A general takes over Homong

Thai-Burma Relations

A general takes over Homong

Reporter: Mawk Pao
Brig Gen Win Myint, Deputy Commander of Taunggyi-based Eastern Region Command, has since 17 October taken charge of both military and administrative responsibilities handed over by his predecessor Col Aung Kyaw Oo following a welcoming ceremony in Homong, opposite Maehongson, said both Thai and Shan sources.

His takeover has caught Thai security officers somewhat of their guard. A year after warlord Khun Sa's surrender in 1996, area commanders running his former capital have all been colonels, they said.

His arrival nevertheless has coincided with two events: the ouster of Gen Khin Nyunt and the recent announcement by Maehongson provincial authorities to inaugurate the border market at Rawnghaeng, one kilometer inside Thai territory.

Southwest of Homong are resistance fighters under the leadership of Karenni National Progressive Party, and around Homong and east are those from the Shan State Army "South" of Col Yawdserk. "It might be interpreted as a sign of Rangoon's tougher stance against the rebels," commented a security officer whom S.H.A.N. interviewed yesterday.

For another officer, the presence of Gen Win Myint is in response to Maehongson's persistent call for the reopening of the border for enhanced cross-border trade.

Supoj Laowansiri, Provincial Governor of Maehongson, he said, had returned in May from a six-day visit to Burma with practically an empty hand. His arrival in Taunggyi had somehow coincided with the absence of Maj Gen Khin Maung Myint, Commander of the Eastern Region Command, from the Shan State capital.

The governor has been proposing the opening of the Rawnghaeng market in January followed by a rally to Taunggyi to promote cross-border trade between the two countries.