The military has pledged to clamp down on the illicit trade funding its opponents ahead of a Dec 28 election, which is already being criticised abroad as a ploy to rebrand continuing military rule. The vote is also set to be blocked in huge tracts of the country administered by a kaleidoscope of pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic armed organisations that have found common cause since the coup. A Thai security source based at the border, speaking anonymously, said the junta had “set regulations to make it uncomfortable for minority groups, to try to stop them from earning money or benefits”.…