YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Thailand’s coup leader made his first official overseas trip Thursday to neighboring Myanmar for meetings with another former general who has steered his country to democracy after a half-century of dictatorship.
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The visit by Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand’s appointed prime minister, comes at a sensitive time for both countries.
Thailand recently arrested two Myanmar migrants for the killings of two British tourists on a popular resort island last month, but the men now say they were coerced into confessing. Public sentiment on both sides of the border is that they were framed.
Prayuth’s government, which came to power after the army overthrew a popularly elected administration, finds itself grappling with thousands of Myanmar refugees who fled fighting between their army and ethnic rebels in recent years and concerns about the trafficking of large amounts of Myanmar-produced heroin and methamphetamine into Thailand.
Flying directly to Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, Prayuth was scheduled to meet first with another former general, President Thein Sein. His quasi-civilian government is holding elections next year, but has resisted changes to the military-drafted constitution that would allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to run for president.
Myanmar also has been criticized for bouts of anti-Muslim violence against the minority Rohingyas in the predominantly Buddhist nation.
Prayuth, too, has spoken about holding elections next year.
According to the official schedule, the two will witness the signing of a series of development projects and discuss bilateral ties.
Prayuth also will meet with Thai investors in the commercial center, Yangon, on Friday.
Thailand is Myanmar’s second largest trade partner after northern neighbor China, with a total trade volume of $5.7 billion for the fiscal year of 2013-2014.
