Thailand's measures of cutting off electricity, internet, and fuel to the transnational crime parks in Myanmar's Karen State have been ongoing for nearly half a month, and it must be acknowledged that Thailand's execution has exceeded expectations so far.
However, these measures have not been ideal in curbing the criminal activities in Karen State. At the beginning of the implementation of the three cut-off measures, Thailand estimated that these actions would reduce the activities in the crime parks by 50%, but the actual situation is that the main parks in the Myawaddy Valley are still operating wildly, and the Paya Ru Song park resumed operations after relocating following the power cut.
The reason behind this is that the Karen Border Guard was well-prepared. Suu Kyi's influence in Myanmar can be described as omnipotent. They had moved ahead of Thailand's announcement to cut off power by purchasing and stockpiling a large amount of fuel from Thailand. After the power cut, the Myawaddy park calmly started using fuel generators for power, and then Suu Kyi began to redistribute fuel from areas like Pa-an in Karen State. As the power cut measures continued, the Karen Border Guard also reached out to Mon State, Tanintharyi, and Yangon.
According to Myanmar media reports, gas stations in Mon State and Tanintharyi have raised their prices, with diesel listed at 3500 Myanmar Kyat but selling for over 5500 Myanmar Kyat, and they are selling on a limited quota basis. Many gas stations have even closed their doors, as insiders revealed that this was due to the Karen Border Guard buying up diesel at twice the local selling price. Mon State and Tanintharyi, having ports and refineries, allow the Karen Border Guard to conveniently purchase large amounts of fuel to transport to Myawaddy, significantly impacting local businesses and vehicle owners' access to diesel.
Suu Kyi's tactics do not stop there. After the power cut in Thailand, he was still able to secure electricity quotas in Myanmar despite the tight domestic power supply, such as the relocated Paya Ru Song park, which was connected to the Myanmar power grid. The largest parks in Karen State are also equipped with solar power systems.
While Suu Kyi and the Karen Border Guard quietly maintain the operation of the parks, their raids releasing foreigners have not stopped. Yesterday, they reported the latest situation to the Thai reception team; during the raids, over 1600 foreigners were found, with 1030 having been interrogated and gradually being transferred to the Mae Sot detention center in Tak Province, Thailand. The northern neighboring country's reception team has identified the first batch of over 200 people at the Mae Sot detention center, who will be flown back to their countries from Mae Sot starting the next day.
