Chiang Rai – A civil society network is preparing to gather and submit a letter to the Myanmar Consulate to coincide with "Min Aung Hlaing's" visit to Thailand at the beginning of August, demanding to know the approaches for addressing toxic substances and heavy metals contaminating cross-border rivers, as well as transboundary smog, and the roadmap for dismantling scammer operations along the border, and reaffirming the need for peace in Myanmar.
Today (26 Jul.), the People's Network for the Protection of the Kok, Sai, Ruak, and Mekong Rivers has been preparing to travel to submit a letter and demonstrate their determination to protect various rivers at the Consulate General of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in Chiang Mai Province, after learning that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, will visit Thailand on 6–7 August 2026.
Dr. Suebsakul Kitnukorn, an academic at Mae Fah Luang University and one of the network's representatives, stated that they would go to the Myanmar Consulate General to raise questions about when the cross-border PM 2.5 dust problem will be resolved, when heavy metal contamination flowing into the Kok River, Sai River, Ruak River, and others will be addressed, when the fraud networks or scammer gangs operating along the border will be dismantled, and at what time peace in Myanmar will finally be established.
He also expressed doubt about what the Thai government would bring to the negotiating table with Myanmar, saying that at best it would only be water and sediment test results from the Regional Environmental and Pollution Control Office No. 1 (Chiang Mai). He added that if he were Min Aung Hlaing, he would respond that the first point Thailand tested was at the Tha Ton Bridge in Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai Province, which lies within Thai territory and therefore has nothing to do with Myanmar — because even the officials from the Regional Environmental and Pollution Control Office No. 1 in Chiang Mai are afraid of the difficulty and the swift currents, and refuse to go and take samples at the Thai–Myanmar border.
As for the test results on soil, vegetable, and fish quality, he said they cannot be used as a negotiating issue either, because government agencies say the levels do not exceed standard thresholds, and when it comes to arsenic, they claim it originates from agricultural chemicals and is unrelated to mining operations. Meanwhile, scientists are tongue-tied and hesitant, afraid to tell the public the truth — afraid of being denounced by state agencies, afraid of being sued into silence by businesses, and afraid of losing research funding, as if people's lives are of very little worth.
Dr. Suebsakul further stated that he had already submitted a letter to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who also serves as Minister of Interior, ahead of the discussions with the Myanmar president, proposing a complete halt to mineral imports from Myanmar along the entire Thai–Myanmar border in order to increase bargaining power and pressure the Myanmar government to seriously cooperate with Thailand in resolving the problems affecting various rivers.
He also requested that the Prime Minister visit Chiang Mai Province and Chiang Rai Province to receive additional information and hear the problems directly from various groups of people, such as tourism operators along the Kok River, tap water users, farmers, and fishermen, as well as academic and civil society sectors that have been monitoring this issue continuously.
