NEWS- THAI's DEMAND CLARIFICATION

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Subject: NEWS- THAI's DEMAND CLARIFICATION  OVER KAREN ATTACK

THAI's DEMAND CLARIFICATION  OVER KAREN ATTACK

BANGKOK POST: CLARIFICATION SOUGHT OVER KAREN ATTACK
4 May, 1999

ARMY MAKES FORMAL PROTEST TO RANGOON

The Foreign Ministry today will summon a Burmese embassy official to
clarify an
attack by pro-Rangoon Karen rebels on a Thai police station in Mae Hong
Son
over the weekend.

An informed source said the National Security Council has stated that
armed
foreign intruders at Ban Nam Piang Din on Saturday were leftist-Kayah
with
connections with Burmese troops.

The attack badly damaged the police station but there were no
casualties.

A senior ministry official said Thailand could not hold the Burmese
government
responsible because the intruders were ethnic minorities. But he said
Bangkok
wanted Rangoon to verify information and admit involvement in the
incident.

The call is being made ahead of a meeting of the Thai-Burmese Joint
Boundary
Committee scheduled for Thursday in Rangoon, to discuss demarcation and
other
border issues. Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra will
co-chair
the
meeting with his Burmese counterpart Khin Maung Win.

Nyan Lynn, the embassy's ministerial counsellor, has recently been
summoned
to
aid in intelligence gathering from the Burmese side regarding the
massacre
of
nine Thai villagers in Chiang Mai's Doi Ang Khang district by an armed
ethnic
group in early April.

Meanwhile, the army and the police have formally protested to Rangoon
for
letting Burmese minority rebels intrude into Thailand and cause unrest.

Gen Surayud Chulanont, the army chief, said a protest letter has been
sent
to
Rangoon and the frequent incursions would be raised for urgent
discussion at
the Thai-Burmese local border meeting on May 21.

The latest attack by the rebels on Thai soil came on Saturday when the
so-called "Red Star" Karen army fired on Nam Piang Din police station in
Mae
Hong Son.

Senior army officers suspected the attack was motivated by a clash of
interest
in the drug trade.

Gen Surayud said the Naresuan Task Force has managed to defuse booby
traps
believed to have been planted by the Karen army. He added army personnel
would
maintain their presence in Ban Nam Piang Din for a while longer to
prevent
and
retaliate against any incursions.

A defence has been mounted along border areas prone to intrusion to
boost
residents' confidence. The army chief, however, conceded intelligence on
the
movement of the rebels was unclear, making attempts at monitoring
security
difficult.

He insisted the military would not launch a reprisal for Saturday's
attack
but
added his troops were ready to move in at any time to fight off external
threats.

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