[Fwd: Burmese embassy storming]

[heiko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

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Only the first two messages are in German, keep on reading!

Metta
Heiko (who is using Mg Mg Yan's email today)
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Date: Fri, 01 Oct 1999 13:18:46 +0200
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To: Aye Myint <aye.myint@xxxxxxxxxxx>
CC: Heiko =?iso-8859-1?Q?Sch=E4fer?= <heiko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,Burma Buero 
	<burmabuero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Nwe_Aung@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx,ncgrep1@xxxxxxx
Subject: Burmese embassy storming
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Freitag, 1. Oktober 1999, 11:43 Uhr

Ein Toter bei Geiselnahme in
Birma-Botschaft in Bangkok

Bangkok (dpa) - Ein Dutzend Bewaffneter hat die Botschaft
Birmas in der thailändischen Hauptstadt Bangkok gestürmt
und 20 Geiseln genommen. Bei dem Überfall soll nach
unbestätigten Angaben mindestens ein Mensch getötet
worden sein. Die thailändische Polizei geht davon aus, dass
es sich bei den Angreifern um birmanische Regimegegner
handelt. Birma wird von einer Militärjunta regiert, die vor
elf Jahren die Demokratiebewegung brutal unterdrückte. 

***

Meldung vom 01.10.1999 11:19 

Birmanische Regimegegner besetzen Botschaft in Thailand
  
30 Geiseln genommen - Fahne der Opposition gehisst

Bangkok (AP)
Mit Sturmgewehren und Handgranaten bewaffnete Gegner des Militärregimes
in Birma haben am Freitag die Botschaft ihres Landes in Thailand
besetzt. Sie nahmen etwa 30 Menschen als Geiseln und hissten auf dem
Gebäude im Zentrum von Bangkok die Fahne der Oppositionsbewegung. In der
Botschaft waren Schüsse zu hören. Die Polizei sperrte die Umgebung ab
und nahm Verhandlungen mit den Geiselnehmern auf. 

«Ich weiß nicht, was sie fordern», sagte der Berater des
Innenministeriums, Chettha Thanajaro, nach dessen Angaben die Besetzer
etwa 30 Geiseln genommen haben. Die Angreifer hätten die Polizei davor
gewarnt, das Botschaftsgebäude zu betreten. Die birmanische Regierung
teilte mit, der Botschafter befinde sich nicht unter den Geiseln und
arbeite zusammen mit den thailändischen Behörden an einer Lösung des
Problems. 

Nach der Übernahme der Botschaft holten ein Mann und eine Frau die
birmanische Flagge herunter und ersetzten sie mit der Fahne der
Oppositionsbewegung, die einen kämpfenden Pfau zeigt. Danach gaben sie
Salutschüsse ab. Bei den Botschaftsbesetzern handelt es sich nach
Polizeiangaben vermutlich um Birmaner. Sie meldeten sich in der
Botschaft offenbar als ausländische Antragsteller für ein Visum an. Dann
schlugen sie den thailändischen Wachmann nieder und stürmten in das
Botschaftsgebäude. In einem Nachbargebäude bezogen Scharfschützen der
Polizei Stellung. 
        
© AP

***

Armed group storm Myanmar embassy in Bangkok

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (AFP) - Unidentified armed men have stormed the Myanmar
embassy in downtown Bangkok and shots have been heard inside the
building, special branch police said Friday.

Officers said they could not enter the premises and could not confirm
how many people had gained access.

"Police have sealed off the area around the embassy, but we can't get
inside," an officer told AFP

***

Myanmar ambassador held hostage in embassy storming

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (AFP) - Myanmar's ambassador to Thailand was among 20
hostages being held by armed men who stormed Yangon's embassy in Bangkok
Friday, police said.

Ambassador Hla Muang was inside the building, police said, adding the
armed group were believed to be exiled Myanmar activists.

"There are 20 hostages, staff of the embassy of Myanmar and, yes, the
ambassador is inside the building," a senior police officer at the scene
told AFP.

"The attackers are pro-democracy students," he added. 

***

More shots fired in Myanmar embassy hostage taking

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (AFP) - About 10 gunshots were heard from inside the
Myanmar embassy compound in Bangkok, about two hours after it was taken
over by armed men, witnesses said.

Several witnesses said they had seen a number of men fleeing the
building shortly after the shots were fired.

