Suu Kyi flies for first time in 24 years
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Myanmar icon to focus on migrant workers and World Economic Forum
Myanmar’s opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi left her country for the first time in decades when she boarded a Bangkok-bound flight last night.
Judging by her itinerary, the focus of this trip is not just the World Economic Forum on East Asia, but also the well-being of Myanmar workers and refugees in Thailand. Suu Kyi’s flight landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 9.45pm last night.
At 8.30am today, she will visit the nationality verification centre in Samut Sakhon’s Mahachai district amid reports that staff shortages at the centre may prevent many migrant workers from getting verification documents in time. Without verification, they could face deportation.
After that, she will visit a market to check on working conditions, before attending a 10am meeting with representatives of Myanmar workers at a centre of the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) in Mooban Mahachai Villa Soi 9.
Suu Kyi is also scheduled to visit Myanmar workers at the Unilever plant in Bangkok’s Min Buri district and have lunch with chairman Bauke Rouwers.
An informed source said she would also be meeting her Thai counterpart, Abhisit Vejjajiva, at Shangri-la Hotel at about 2.30pm.
Then at about 4.45pm, she will join the World Economic Forum on East Asia, which runs until Friday.
Suu Kyi will spend most of tomorrow at the forum, but will take a break at 3pm to pay a courtesy call to Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobam-rung at Government House.
“I think we will exchange our thoughts about the drug problem, Myanmar workers in Thailand and their nationality verification process,” Chalerm said.
‘Meeting was requested’
He said Suu Kyi had asked the Foreign Ministry to arrange a meeting, adding that he believed she wanted to speak to him about students and key members of a minority group being detained by Myanmar soldiers.
“The meeting is definitely not about the military commander of Klo Htoo Bor Karen Organisation (KKO),” Chalerm said.
On Friday, Suu Kyi is expected to deliver a speech at the World Economic Forum, before attending a meeting about the role of women in Asean.
On Saturday, Suu Kyi will head to Mae Sot to meet with Myanmar refugees as well as Cynthia Maung, who runs a clinic at the border zone to take care of refugees and migrant workers. She will leave Thailand for her country on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Myanmar President Thein Sein will fly to Thailand on a two-day visit next Monday.
“The Cabinet has just approved a memorandum of understanding on Thai-Myanmar cooperation about development,” deputy government spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard said yesterday.
