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Compassion
The Monitor's View

Seeds of compassion in Myanmar

Thailand’s plan to provide aid to innocent civilians in its war-torn neighbor opens a door for building trust between foes.

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REUTERS
Refugees who fled fighting in Myanmar have settled temporarily on the Moei River on the Thai-Myanmar border.
  • By the Monitor's Editorial Board

Can acting from the heart to aid civilians harmed by war help open minds to ending that war? The idea has some validity from conflicts where belligerents bowed to the norm of recognizing the innocence of civilians in battle zones, creating a thread of trust. Now Thailand is poised to prove it.

This month, the Southeast Asian nation plans to start a pilot project to deliver aid to about 20,000 displaced civilians across its long border with Myanmar. Three years of fighting since a military coup in Myanmar has left at least a third of that country’s population in need of assistance. And the military, which often strikes entire villages with impunity, has lately suffered big losses in territory and troops to armed rebels. Those rebels include a pro-democracy group as well as individuals from Myanmar’s ethnic minorities.

If the aid plan expands deeper into Myanmar and the delivered goods are not diverted to military use, it “will be the building block for constructive dialogue and engagement within Myanmar,” said Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara.” The aid effort, in other words, might help Myanmar’s warring factions find other common ground.

The “humanitarian corridor” also has the potential to welcome wider support. The aid will be delivered by the Red Cross in each country under supervision of the humanitarian arm of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

Thailand’s motives may not be purely in line with international humanitarian law. Its leaders fear China and India, which also border Myanmar, may seek more influence as the conflict turns against the ruling military. The Thai military also worries Myanmar may split up.

In addition, the idea of a humanitarian corridor was heavily promoted during an election last year in Thailand by the youthful, progressive Move Forward Party. The party won the most seats and votes but failed to take power because of the Thai military’s heavy hand in politics. Now a military-backed government in Bangkok is pushing the aid plan, perhaps to win over disenchanted youth who want Thailand to be driven by international values.

Still, the Thai plan is “about paving the way for Myanmar to once again reengage and engage constructively with the international community,” Vice Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told Reuters. If Myanmar’s junta allows neutral aid workers to help the innocent without bias, it would indeed mark an embrace of international law. Such softening of hearts might harden up enough trust to end the war.

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