Thai authorities have put a stop to three Burmese opposition groups’ meetings in the Thai border town of Mae Sot in recent days, saying that any movement against Burma’s junta can’t be launched from Thai soil, the opposition groups said.

Local Thai authorities said officials in Bangkok had ordered them to cancel the meetings, according to the opposition groups. The groups believe that Burma’s military government is behind the directive. No arrests were made.

Yesterday afternoon, about twenty Thai military, police and immigration officials dispersed a meeting in Mae Sot of the Students & Youth Congress of Burma, a group in exile. Today a representative of the group who attended the meeting said the officials politely asked participants to stop the meeting before watching them leave, he said.

The National Council of the Union of Burma, an umbrella organization, also had its regular meeting dispersed on Saturday.

The National League for Democracy-Liberated Area, or NLD-LA, had its annual three-day conference cut short on Sunday, the final day of the meeting, said a group leader.

Thaung Tan Cho, an NLD-LA youth wing leader, said that the authorities had photographed all 36 participants of the meeting and had questioned them about the activities and whereabouts of the party. No charges were brought against them.

"We are sure that the move is because of the junta's pressure," Thaung Tan Cho said. The junta wants an end to all opposition movements along the border, he added.

The Thai town of Mae Sot, opposite Burma’s border town Myawaddy, is home to several opposition groups from Burma living in exile.