The Thai government has confirmed that the Myanmar side has offered to recall Myawati employees

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Thai government confirmed today, April 8, that the Myanmar side has offered to recall the military council personnel from the city of Myawati, where the fighting is intense.

April 7 Thailand to allow special flights to land in Mae Sot, Thailand on the 8th and 9th. The Thai Foreign Ministry announced today on April 8 that the Myanmar Military Council made the request on April 6 through the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok. The statement also said that the Thai government allowed the plane to land on humanitarian grounds.

"As a government, I have to say that it is doing what it should do. I have to say that the management is very poor."

On the night of April 7th, a Myanmar National Airlines plane carrying more than 600 soldiers of the military council who had surrendered from Myawaddy city landed in Thailand. KNU and Mae Sot Burmese confirmed to RFA that they arrived at the airport in Mae Sot, but due to difficulties in negotiating with the Thai authorities, they had to return without people.

A former army officer, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said the plane was sent to call the military council.

"As a government, it must be said that it is doing what it should be doing. It must be said that the management is very poor. There is no war game, there is no distribution of power, and the same routine is being done. I have to say that I have never seen such stupidity."

On April 8, Thai Khaosod news reported that Karen National Union (KNU)/(PDF) joint forces raided the military council's largest military base in Myawati, which is on the other side of Mae Sot, Thailand. General Administration Office in Myawady It was first reported that the civilian employees of the Military Council, including the Customs Office and the Law Office, fled to the Shwekokko area of ​​the Thai-Myanmar border led by Colonel Saw Chai.

After that, on the evening of April 7th, the Myanmar Military Council contacted the Thai government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and requested permission for the Myanmar military aircraft ATR 72-600 to land at the Mae Sot airfield. It was written that the plane was to pick up fugitive employees of the Military Council who were waiting near the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge.

67 military officers, if granted permission; 617 Myanmar nationals, including 410 military personnel and 81 family members, will be repatriated, according to an April 8 report by Thai PBS World.

Karen National Union (KNU) Spokesperson Pado Saw Ke Klesay also considered that the plane sent by the Military Council may have come to pick up the Military Council soldiers.

"Mainly, there is a part where they have to negotiate with Thailand. Is there any difficulty because of this? That can be considered. We had to ask the prisoners of war. How they want to be. Those who want to return are allowed to return. We are of the opinion that we will not forcibly send people who do not want to return."

Currently, the prisoners of war at Than Nin Naung Camp who have surrendered to (KNU) also include those who surrendered from the military camps in northern Shan State where the 1027 operation began, said Pado Saw Ka Kel Sae.

He said that among the currently detained prisoners of war, those who want to return will be released, and those who do not want to return will be dealt with according to their wishes.

A Burmese resident of Mae Sot, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that because the KNU side did not release the prisoners of war, the Military Council sent a plane to pick them up, but it is possible that they did not go there.

"I understand that it is the KNU's way of not returning the people called by the KNU. I asked the border security teams of the Thai authorities and they said that they don't know about the plan to send them back. So yes, the plane came. The plane arrived yesterday. My friends went to see it. But they didn't call and leave."

Mae Sot Airfield is near Myanmar-Thai Friendship Bridge No. 1, and security was tight when the military council plane landed, he said.

The Military Council has not released anything regarding this situation, and RFA contacted General Zaw Min Tun, the spokesman for the Military Council, by telephone, but he did not answer the phone.

In today's statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, at the request of the Myanmar Embassy, ​​a plane from the Myanmar side landed at Mae Sot Airport on April 7. It is reported that he left immediately on the same day.

After that, the plans to land on April 8th and 9th were also withdrawn by the Myanmar side. But who was on the plane that arrived on April 7? The Thai Foreign Ministry's statement did not explain exactly why Myanmar canceled the next two trips.

Thai-Myanmar border The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand has also said that it is monitoring the situation in the Myawady area in particular and is ready to act as necessary. The Thai government will hold a meeting tomorrow, April 9, to discuss the current situation, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.