Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said yesterday that Westerners are overly critical of Myanmar and he has newfound respect for the ruling junta after learning that they meditate like good Buddhists should.
"Westerners have a saying, `Look at both sides of the coin,' but Westerners only look at one side," Samak said in his weekly television talk show, two days after an official visit to Myanmar.
"Myanmar is a Buddhist country. Myanmar's leaders meditate. They say the country lives in peace," Samak said, noting that he has studied Myanmar for decades but just learned that the junta meditates.
Both countries are predominantly Buddhist.
Myanmar's junta has come under global criticism for its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters last year and its detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but Samak said he preferred to talk about trade during talks with junta chief Senior General Than Shwe.
Many Western nations maintain economic and political sanctions against the regime for its poor human rights record and failure to give power to a democratically elected government.
But Thailand and most other Southeast Asian nations are less critical and encourage companies to do business there.
Samak said he discussed investment opportunities for Thai companies in Myanmar, especially in the area of production and exploitation of natural gas and hydropower projects.
"We want to do something about dams. Than Shwe told me, `You can do it here and here and here. Find the investors and do it,'" said Samak, whose coalition government took office last month. "Myanmar only uses a small amount of electricity. Thailand needs electricity."
Blackouts and power cuts are common in Myanmar, where the military regime has distributed electricity under a rationing system for the past decade, barely keeping up with rising demand.
"They found new gas resources. I negotiated with them so we can sign contracts," Samak said, adding that the junta wants to build a pipeline to Yangon. "Myanmar doesn't have money to build the pipeline. Thai companies will do that for them."
He said Thailand's approach to dealing with Myanmar was in the spirit of neighborly relations.
"We have three neighbors: Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar," he said. "We use their resources, all three of them. If we have this great relationship, why should we pick on them?"
Thailand also shares a border with Malaysia.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS