Myanmar authorities on Sunday closed the Phaya Tong Su border checkpoint opposite the Three Pagodas pass in Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, a regional army commander said.
Maj Gen Thammanoon Withee, commander of the 9th Infantry Division supervising Kanchanaburi and nearby provinces, said Myanmar authorities did not allow Thai people and tourists to cross the border to the Phaya Tong Su side while Thai authorities opened their Three Pagodas pass as usual.
He said he had received reports that Myanmar people in Phaya Tong Su planned to stage three days of symbolic protests from Dec 28 over the death sentences handed down in the Koh Tao murder case.
He said soldiers would meet Myanmar workers on the Thai side on Monday to explain the judicial process concerning the murder case. He was referring to the death sentences on two Myanmar migrant workers found guilty of murdering two British tourists on Koh Tao island in southern Thailand in September last year.
The death penalty was the sentence of the Court of First Instance only and concerned people should be calm because the case could undergo trial at the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court in the future, Maj Gen Thammanoon said.
He visited soldiers securing the Three Pagodas pass in Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri district on Sunday.
Tourists arrive at a market near the Three Pagodas border pass as usual on Sunday. (Photo by Piyarach Chongcharoen)
Pakorn Kanwallee, chief of Sangkhla Buri district, said tourism and business operations in the border district remained lively as vast numbers of tourists continued to arrive for the New Year holiday.
Local hotels were fully occupied, there had been no hotel reservations cancelled, and Myanmar workers were returning to their factories in Sangkhla Buri, he said.
Myanmar authorities were not letting Thai tourists cross the border into Phaya Tong Su because of safety reasons, while Thai and foreign tourists were happily shopping near the Three Pagodas Pass, he said.
Myanmar soldiers had promised to control future demonstrations and prevent protesters from entering Thai territory, the district chief said.
A source later said Myanmar demonstrators called off a planned protest on Sunday at the request of local authorities who want to protect bilateral relations at the local level because Phaya Tong Su depended on consumer products, fuel and electricity from Thailand.