The Nation(27/7/99)

[mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx]

Minister urges sincerity in Burma's drugs battle

DEPUTY Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra yesterday urged Burma to show
sincerity by cooperating closely with Thailand in tackling rising drug
problems. 

Sukhumbhand told a press conference that while Thailand strongly adheres to
the principle of non-interference, the country also reserves the right to
raise concerns over matters that affect its people. 

He noted that drug problems have adversely affected Thailand. ''In the
past, Thai people have not been consumers of narcotics, but now the
situation has changed. We therefore reserve the right to voice concern
whenever we think that certain issues happening in neighbouring countries
affect our people,'' he said. 

He said the term ''non intervention'' does not mean no action, but means
''selective proactive action''. 

The minister said that although the two countries know that ethnic Wa
people are active in the drug trade, authorities from both sides seem
unable to eliminate them because they have enjoyed sanctuary in Burma. 

''I think that to accuse the Burmese Government of being involved in the
production and trade of narcotics is a very serious charge. Unless we have
evidence, we will not do so,'' he said. 

Asked how Thailand is going to deal with intruding Burmese drug
traffickers, Sukhumbhand said the country would not engage in ''summary
execution''. 

Commenting on Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's call for
Asean to pressure the junta into dialogue with the opposition, Sukhumbhand
said people in Thailand including himself shared the democratic aspirations
of Suu Kyi. 

''The Thai people want nothing more than to see positive political
development taking place in Burma. This is beyond dispute. I think the
majority of intellectual people think so. But sentiment is one thing, and
sharing of concerns is another thing,'' he said. 

To persuade Asean members to intervene in the domestic affairs of fellow
Asean countries for the cause of democracy is altogether another matter, he
said. 

He stressed that Asean was established on the principle of non-interference
and that this has served as a foundation of why Asean has progressed over
the last 32 years. 

Because of adherence to this principle, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia
were attracted to Asean, he added. 


''If one abandons this principle and intervenes in the affairs of member
countries in order to promote democracy, in the end there may not be an
Asean,'' said Sukhumbhand. 

''The call for Asean to intervene is based on a wrong assumption of the
genesis and nature of Asean. Asean was never intended to be an organisation
that has a collective viewpoint and could impose such a collective
viewpoint,'' he added. 

But this does not mean that Thailand would remain silent and do nothing, he
said. ''I did say that we will continue to follow the situation in Burma
closely -- we will express concerns whenever issues that affect the
security and wellbeing of the Thai people arise.'' 
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