[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Exiled Burmese face immigration cur



Subject: Exiled Burmese face immigration curbs

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0007_01BF1051.EF861340
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

      The Nation - October 7, 1999

      Headlines=20


      Exiled Burmese face immigration curbs

      THE Thai government will impose stricter immigration controls over =
the movement of exiled Burmese students in Thailand and send those who =
are eligible to third countries as soon as possible in the aftermath of =
the Burmese Embassy siege in which five gunmen took 89 people hostage =
last Friday.=20

      Meanwhile, a government source said that a two-hour meeting of the =
national anti-international terrorism committee yesterday agreed that a =
similar incident could happen in the future, since there are many other =
political groups in Thailand which have been watching the Thai =
government's handling of the siege.=20

      In what is seen as a knee-jerk reaction to the hostage crisis, the =
National Security Council (NSC) also threatened to revoke its =
long-standing policy of leniency in not sending exiled Burmese students =
back home.=20

      The NSC and Interior Ministry have informed the United Nations =
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of the moves and urged them to =
help speed up the resettlement process of the Burmese students.=20

      Khachadpai Burusapatana, NSC chief, said the UNHCR has agreed to =
cooperate and will first help check the exact number of Burmese students =
in Bangkok and along the Thai-Burmese border.=20

      Khachadpai said 811 Burmese students are waiting at the Interior =
Ministry-controlled Maneeloy camp in Ratchaburi province to be sent to =
third countries. About 2,000 students are in Bangkok under the =
supervision of UNHCR.=20

      A significant number could disguise themselves among the 100,000 =
Burmese refugees sheltered in camps along the Thai-Burmese border.=20

      Khachadpai said the next step would be to consult with third =
countries, such as the United States, Australia and Canada, on their =
readiness to accept them.=20

      ''It's time to implement the policy [of resettlement]. We have =
been paying lip-service but have never taken action, not until trouble =
landed on us,'' he said.=20

      The move was among the measures agreed upon at yesterday's meeting =
of the anti-international terrorism committee in response to the siege =
which has embarrassed the whole Thai intelligence network.=20

      The 25-hour hostage crisis ended peacefully with the gunmen =
fleeing Bangkok by helicopter on Saturday in return for the release of =
the 89 hostages.=20

      Two of the gunmen were identified as students from the Maneeloy =
centre while the identities of the three others, suspected to be members =
of Burmese ethnic armed rebels, have not been verified yet.=20

      The captors claimed to be members of the anti-Rangoon Vigorous =
Burmese Student Warriors, a splinter group of the All Burmese Students' =
Democratic Front.=20

      Other measures included more frequent joint exercises involving =
anti-international terrorist activities, and improvement of the =
intelligence process and overall immigration control.=20

      A committee will be set up to study several guidelines for the =
implementation of the anti-terrorism measures.=20

      Speaking after chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai =
said the Friday embassy siege had served as a lesson for all parties =
concerned to be more vigilant so that they can prevent similar =
incidents.=20

      ''It could happen again unless we are careful,'' Chuan said.=20

      The prime minister pointed out there was a great need to improve =
the efficiency of personnel and intelligence units themselves as well as =
the system of coordination. ''Good intelligence is not enough,'' he =
said.=20

      ''Thailand is an open country. Therefore, this incident will serve =
as a lesson for Thai authorities to place more stringent immigration =
control on not only students but also on foreign nationals entering the =
country,'' he said.=20

      Chuan said responsible authorities yesterday admitted their =
deficiency in intelligence-gathering and coordination for the failure to =
detect the incident before it happened.=20

      Phummaraj Taksathipongse, director of the National Intelligence =
Bureau, the government's highest intelligence supervisory agency, =
yesterday said his agency's deficiency partly contributed to the failure =
to prevent the incident.=20

      According to Chuan, security had been tightened to cope with a =
possible Burmese student demonstration on Sept 9, the numerically =
auspicious date to follow along the lines of the Aug 8, 1988, =
demonstration when Rangoon cracked down on the democracy movement. =
However, security became lax when the date passed with no violent =
incidents.=20

      The prime minister denied any responsible official had been =
singled out for blame for the failure to prevent the incident.=20

      ''The fact that all parties were in the dark about the incident is =
a self- admission of mistake. I am satisfied with that,'' Chuan said.=20

      He said he understood that it was hard to keep track of the =
students' movement. ''A large number of Thai people and Burmese students =
in Thailand have developed a strong feeling against the Burmese =
government,'' he said.=20

      ''I want to see all the intelligence units sit and talk frankly =
about the incident to find out the loopholes in our operation and what =
to do next to improve their coordination,'' he said.=20

