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news of Burma Embassy occupied ,con

Subject: news of Burma Embassy occupied ,continued

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<font face="Times New Roman, Times">06:45 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern 
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BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - One of 12 armed men holed up at Myanmar's
embassy in Bangkok said on Friday they were holding 30 hostages and were
seeking a helicopter to fly to the Thai-Myanmar border. <br>
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The man, who identified himself only as ``Johnny,'' told a Thai radio
station that his group did not intend to harm any of the hostages, who
include diplomats, embassy staff and more than one dozen foreigners. He
said he wanted a helicopter capable of carrying 20 people. <br>
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03:07 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern <br>
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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. <br>
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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. <br>
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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. <br>
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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. <br>
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02:47 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern <br>
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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. <br>
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``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.
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 07:10 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern <br>
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BANGKOK (Reuters) - A dozen armed men holding up to 30 hostages in the
besieged Myanmar embassy in Bangkok released two more hostages Friday.
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Thai police said the two freed hostages were Thai nationals. One was a
carpenter and the other a security guard at the embassy. Earlier Friday,
a Thai policeman who was on guard detail at the embassy was released.
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The two freed hostages were taken away by police for questioning. <br>
<br>
Earlier, one of the embassy attackers said they were holding 30 hostages
and were seeking a helicopter to fly to the Thai-Myanmar border. <br>
<br>
The man, who identified himself only as ``Johnny,'' told a Thai radio
station that his group did not intend to harm any of the hostages, who
include diplomats, embassy staff and more than a dozen foreigners. He
said he wanted a helicopter capable of carrying 20 people. <br>
<br>
One of the hostages, who identified himself as a Canadian, said by
telephone to an Asiaworks Television Ltd producer Friday that all those
being held captive were safe. <br>
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The man, who said he was Antoine Marcotte, 31, from Montreal, said there
were three Frenchmen, three Canadians, one German, an American and
several Malaysians, Singaporeans and Thais being held hostage. <br>
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