BANGKOK, May 22 (AFP) - Thailand drew fire Saturday for going soft on fundamental workers' rights in an embarrassing blow to its candidate's bid to lead the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) said Thailand had shown its true colours on human rights after it banned unionists from meeting here to discuss forced labour in neighbouring Myanmar (Burma). "It is a sad reflection on the so-called sovereignty of Thailand that they have bowed to the military junta in Burma in this instance and to the widely publicised deplorable human rights record of that country," ICFTU Asia Pacific general secretary Takashi Izumi said in a statement. The ICFTU said the decision reflected badly on the bid by Thai Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi to become the next boss of the WTO. "The international trade union movement has to take serious note of (Supachai's) candidacy for the ... World Trade Organisation," the Singapore-based group said late Friday. Key WTO members such as the United States and France are known to be concerned about Supachai's commitment to human rights and have thrown their weight behind the New Zealand candidate, former premier Mike Moore. "The Thai government should feel ashamed," a statement from the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development said. "Thailand is considered one of the more democratic countries in the region but it is proving itself to be a willing tool of repressive regimes." Thai organisers of the "Democracy in Burma" seminar said the ban could be aimed at avoiding a clash with talks next week between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Myanmar will take part. "The government officials said that the seminar may affect Thai-Myanmar relations," labour congress secretary general Samarn Thomya told AFP Saturday. He said the organisers had twice consulted Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan who told them there should be "no problem." But Surin later declined an invitation to deliver the keynote speech on "Development and Human Rights," citing other engagements. Thai officials were unavailable for comment Saturday. Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare official Wong Chanthong said in a letter to the organisers: "This conference in Thailand would result in negative effects on good relations between Thailand and its neighbour." Myanmar is accused of gross human rights abuses including widespread use of forced labour, sometimes involving torture and rape. The junta in Yangon has denied the allegations. Confirmation of the government's decision was only received late Friday even though the conference had been due to start Monday with 130 participants from around the world, labour organisers said. The three-day seminar was organised by the Labour Congress of Thailand, the ICFTU and the International Trade Secretariat. Two weeks ago in the Myanmar capital Yangon, ASEAN labour ministers refused to condemn child labour and did not discuss forced labour at their annual conference, the first top-level ASEAN talks hosted by Myanmar. They stressed that developed countries should not use labour issues and human rights as "leverage" in international trade negotiations. Calls by the ICFTU for ministers to boycott the meeting were ignored. The talks between the European Union and ASEAN in Bangkok next week are the first inter-bloc meeting since Myanmar became an ASEAN member in 1997. EU-ASEAN ties have been strained by Myanmar's human rights record and its refusal to recognise the results of 1990 elections won in a landslide by democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Michel Caillouet, head of the European Commission's delegation in Thailand, told reporters Friday he was not aware of the ICFTU meeting but said "of course we (the EU) would not be happy" if it was banned. Izumi called on Thailand and ASEAN to stop ignoring "abuses and wrongs." "It is time that Thailand, and the other ASEAN countries for that matter, stopped pretending that human rights abuses in Burma do not exist and stood up as a country and as a region," he said.  