A shaken embassy security guard had been escorted from the compound to a
waiting ambulance minutes before the shots.

***

Myanmar says ambassador safe

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (AFP) - Myanmar said Friday its ambassador to Thailand
was safe and had not been in the compound of its Bangkok embassy when it
was stormed by armed men.

In a statement received here, a spokesman said ambassador Hla Muang was
working with Thai authorities to secure the release of the hostages.

Thai police said earlier the ambassador was among 20 embassy staff
believed to be inside the building. 

***

Desperate exiled Myanmar dissidents resort to violence

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (AFP) - The attack on the Myanmar embassy Friday by an
armed group described as dissident students appears to signal a resort
to violence in their quest for democracy after years of political
stalemate.

The struggle to end decades of brutal military rule at home has spilled
over into neighbouring Thailand, where thousands of Myanmar activists
have taken refuge from years of persecution at home.

Twelve armed men stormed the embassy in downtown Bangkok Friday, taking
an estimated 20 hostages, police said. Gunfire was heard but so far
there have been no reports of casualties.

The attackers removed the Myanmar flag, replacing it with the red and
gold fighting peakock banner of the pro-democracy movement.

Thai authorities said they appeared to be elements of one of the several
clandestine Myanmar opposition groups based in refugee camps scattered
along the western Thai border.

The high-walled embassy is a regular target of protests by Bangkok's
exiled dissident community, mostly peaceful affairs lasting a few hours
before Thai police ask people to move on.

Some protests have lasted several days, with a dedicated few returning
each morning to wave placards at incoming staff and passing motorists in
a bid to raise awareness of the struggle for democracy in Myanmar.

Myanmar dissidents in exile called for a nationwide uprising last month
against the military government, but the movement failed to spark major
unrest.

The junta in Yangon is condemned internationally for alleged widespread
human rights abuses including the systematic rape and torture of ethnic
minorities, the use of slave labour and political imprisonment.

It is also vilified for ignoring the results of a 1990 election won in a
landslide by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) opposition party.

Political dissent is forbidden in Myanmar.

Photographs of Aung San Suu Kyi are banned and the junta, called the
State Peace and Development Council, uses draconian emergency laws to
imprison people for "crimes" such as distributing pro-democracy
pamphlets.

According to accounts from refugees in Thailand, dissidents are often
beaten and blindfolded during interrogation, refused legal
representation in court and incarcerated in Yangon's notorious jails.

Several NLD MPs have died or remain in prison. Hundreds of NLD members
and supporters have been locked up since August last year in a renewed
junta crackdown on the opposition.

Aung San Suu Kyi herself is no stranger to hardship in the name of
democracy. She spent six years under house arrest in the early 1990s.

But such is the fractious political scene in Myanmar, Friday's attackers
cannot be assumed to be NLD or student activists.

Myanmar also has a number of ethnic minorities which have waged sporadic
guerrilla wars against the junta since the 1950s.

Chief among them are the Karen National Union and the Shan State Army,
both of which have strong support from refugees in Thailand and loose
affiliations with the NLD.

And as the world rushes to intervene to stop atrocities in places like
Kosovo and East Timor, there is a growing feeling among Myanmar's
various opposition groups that their battle for justice and self rule
has been forgotten by the international community.

Now it seems some have decided to take matters into their own hands. 

***

Friday, October 1, 1999 Published at 09:09 GMT 10:09
BBC UK 
World: Asia-Pacific

Hostages seized in Burmese embassy 

Anti-terrorist police surrounded the embassy Gunmen have stormed into
the Burmese embassy in Bangkok and seized hostages including diplomats
and their families. 

Witnesses said gunshots could be heard from the embassy compound as Thai
anti-terrorist units took positions at the scene. 

They are now negotiating for the release of the hostages though their
demands are not yet known. 

The gunman removed the Burmese flag from the mast and replaced it with
another flying a red background with a yellow bird imprinted on it. 

A Thai security police guard who was released by gunmen from the siege
said that 12 people had broken into the embassy and were holding 20
hostages. 

It is believed they are all Burmese embassy officials but that the
ambassador himself is not among them. 

According to witnesses, the attackers were heavily armed, with AK-47
rifles, 20 hand grenades, as well as grenade launchers. 

The released policeman said he believed the attackers were Burmese
students. 

