Myanmar junta leader asks Thai counterpart for help on democracy

[BANGKOK] Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who himself first seized power in a coup, said on Wednesday he had received a letter from Myanmar's new junta leader asking for help to support democracy.

Pro-democracy protesters meanwhile appealed directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping to withdraw his government's support for the country's powerful military as mass demonstrations swept cities and towns for a fifth straight day.

Mr Prayuth, who overthrew an elected prime minister in 2014 and stayed in office after a 2019 election his rivals said was badly flawed, told reporters in Bangkok that he had always supported democracy in the neighbouring country.

Min Aung Hlaing's army overthrew elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1 and detained her, alleging fraud in an election last year that her party won in a landslide. The electoral commission had dismissed the army's claims.

"We are supportive of the democratic process in Myanmar but what is most important today is to maintain good relations because it impacts the people, the economy, border trade, particularly now," Mr Prayuth said.

"Thailand supports the democratic process. The rest is up to him to see how to proceed," he said.

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Since the coup, Myanmar has been convulsed by the biggest protests in more than a decade as Ms Suu Kyi's supporters challenge the coup that halted a tentative decade-long transition to democracy.

Thailand witnessed its biggest protests in decades last year as Mr Prayuth's opponents demanded that he step down, accusing him of engineering the last election to continue the domination of Thai politics by the army and monarchy. He denies any interference.

The Thai and Myanmar armies have had close working relationships in recent decades despite a distant history of enmity between the countries.

Outside China's embassy in Yangon on Wednesday, demonstrators pleaded with Mr Xi to help reverse last week's military coup, while others held signs reading "we are watching you" and "we know what you're up to," photographs taken by local media outlets showed.

Protesters also gathered in front of the United Nations offices and embassies including the US, Japan, China, Korea and India in an attempt to build international support for the return of a civilian government.

They came back onto the streets despite the growing risk of violence from security forces, who had used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons to push back demonstrators just one day earlier.

"Our aim is just to convey our message to world's top leaders like Joe Biden and Xi Jinping so that they don't support and interact with the military junta," said Kyaw Soe Thu, 22, a student protester who promoted the sit-ins, referring to the U.S. president. "We are not worried about water cannons and gun shots because the military dares not do so in front of these embassies."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the protests, while foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin dismissed rumors that Beijing was sending equipment and experts to censor the internet in Myanmar as "untrue." "We hope that all parties in Myanmar will bear in mind the larger picture of their national stability and development and exercise restraint and properly deal with their differences within constitutional and legal framework so as to preserve political and social stability," Mr Wang said at a regular media briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

As Myanmar's biggest trading partner, China has bolstered its relationship with the military in recent years amid a push to develop Belt and Road Initiative projects. Even as the United Nations Security Council last week called for the "immediate release" of all those detained by the military, China's diplomats sought to strike a balance by issuing a separate statement noting that it is still a "friendly neighbour" to Myanmar.

Street protests that have been building since the military took power in a coup on Feb 1. The youth-led movement has used social media to mobilise supporters with three main demands: the release of civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, recognition of the 2020 election results won by her party and a withdrawal of the military from politics.

On Wednesday, live broadcasts showed civil servants from several ministries in the capital Naypyidaw gathered near the city's Central Market, chanting "Don't go to the office", in defiance of military chief Min Aung Hlaing's warning to government workers not to engage in politics. At least one protester, a 20-year-old computer science student, remains in a critical condition in Naypyidaw after Tuesday's use of force by police.

REUTERS,BLOOMBERG