Abhisit spoke to journalists at a dinner at the Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand in Bangkok.
Thailand shares more than 1,800 km with military-ruled Burma. Nongovernment organizations that work with Burmese migrant workers estimate there are 4 million Burmese, legal and illegal, currently living in Thailand.
Abhisit said that the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), should be more proactive on Burma issues, although the situation is difficult.
The Thai government will use a “flexible engagement” policy in relation to Burma under the Democrat administration, he said. The “flexible engagement” policy was outlined by Surin Pitsuwan, the former Thai foreign minister and current secretary-general of Asean in 1999. He proposed the regional bloc use a “constructive engagement” policy.
“Flexible engagement” was about open and frank discussion on issues such as human rights, leading to cooperative solutions—a pooling of sovereignty rather than its dilution, so as to make Southeast Asia a secure and prosperous region, according to analysts.
Abhisit said the sanction policy of Western nations on Burma was counterproductive.
Commenting on Abhisit’s Burma policy, Kavi Chongkittavorn, an assistant group editor of Thailand’s The Nation, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that whether using “constructive engagement” or “flexible engagement,” Asean has to continue pressure on Burma.
He said the current Democrat administration can do a lot on Burma policy, and Abhisit’s approach will be different from the previous government of Thai Primer Thaksin Shinawatra.
“This government will be more transparent in its Burma policy,” he said.
Analysts say the Thaksin administration Burma policy was based on business interests and the government provided a 4 billion baht loan to Burma’s telecommunication sector—some of which was used to buy satellite services from a company owned by Thaksin.
Meanwhile, in a separate event, Abhisit told members of the diplomatic corps at Government House on Wednesday that Thailand will continue to play a constructive role in the sub-regional, regional and international community.
“We also continue to honor our international obligations and commitments at all levels and across all sectors,” he said. “Strengthening relations with neighboring countries remains at the heart of our foreign policy.”
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya held a meeting with Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu in Bangkok on Monday to discuss bilateral relations.
After the meeting, Abhisit told reporters the goals of Western countries and the countries of this region are on common ground on Burma issues.
“But our methods may differ because of two main reasons: cultural differences and the distance of the countries,” he said, indicating that neighboring countries have a more delicate situation when there are policy differences.
Human Rights in Burma Deteriorating
In its annual report, HRW highlighted both the Burmese regime’s poor handling of the relief and rescue mission in the cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta and its continuing crackdown on political dissidents.
The report alleged that the ruling military junta in Burma has systematically denied its citizens basic freedoms, including freedom of expression, association and assembly.
Referring to the series of long-term prison sentences imposed on pro-democracy activists late last year, the report said that the number of political prisoners in the country now stands at more than 2,150.
“In October and November, more than 70 political activists, monks, nuns, labor activists, and journalists were tried in secret proceedings in prison or closed sessions in court,” the report said.
Many of the harshest sentences were handed down to people who participated in the 2007 demonstrations; 14 of them were sentenced to 65 years each. Members of the 88 Generation Students group faced 22 charges, including contact with exiled political groups and unlawfully publishing documents, and faced sentences of 150 years.
Four lawyers representing activists were also jailed for contempt of court after they attempted to withdraw from legal representation to protest the unfair proceedings.
The Burmese military continues to violate the rights of civilians in ethnic conflict areas, the report said. Extrajudicial killings, forced labor, land confiscation without due process and other rights violations continued in these areas in 2008, according to HRW’s annual World Report 2009, which documents human rights abuses and violations across the globe.
The international community in general and the US and European countries in particular continued to oppose the junta in Burma, but its big neighbors, including India, China and Thailand, remained the military’s key supporters.
China, Russia, India and Thailand continue to provide diplomatic support for the Burmese junta and are major trade and investment partners, the report said.
Foreign investment in Burma’s oil and natural gas sector increased in 2008, particularly in connection with a major offshore gas project led by a Korean consortium and a planned overland pipeline to the Burma-China border.
HRW alleged the junta continued widespread and systematic forced recruitment of child soldiers. The non-state armed groups also recruited and deployed children in conflict-prone areas.
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