There are hundreds of democracy and human rights activists, including
exiled students, working in Thailand to lobby for greater democracy in
Burma, which is run by a military government. 

Students and ethnic groups in particular regularly demonstrate in front
of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok but their demonstrations are always
peaceful. 

***

US voices support for Myanmar opposition, but is against violence

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (AFP) - Secretary of Defense William Cohen Friday
expressed Washington's support for the Myanmar pro-democracy opposition
led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The United States has indicated that we have been supportive of her
efforts to bring about change in Burma (Myanmar)," he told reporters at
the end of a brief stop-over in Thailand.

"But, we are not certainly in a position to try to dictate to Burma
itself," he said.

The comment came just minutes before armed men, believed to be    
Myanmar dissidents, stormed Yangon's embassy in Bangkok, taking some 20
staff hostage.

Cohen said Myanmar's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
partners needed to do more to encourage change within the military ruled
country.

"The ASEAN countries have tried to engage Burma, or Myanmar. Much
remains to be done to achieve that goal, but we are not advocating any
action beyond that," he said.

He said change was something the Myanmar authorities had to do for
themselves.

"This is something that the people in Burma must choose for themselves
and they must take into account what the international community's
reaction is to any repressive activity that they engage in."

A number of exiled Myanmar activist groups use Thailand as the base for
their efforts to topple Yangon's junta, making regular calls for
democracy and the convening of a parliament elected in 1990 polls.

The polls were won in a landslide by the National League for Democracy
led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, but the military have
refused to hand over power.

A spokesman for the Thailand-based All Burma Students' Democratic Front
(ABSDF) on Friday denied any involvement in the embassy storming.

"The ABSDF is not involved in violence, and we call on all sides to
resolve this in a peaceful way," spokesman Naing Aung told AFP.

"We use Thailand only as a logistics base for our movement."

***

Myanmar minister warns of moves to short circuit reforms

SINGAPORE, Oct 1 (AFP) - A senior Myanmar minister said here Friday that
the country's military junta will hold democratic elections as promised
but warned Yangon would not tolerate a western-style political system.

Declining to comment on Friday's storming of the Myanmar embassy in
Bangkok by armed men, Brigadier General David Abel said dissidents at
home considered democracy a "commodity" and wanted to short-circuit the
reform process.

"Political reforms will come, definitely they will come because we have
promised the people," Abel told AFP at the sidelines of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trade ministers meeting which he was
attending.

"We have promised them a market economy, we have promised them a
democratic system, we'll deliver but we want to deliver in good shape,
good form.

"If we just say this is democracy, you take it, the fellows don't know
what it is and they'll misuse it," said Abel, a member of the Myanmar
junta officially known as the State Peace and Development Council.

He said that democratic elections in Myanmar would be part of reforms to
be introduced after the fourth and final consultations with the people
on drawing up a national constitution.

"If they (dissidents) want to short cut, if they want an engine that
they like, they say they want an American engine, we say: No, we use our
own engine to pull our (train).

"But we are going to the same destination. How can they impose such a
thing on us?."

A group of 12 armed men, believed to be exiled Myanmar activists,
stormed the Myanmar embassy in downtown Bangkok Friday, taking an
estimated 20 staff hostage.

A number of exiled Myanmar activist groups use Thailand as the base for
their efforts to topple Yangon junta, making regular calls for democracy
and the convening of a parliament elected in 1990 polls.

The polls were won in a landslide by the National League for Democracy
(NLD) led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, but the military
have refused to hand over power.

Abel said the NLD had to pay the price for walking out of the national
convention that was aimed at devising the country's constitution.

"When they broke away, NLD had the largest representation in the
national convention. They walked out but the rest of the bodies in the
convention remained.

"This makes a big difference. They thought when they walked out, the
rest will follow. Now they say they want a national dialogue, they can
say what they want in the convention. It is a democracy, and everything
is voted for," he said.

***

Freed Thai says Myanmar embassy attackers hold 20 
02:38 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A Thai policeman released by gunmen from a
siege at Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok on Friday said about 20 people
were being held by the attackers, who said they were student dissident
exiles. 

``They say they have eight AK-47 rifles and 20 hand grenades. They say
they are holding 20 people. But have not said what their demands are,''
the policeman, who was part of the embassy security detail, told
reporters. 

