Yet another ban on Thai imports has come into effect with the closure of the cross border bridge between Shan State East’s Tachilek and Thailand’s Mae Sai on July 10, traders on the Burmese side said.
This comes in the wake of the closure of the cross border bridge of Mae Sot on July 8. So, now two out of the three Thai-Burma border cross bridges are coming in the way of imports from Thailand.
Tachilek bridge, photo: SHAN
“Nothing from Thailand is allowed to cross over the bridge except what can be carried on foot,” said a trader with a shop in Tachilek, on the Burmese border.
No reason was given by the Burmese authorities for these actions. Sources on the border say that apparently the Mae Sot Bridge was closed to protest against Thailand’s construction of a river bank erosion project on the Moei River. The Burmese authorities claimed that the construction of the project will divert river currents and will erode embankments on the Burmese side.
Currently there is no indication as to whether the closure of Mae Sai Bridge is related to the Mae Sot protest. No further explanation has been offered by the Burmese authorities although some claim that the Mae Sai closure is to safeguard the elections by securing the areas.
Border watchers suggest it is more likely to be related to Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s visit to Burma in early August. Speculation is rife that the closures have been planned to put pressure on the Prime Minister to act over the Burmese authority’s concerns regarding several thorny problems existing between the two countries.
Governor of Tak province, Samart Loifa said at a press conference earlier this week that he had spoken to Mae Sot district Chief Kittisak Tomornsak and other officials on how to resolve the dispute. He said that the Mae Sot authorities offered no solution and would only discuss their demand for the removal of Thai workers at the project site. Mr Samart said he was unclear as to what action the Burmese authorities will take next.
Business on both sides is beginning to suffer from the closures and people are becoming increasingly anxious about their livelihood, according to a resident in Mae Sot. Also affected are dozens of labourers, who rely on day-to-day work moving goods across the border.
According to the Thai Trade and Commerce Department’s official statistics, exports to Burma are worth 3 billion Thai Baht ($ 100 million) a month, meaning that the losses sustained during the period of the closures is already approaching nearly 700m THB ($22 million) to date. However, unofficial estimates taking into account revenue from illegal trading put actual losses at almost double that amount.
It has now been seven days since the first bridge closure and no date has yet been given for the reopening of the border bridges at either Mae Sot or Mae Sai by the Burmese authorities.
