Lake-viewers forecast new exodus from Burma

General

Lake-viewers forecast new exodus from Burma

Thailand will be experiencing another wave of mass migration from Burma, according to visitors with some knowledge of folklore at a full-to-the-brim lake which has for some years been almost waterless, reports King Cobra from Chiangmai's Chiangdao district, opposite Shan State's Mongton township:

"As far as I can recall, Thailand had been flooded with people displaced by upheavals in Burma that coincided with periods when the lake was full," an elderly man from the border village of Nawng Ook, who said he had been in Thailand for 20-years, told S.H.A.N.. "The first time was in 1988 when (following the military takeover on 18 September) thousands of students fled from Burma and the second time in 1996 when forced relocations in southern Shan State drove hordes of Shans away from their homes and farms."

Another ageing visitor from the neighboring Wianghaeng district concurred. "The phenomenon", he explained, "is known as the Nam Khong (Salween) calling on the Maeping (Ping)". It takes place every 8-10 years. When it does, something that effects the two countries comes about."

The lake, known by the locals as Nawng Muhaw, is only a few hundred meters away from the road, about 4-5 acres in size and crystal clear.

Across the border, Burma's feared Military Intelligence Service that had, since Independence in 1948, operated throughout as a rival government, has been abolished following the arrest of its supreme head Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, but the country wide purge is still going on.

"The relationship between the Wa and the Burma Army is tense," reported a source from Monghsat, "although the former, just like other ceasefire groups, had been informed that Rangoon policy towards them remained unchanged. The Wa forces along the border has been put on full alert since 20 October."

More than a thousand fresh troops had been reportedly deployed along the border since the dismissal of Gen Khin Nyunt. Thailand, on its own part, has also positioned 1,200 troops to prevent drugs coming in taking advantage of the current unrest in Burma, according to Thai media reports. "Anything unexpected could happen in this kind of situation," said a Thai security officer, "and we have to be prepared for it."

An environmental activist meanwhile says, "If there is something that will cause an influx of refugees from Burma, it is the Salween dam project."

The hydropower project at Tasang on the Salween between Mongton in the east and Mongpan in the west is due to begin in the upcoming dry season, according to Thai sources.

Col Yawdserk of Shan State Army, during an interview with Thailand's ITV on Friday, 22 October, also asked the Thai people and its government to be "understanding" in case of an upsurge of migrants from Burma.