***

Thai police say 12 attackers inside Myanmar embassy 
02:47 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Bangkok police chief Major-General Jongrak
Juchanon said on Friday 12 attackers had stormed the Myanmar embassy in
the Thai capital and he had ordered his men to hold their fire to allow
talks to end the siege. 

``I have asked my men not to shoot because we have learned they are
heavily armed inside the embassy and we are trying to contact them to
find out what they want and negotiate with them,'' he told reporters. 

***

Gunmen fire shots in Myanmar embassy, flag changed 
03:01 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Gunmen holding hostages in the Myanmar
embassy in Bangkok on Friday fired at least 10 gunshots to provide cover
for their compatriots to replace a Myanmar flag from a mast in the
compound with one of their own, police said. 

They removed the Myanmar flag from the mast and replaced it with another
flying a red background with a yellow bird imprinted on it, witnesses
near the embassy compound said. Police said earlier there were 12
heavily armed attackers inside the embassy. 

***

He said the attackers told him about 12 of them had stormed 
02:46 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

He said the attackers told him about 12 of them had stormed the embassy:
``They let me out because they don't want to have trouble with the Thai
authorities,'' he said. 

A diplomat at the embassy told Reuters at least three armed men broke
into the embassy compound and were holding diplomats and family members
in an embassy building. 

Witnesses said several gunshots could be heard from the compound as Thai
anti-terrorist units took positions at the scene. It was unclear if
anyone was wounded. 

Many student dissidents fled Myanmar to Thailand after the military in
their country killed thousands to crush a pro-democracy uprising in
1988. Some of the students teamed up with ethnic guerrilla groups based
on the Myanmar border which have fought for decades against the Yangon
government.

***

Bangkok police chief, Major-General Jongrak Juchanon, told 
03:27 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

Bangkok police chief, Major-General Jongrak Juchanon, told reporters a
negotiator was being brought in from a dissidents holding centre in
western Ratchaburi to talk to the attackers, believed to be Myanmar
student dissidents, 

The vice president of the main group of Myanmar students in exile said
his group had no connection with the attack. ``We don't know exactly who
they are,'' Moe Thee Zun, of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front
told Reuters. ``We are not involved in this, we don't want to support
terrorist actions.'' 

The attackers were holding about 20 diplomats and family members in the
embassy which was ringed by about 200 Thai policemen, according to Thai
police and a diplomat in another building in the embassy compound. 

A local radio station said about one dozen police sharpshooters were
perched on top of a tall building near the embassy in a busy downtown
Bangkok street. Roads nearby were cordoned off by police. 

Jongrak said he had ordered his men to hold their fire. 

***

We only focus on inside political activity, we don't want 
03:40 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

``We only focus on inside political activity, we don't want to make any
political activity inside Thailand,'' he said. 

Bangkok police chief Major-General Jongrak Juchanon said earlier that 12
attackers had stormed the Myanmar embassy in the Thai capital on Friday
morning. A Thai policeman released from the siege said the attackers
said they were student dissidents armed with AK-47 rifles and hand
grenades and holding about 20 people. 

They fired gunshots to provide cover as they replaced the Myanmar flag
with another bearing a red background with a yellow bird imprinted on
it. It appeared to be the fighting peacock flag of Myanmar's democratic
opposition. 

Many student dissidents fled Myanmar to Thailand after the military in
their country killed thousands to crush a pro-democracy uprising in
1988. Some of the students teamed up with ethnic guerrilla groups based
on the Myanmar border which have fought for decades against the Yangon
government. 

***

FOCUS-Gunmen storm Myanmar embassy in Bangkok 
02:56 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Twelve armed men broke into the Myanmar
embassy compound in Bangkok on Friday and were holding about 20
diplomats and family members in an embassy building, Thai police and a
diplomat at the embassy said. 

Bangkok police chief Major-General Jongrak Juchanon said he had ordered
his men to hold their fire to allow talks to end the siege. 

``I have asked my men not to shoot because we have learned they are
heavily armed inside the embassy and we are trying to contact them to
find out what they want and negotiate with them,'' he told reporters. 

A Thai policeman released by the gunmen said about 20 people were being
held by the attackers, who said they were student dissident exiles. 

