that different reasons forced Naypyidaw to keep the border closed.
“This time the order came from top generals in the capital. So even a regional commander such as Maj-Gen Thet Naing Win could not decide to open the border,” the officer said. “The dispute over construction on the river is quite a small issue—the Thai-Burma relationship and security along the border are the main reasons for closing the border.”
“The generals also ordered commanders here to take action to avoid more DKBA splinter groups and not allow those that have already deserted to unify with the KNU [Karen National Union] in the strategic region on the border with Thailand,” he said.
Following the border closure on July 18, the Burmese junta reinforced its troops in the DKBA’s mobilized areas. Thai intelligence sources said they believed several light infantry battalions from the north of Burma are now deployed on the Thai-Burmese border, joining with other troops stationed there.
Thai intelligence sources said a DKBA splinter group of an estimated 1,200 troops led by Col. Saw Lah Pwe, also known as Mr. Beard, was moving to the south of Myawaddy because government troops were hunting them. The sources said Saw Lah Pwe's troops intended to join other troops in the Three Pagoda Pass area of Mon State.
Security analysts said Naypyidaw is quite concerned that a DKBA unification with their former comrades in the KNU could return the situation on Burma’s strategic eastern border to the tumultuous period before the fall of the KNU’s headquarters in Manepalaw in 1995. Manepalaw had survived the Burma army’s offensives until the KNU’s Buddhist troops split and formed the DKBA.
In addition, the Burmese generals in Naypyidaw believe that control over the their eastern border is important to deter external as well as internal threats. According to Burmese military sources, the generals often say at meetings that a “powerful country” could attack Burma from the east, noting Thailand’s close cooperation with the United States in military affairs.
Along its border with Thailand, the Burmese military has reportedly deployed four regional military commands, two light infantry divisions, one regional operations command, seven military operations commands, three sector operations centers, five artillery operations commands, two air-defense operations commands and six missile operations commands.
Meanwhile, in July the Thai government gave its approval to the Royal Thai Army to spend 10 billion baht (US $ 313 million) to form the new 7th Infantry Division with 25,000 troops to be based in Chiang Mai. The Thai government also gave the army permission to spend 5 billion baht ($156.5 million) to purchase 121 armored personal carriers and 350 million baht ($11 million) to purchase a reconnaissance airship, Thai media reported.
According to Matichon newspaper, the Thai Third Army commander, Lt-Gen Thanongsak Apirakyothin, said on the forming new division: “It's based on our assessment of the threats in the western and northern parts of the country.”