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Published on October 5, 2007

The minister had met many US senators and congressmen including Virginia Senator Jim Webb, Indiana Senator Richard Luger and California Representative Tom Lantos to explain political developments in Thailand after the September 2006 coup.

Senators Webb and Luger are members of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

All who have influence in the US legislative body expressed their understanding about the political situation in the Kingdom, Nitya said.

"They know that Thai people love to do things this way but we never run from the democratic path. There might be an interruption sometimes but we get back on track eventually," Nitya said.

Thailand will hold a general election to have a fully democratic government in December. The situation after the military coup in Thailand was not a big deal when compared to the bloodshed that followed the crackdown on street demonstrations in Burma. Many American lawmakers raised their concerns in discussions with Nitya and wanted to know the Thai government's stance on the issue.

Thailand joined the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in issuing a strong statement demanding that the Burmese junta restrain from using force against the protesters, Nitya said.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont will soon write a letter to Burma's paramount leader Senior General Than Shwe to express the Thai government's concern over the violence and desire that Burma as a Buddhist country solve the problem with peaceful means, Nitya said.

Nitya joined the mission to the US and the United Nations with Prime Minister Surayud to seek international recognition from world leaders and explain how the Kingdom was moving on a democratic path.

However, the mission was overshadowed by the situation in Burma where the armed forces' crackdown on street protesters reportedly killed scores of people last week.

Nitya spent a lot of his time in the US discussing the situation in Burma - much more than Thai affairs. Thailand, as an immediate neighbour, needed to play significant role in helping the international community to fix the problem in Burma, he said.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dispatched his special envoy ibrahim Gambari to Burma to meet all concerned parties to seek ways to end the conflict.

Gambari was scheduled to brief the Security Council and the UN chief about his mission on Thursday afternoon.

Supalak G Khundee

 The Nation,

Washington DC