``They say they have eight AK-47 rifles and 20 hand grenades. They say
they are holding 20 people. But have not said what their demands are,''
the policeman, who was part of the embassy security detail, told
reporters. 

He said the attackers told him about 12 of them had stormed the embassy:
``They let me out because they don't want to have trouble with the Thai
authorities,'' he said. 

A distressed attache, Hla Hla Kyi, told Reuters earlier by telephone
that the attackers numbered about ``three or four.'' 

``They are keeping the staff members in the office,'' she said. 

Nearly 200 Thai policemen from the anti-terrorist police squad rushed to
the area near the embassy in downtown Bangkok after a request from
embassy officials for help. 

Witnesses earlier said several gunshots were heard from the compound as
Thai anti-terrorist units took positions at the scene. It was unclear if
anyone was wounded. 

Police at the scene said one man was armed with a sub-machinegun and two
others were also armed. They said they did not know the identity of the
attackers. 

A local television station, ITV, said the gunmen were also believed to
be wielding hand grenades. 

Hla Hla Kyi said she was in another building of the compound. ``So far I
am OK,'' she said. ``But we've had no contact with the people in the
office -- they've cut the phones.'' 

Police in the area outside the embassy compound used loudhailers to try
to make contact with the intruders. But there was no communication. 

A witness at the scene, K.N. Sethi, said he was sitting in a car outside
the embassy gate waiting for his friend to get his visa at around 11.30
a.m. (0430 GMT) when he saw a Thai man rush out of the compound. 

``He rushed out shouting and then I knew something was wrong. After he
ran out, the embassy gate shut. A few minutes after that I heard four of
five gun shots. Then the police arrived,'' he told Reuters. 

A Myanmar government spokesman from Yangon told Reuters that the Myanmar
ambassador to Thailand, Hla Maung, was not in the embassy when the
gunmen stormed it. 

``We don't know yet which organisation or group they are representing.
We have talked to the Thai authorities and they are taking action,'' he
said. 

He added that they were aware that the gunmen were holding some
hostages, but no details were available yet. 

***

Myanmar student group denies role in embassy siege 
03:21 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The vice president of the main group of
Myanmar students in exile said on Friday his group had no connection
with the storming of Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok by armed attackers. 

``We don't know exactly who they are,'' Moe Thee Zun, of the All Burma
Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), told Reuters. ``We are not involved
in this, we don't want to support terrorist actions.'' 

***

Jongrak said he understood the attackers were Myanmar 
03:07 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

Jongrak said he understood the attackers were Myanmar student exiles
opposed to the military government in Yangon. Shortly after he spoke
bursts of gunfire could be heard from within the embassy compound. 

A Thai policeman released by gunmen from the siege earlier said about 20
people were being held. He said the attackers claimed to have eight
AK-47 assault rifles and 20 hand grenades. Jongrak said he did not have
details of how many people were being held inside the embassy. 

An attache at the embassy, Hla Hla Kyi, told Reuters she understood the
Myanmar ambassador to Thailand, Hla Maung was among those held, but the
embassy's military attache and a Myanmar government spokesman in Yangon
said the envoy was not in the embassy at the time. 

A witness at the scene said the intruders stormed into the embassy at
around 11.30 a.m. (0430 GMT). Several bursts of gunfire have been heard
from the compound, but it was unclear if any people inside had been
wounded. 

***

Shots Fired As Gunmen Storm Myanmar Embassy 
04:43 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

By Sutin Wannabovorn 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A dozen armed men stormed the Myanmar embassy
compound in the Thai capital Friday and took at least 20 diplomats and
family members hostage, police and a diplomat at the embassy said. 

Several bursts of automatic gunfire were heard from within the compound
but it was unclear if anyone had been wounded. To a burst of about 10
shots, the attackers removed the Myanmar flag from the compound flagpole
and ran up another carrying the symbol of Myanmar's struggle for
democracy -- a fighting peacock. 

A Thai policeman released from the siege said the attackers told him
they were student dissident exiles, who use the fighting peacock as a
symbol of their struggle against military rule in neighboring Myanmar. 

MOTIVE A MYSTERY 

``They say they have eight AK-47 rifles and 20 handgrenades. They say
they are holding 20 people. But have not said what their demands are,''
the policeman, who was part of the embassy security detail, told
reporters. 

