Mae Sam Laep Chief Urges PM to Halt Myanmar Air Strikes

Mae Hong Son — The chief of the Mae Sam Laep Subdistrict Administrative Organization in Sop Moei district, Mae Hong Son province, has disclosed that he sent an open letter to the government and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in his capacity as Interior Minister, regarding the impact of the fighting in Myanmar on Thai citizens.

The main problems stem from continuous, indiscriminate military operations by the Myanmar military, including air strikes that have affected Thais in several incidents on both sides of the border opposite Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces. The letter requests that the Thai government coordinate with the Myanmar military to immediately halt all forms of air strikes in border areas, as they cause cross-border effects that disrupt the normal lives and livelihoods of Thai-Myanmar border residents.

It also asks for the designation of a Safety Zone and Humanitarian Corridor along the Thai-Myanmar border within a 10-kilometer radius. The Mae Sam Laep chief said such measures would reduce impacts on border communities, human rights violations, and displacement within this 10-kilometer area, allowing communities to live safely without military interference while not affecting national security.

He urged the Thai government to use a multilateral framework, with the Prime Minister employing the ASEAN cooperation framework through the Five-Point Consensus and the Special Envoy on the Safety Zone, which has already been discussed with Myanmar.

The chief further noted that since October 28, when Myanmar Air Force jets attacked civilian homes in a Karen National Union village at Ban Ra Tha, opposite Tambon Sao Hin in Mae Sariang district, Mae Hong Son, two houses, one car, one motorcycle, and one long-tail boat were heavily damaged. Since then, cross-border trade between the two countries has completely halted because Karen residents on the Myanmar side dare not travel by boat to buy goods at the Ban Mae Sam Laep border market, fearing air strikes on their return journey.

At the same time, Thai fishermen on the Salween River and small-scale Thai traders dare not take their boats out to sell goods due to fear of Myanmar air strikes. Most recently, on November 1, when the Myanmar Air Force attacked the Soleta camp, it caused even greater fear among residents on both sides, and no one dares to travel by boat for trade or fishing.

This situation has directly affected the livelihoods of Thais living along the Salween River, with boats on both sides moored idle at the piers, while the government has yet to offer any solution to the problems that have arisen.