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The Nation (3-10-99) No. 6
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<font size=5><b>Sanan negotiates live on radio programme<br>
</font></b><font size=3>INTERIOR Minister Sanan Kachornprasart conducted
the tense negotiations leading to a breakthrough that saved the hostages
not in the normal confines of a room and a secure telephone but via a
radio programme. <br>
Members of the public listened in to the unscripted negotiations like a
thriller as Sanan was assisted by a hostage acting as a go-between to get
the messages across. <br>
The community radio service, Ruamduay Chuay Kan, broadcast live as
hostage Prasert Luangaramvet phoned in to report the situation inside the
Burmese Embassy early yesterday morning. <br>
Prasert was caught up in the hostage situation after five Burmese
dissidents stormed the embassy compound. The businessman was waiting for
the processing of his export documents on Friday. <br>
He decided to call the radio programme, voicing his concern over the slow
arrival of the helicopter that the Thai authorities had promised to
provide for the hostage-takers. <br>
''Why has the government failed to dispatch the helicopter? Has it
abandoned the hostages to die?'' he asked. <br>
After checking with police, the chat-show host informed Prasert of the
difficulties in landing a helicopter in the embassy grounds. <br>
The hostage turned negotiator then relayed the message to his captors,
who decided to chop down the flag pole to make room for a helipad. <br>
After some minutes he complained again about the helicopter not showing
up, and three gunshots were heard as a sign of the captors' frustration.
<br>
He suggested that the helicopter be flown to the embassy to prove that it
could not land. <br>
After a helicopter circled over the embassy, the Burmese dissidents told
Prasert that they would agree to board the helicopter at a football field
at the nearby Bangkok Christian School. <br>
Hearing the new demand on the radio, the authorities complied by
arranging to transport the hostage-takers and some 30 hostages to the
school. <br>
Prasert informed all listeners to the programme that the helicopter was
late in arriving at the football field and accused the authorities of
poor planning after he was told that the helicopter was being refuelled.
<br>
At this point, Sanan called in to explain to Prasert that the helicopter
would not be able to take off from the football field owing to the
presence of a high-power cable. <br>
Sanan also said that he had arranged for a new landing ground at a
military school, requesting Prasert to ask whether the Burmese dissidents
would agree to the new arrangement. <br>
''Yes, they agree,'' the go-between replied. <br>
''Khun Prasert, please tell them not to hurt the hostages. We will abide
by the agreement. And please ask them about taking [Deputy Foreign
Minister] Sukhumbhand [Paribatra] in exchange for the hostages,'' Sanan
said. <br>
After the new arrangement was agreed on, Sanan asked Prasert to ask the
hostage takers if they would agree to let Sukhumbhand ride with them to
the military school. <br>
''No, the car is full. Arrange for him to meet us at the new helicopter
landing area,'' came the reply from Prasert, quoting his captors. <br>
After he was released, the hostage recounted the tension surrounding the
slow arrival of the helicopter. <br>
''Talks are impossible. Let's start killing. Kill them all,'' he quoted a
captor as saying. <br>
At this other captors started to fire randomly at the walls and windows,
he said. <br>
He added that the captors had threatened to kill first the Burmese
diplomats and then the other hostages, causing everyone to panic. Some
women hostages started crying while others were visibly shaken. <br>
''Acting on an impulse, I plucked up courage to approach the key captor
and offer to act as a go-between to contact the media,'' he said,
outlining the background before his crucial call to the radio. <br>
Meanwhile Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai convened the national committee on
anti-terrorism to map out plans to resolve the embassy occupation,
setting the stage for Sanan to negotiate a peaceful outcome. <br>
The Nation</font>
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