RANONG, Sept 23—Thai officials of the Thai-Myanmar Township Border Committee (TBC) are preparing to negotiate with Myanmar officials in an attempt to help the remaining nine Thais still imprisoned in the neighbouring country.
Col Pornsak Poonsawat, the Thai co-chairman of the Thai-Myanmar Township Border Committee (TBC), said on Sunday that Thai TBC officials would hold talks with Myanmar officials over the release of the remaining nine Thai detainees after Myanmar on Sept 18 pardoned and freed 83 Thai nationals who were found guilty by a Myanmar court on illegal entry and encroachment on its forest territory.
Apart from the forest encroachment charges, seven of the nine prisoners were also charged with arms possession and sentenced to seven years in jail.
Meanwhile, two others– one man and one woman– were also charged with drug-related offences.
Thai authorities were informed by Myanmar authorities that two Thai detainees on Monday will be taken to the court in the town of Kawthaung, Col Pornsak revealed.
However, Myanmar authorities did not confirm whether the two Thais will be taken in for a court hearing or for the delivery of the verdict.
In a related development, Pornpun Pupiangjai, the Second Secretary to the Royal Thai Embassy in Yangon, affirmed that relevant officials are trying their utmost to assist the nine Thai detainees in the same way as the 83 Thais who earlier were pardoned by the Myanmar government.
A Myanmar court earlier handed down jail terms of three and one half years for each of the 92 Thai villagers– 82 men and 10 women– for illegal entry and deforestation after they all encroached on Myanmar territory opposite the southern province of Ranong in early July.
