Anti-military groups doubt news of Thai FM meeting with Suu Kyi
[FILE] Protesters hold images of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a flag of Myanmar during a demonstration outside the Embassy of Myanmar in Bangkok on February 1, 2023, to mark the second anniversary of the coup in Myanmar. (Photo by Jack TAYLOR / AFP)
Many people, including groups that are openly against the current military-led government in Myanmar, are doubting the claims of a meeting and discussion between Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and the imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi.
Prior to revealing that he had met with the Nobel Laureate to the reporters, Don had divulged information about the meeting to his peers at an ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting in Jakarta.
The meeting would be the first time since the 2021 coup that Aung San Suu Kyi, imprisoned in Nay Pyi Taw serving 33 years, would have been allowed to meet with a foreign dignitary.
Don said that the pro-democracy leader appeared to be in good health. This aligns with local sources able to reach, or at least see, the detained ex-State Counsellor.
Many are doubting that the meeting actually occurred without proof, or a formal statement that she had encouraged political dialogue to help solve the crisis in Myanmar.
Myanmar’s parallel government, the National Unity Government (NUG), has told various local news media that the Thai FM may have been used by the junta government in a political ploy.
The NUG’s Deputy Foreign Minister Moe Zaw Oo hasreportedly said that not only does this undermine the efforts by ASEAN as a whole to get Myanmar to adhere to the five-point consensus, but it casts a shadow of suspicion overMyanmar’s neighbour.
Observers and analysts also pointed out that of some less well-established media, which supposedly covered the meeting, have made several other claims which no other news media were able to confirm, such as Aung San Suu Kyi supposedly discrediting the NUG and denouncing the various armed groups, such as the PDF.
Meanwhile, the armed strife within Myanmar continues to rage. Battles, especially offensives conducted by Myanmar’s military, have intensified in regions such as Kachin, Chin and Sagaing, where resistance against the military-led government has been strong.
In more developed regions, such as Yangon and Mandalay, assassinations and flash battles still occur sporadically. On July 13th, a police superintendent in Wundwin Township, Mandalay Region, was shot and died.
