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Rangoon calls for tighter security
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<font size=6 color="#FF0000"><b>Rangoon calls for tighter security<br>
</font><font size=5 color="#000000"><i>Surin resolves to deepen
relations<br>
<br>
</font></i><font size=3>Saritdet Marukatat <br>
</font><font size=5>B</font></b><font size=3>urmese Foreign Minister Win
Aung yesterday called for better protection at the embassy in Bangkok in
the wake of the siege by five armed dissidents who held hostages at
gunpoint.<br>
Mr Win Aung said after talks with Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan that
the Thai government needed to take more safety measures at the embassy as
the incident had sunk the morale of Burmese diplomats working
there.<br>
Though the Burmese minister expressed relief over the peaceful end to the
25-hour saga, he said gunmen had threatened the lives of Burmese
diplomats, and included children and women among their hostages.<br>
Mr Win Aung believed the gunmen were radical students from a refugee camp
in Thailand, and said he did not understand why the drama took place in
Bangkok.<br>
The Burmese minister, who arrived in Bangkok on Sunday on his return from
the United Nations General Assembly in New York, inspected the embassy
yesterday before being accompanied by Burmese Ambassador Hla Maung for an
hour-long meeting with Mr Surin.<br>
Rangoon has ordered its border with Thailand closed since the embassy
siege which began on Friday.<br>
But the Burmese minister denied that the decision was in retaliation to
the hostage-taking, saying that the closure was temporary and a
re-opening of the border would need more time.<br>
Mr Surin said the two countries remained resolved to deepen relations and
agreed not to let the incident obstruct diplomatic efforts to this
end.<br>
Security agencies would soon evaluate safety measures for Burmese and
other embassies in Thailand in order to ensure better protection of
foreign missions in Thailand, Mr Surin said.<br>
While remaining committed to freedom of expression, government agencies
would evaluate the activities of pro-democracy Burmese students in
Thailand and oppose any activities which violate international laws, Mr
Surin added.<br>
Foreign ministry spokesman Don Pramudwinai said the border closure by
Rangoon was understandable for safety reasons but he hoped the measure
would be lifted soon.<br>
"I don't see it as retaliation," he said.<br>
The Thai spokesman characterised the siege as a "terrorist act"
but did not consider the gunmen as terrorists.<br>
On Sunday in Rangoon, Ambassador to Burma Pensak Chalarak met with Nyunt
Maung Shein, the director-general of the Political Affairs Department,
who thanked Thailand for the peaceful end to the siege.<br>
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