About 300 heavily armed police including members of an elite
anti-terrorist squad rushed to the embassy in downtown Bangkok but were
ordered to hold their fire to allow for negotiations. 

Police established an operations center in a next door building and
Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart arrived to direct operations. 

About a dozen police sharpshooters were perched on top of a tall
building neighboring the embassy. Nearby roads were cordoned off by
police. 

Bangkok police chief Major-General Jongrak Juchanon said he had ordered
his men to hold their fire to allow talks to end the siege. ``We are
trying to contact them to find out what they want and negotiate with
them,'' he said. 
                 
A Danish man, who declined to give his name, told reporters his
Malaysian wife, who was with him near the embassy when the gunmen
charged in, was dragged into the compound. 

He was being interviewed by police who also detained a man outside the
embassy, handcuffed him and questioned him. No details were available. 

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said he was following the situation
closely. ``We are still assessing the situation. I was informed that the
group has not made any demands yet.'' 

The vice president of the main group of Myanmar students in exile said
his group had no connection with the attack. 

``We don't know exactly who they are,'' Moe Thee Zun, of the All Burma
Students' Democratic Front, told Reuters. ``We are not involved in this,
we don't want to support terrorist actions... we don't want to make any
political activity inside Thailand.'' 

TIGHT REIN ON DISSENT 

Many student dissidents fled Myanmar to Thailand after the military in r
country killed thousands to crush a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. 

The military has since kept a tight reign on dissent and ignored the
result of the country's last election in 1990 when the opposition
National League for Democracy, led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, won by a landslide. 

The policeman freed from the embassy said the attackers had told him
about 12 of them had stormed the compound: ``They let me out because
they don't want to have trouble with the Thai authorities,'' he said. 

A distressed attache, Hla Hla Kyi, told Reuters earlier by telephone
from a building inside the compound that the attackers were keeping
embassy staff in another building. 

``They are keeping the staff members in the office,'' she said. ``So far
I am okay. But we've had no contact with the people in the office --
they've cut the phones.'' 

Police in the area outside the embassy compound used loudhailers to try
to make contact with the intruders. 

A Myanmar government spokesman from Yangon told Reuters that the Myanmar
ambassador to Thailand, Hla Maung, was not in the embassy when the
gunmen stormed it at 10:50 a.m. 

``We don't know yet which organization or group they are representing.
We have talked to the Thai authorities and they are taking action,'' he
said. 

The attack on the embassy coincided with a visit to Bangkok by Defense
Secretary William Cohen who later flew on to Singapore on the next leg
of a tour of Southeast Asia which has focused on the crisis in East
Timor. 

***

Gunmen In Myanmar Embassy List Demands In Fax 
05:31 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Gunmen holed up in the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok
Friday demanded Yangon's military government free all political
prisoners, enter into a dialogue with the opposition and convene a
democratic parliament. 

In a faxed statement to Asiaworks Television Ltd in Bangkok, the group
warned that if the Myanmar military government did not accede to the
demands it would be fully responsible ``for all consequences of this
action.'' The group, calling itself the ''Vigorous Burmese Students
Warriors,'' said so far it had not killed anyone and would like to talk
to the Thai authorities. 

``We are ready to die in action unless we ... get our demands,'' it said
in the fax to the television production company. ``Right now we didn't
kill anyone and we didn't oppress anyone,'' it added, ``also we need
food for the hostages.'' 

The statement said the group was not connected with Myanmar dissident
student organizations, the country's opposition or international support
groups. ``This action is our own movement and our own ideas,'' it said. 

The statement expressed support for a committee established last year by
Myanmar's main opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD)
to represent a parliament elected in 1990 but never allowed to convene
by the military. 

The NLD, led by 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won the
country's last election by a landslide but the ruling military ignored
the result. The NLD advocates non-violent political change in Myanmar. 
***
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Content-Description: Card for Maung Maung Yan
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begin:vcard 
n:Yan;Maung Maung
tel;fax:++49 (0)72 31 - 29 03 18
tel;home:++49 (0)72 31 - 2 21 45
tel;work:++49 (0)72 31 - 2 21 45
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version:2.1
email;internet:MM.Yan@xxxxxxxxxxx
adr;quoted-printable:;;Mathystr. 25=0D=0A;Pforzheim;;75173 ;
x-mozilla-cpt:;26032
fn:Maung Maung Yan
end:vcard

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