      The meeting also concluded that the assailants were not linked to =
any terrorist group, as alleged by Rangoon, and that they resorted to =
violent means just to bring the attention back to their struggle for =
democracy in Burma, a government source said.=20

      The source also admitted that the captors belonged to a very new =
group, whose impact was difficult to gauge. The so-called Vigorous =
Burmese Student Warriors was reportedly formed on Aug 29.=20

      Khachadpai, meanwhile, said that the NSC would round up exiled =
students inside Thailand, check their status, and prosecute those found =
to have entered the country illegally.=20

      He said all students would then be transferred to the Maneeloy =
holding centre near the Thai-Burma border, and the UNHCR would be asked =
to quickly transfer them to a third country.=20

      Veerachai Naewboonian, deputy permanent secretary of Interior =
Ministry, said students who were not accepted by a third country would =
be given temporary shelter in Thailand.=20

      Veerachai said Thailand had already moved to ensure students were =
confined to the Maneeloy centre.=20

      ''Authorities will step up rules and regulations at the Maneeloy =
holding centre,'' Veerachai said.=20

      Despite the crackdown on exiled students, Bangkok denied claims by =
Rangoon that refugee camps inside Thailand were being used as terrorist =
bases.=20

      ''On this issue Thailand has a clear-cut policy that we will not =
allow any groups of terrorists to operate against neighbouring countries =
from inside our country,'' Khachadpai said.=20

      He said Thailand's policy of sheltering 100,000 refugees along the =
Thai-Burmese border would remain unchanged, but all illegal Burmese =
workers would be repatriated.=20

      ''We have extended permission for 80,000 to 90,000 Burmese =
workers, but those who are not granted an extension will be prosecuted =
for violating immigration laws,'' he said.=20

      Police chief Pol Gen Pracha Promnok said that the police =
department has set up a committee to investigate the hostage incident.=20

      ''We have to admit that the students hid their weapons in a guitar =
bag and came to Thailand in a pick-up truck from Ratchaburi. Well, we =
have checkpoints but we cannot check all vehicles. We only check =
vehicles which we suspect of having illegal items.''=20

      He said that the police would tighten security at embassies.=20

      Chuan has instructed police to work with the Foreign Ministry to =
strengthen security at 65 embassies and 10 consulates in Bangkok.=20

      Special Branch police deputy commissioner Maj Gen Yothin =
Matthayanun said his agency would focus on improving security for =
diplomatic missions of neighbouring countries and nations embroiled in =
political disputes, such as Indonesia.=20

      He said that he has instructed the Foreign Ministry and the =
national police office to coordinate with all embassies in Bangkok to =
prevent a repetition of the incident.=20

      According to Chuan, the Burmese ambassador admitted that the =
security problem at the Burmese Embassy was caused partially due to =
space allocation. The visa section is located in the same compound as =
the embassy building. This arrangement makes it easier to gain access to =
the embassy.=20


    =20


------=_NextPart_000_0007_01BF1051.EF861340
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<TABLE border=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 cellSpacing=3D2 width=3D450>
  <TBODY>
  <TR vAlign=3Dtop>
    <TD width=3D30>
    <TD></TD></TD>
    <TD vAlign=3Dcenter width=3D300><FONT face=3Darial,Times><FONT =
size=3D+1>
      <P><FONT size=3D4><STRONG><U>The Nation - October 7,=20
      1999</U></STRONG></FONT></P>
      <P><STRONG>Headlines</STRONG></FONT> <FONT =
face=3Darial,Times><FONT size=3D+2>
      <P>
      <H2><FONT color=3D#000000>Exiled Burmese face immigration=20
      curbs</FONT></H2></FONT><FONT face=3Darial,Times><FONT size=3D+.5>
      <P>
      <P>THE Thai government will impose stricter immigration controls =
over the=20
      movement of exiled Burmese students in Thailand and send those who =
are=20
      eligible to third countries as soon as possible in the aftermath =
of the=20
      Burmese Embassy siege in which five gunmen took 89 people hostage =
last=20
      Friday.=20
      <P>Meanwhile, a government source said that a two-hour meeting of =
the=20
      national anti-international terrorism committee yesterday agreed =
that a=20
      similar incident could happen in the future, since there are many =
other=20
      political groups in Thailand which have been watching the Thai=20
      government's handling of the siege.=20
      <P>In what is seen as a knee-jerk reaction to the hostage crisis, =
the=20
      National Security Council (NSC) also threatened to revoke its=20
      long-standing policy of leniency in not sending exiled Burmese =
students=20
      back home.=20
      <P>The NSC and Interior Ministry have informed the United Nations =
High=20
      Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of the moves and urged them to =
help=20
      speed up the resettlement process of the Burmese students.=20
      <P>Khachadpai Burusapatana, NSC chief, said the UNHCR has agreed =
to=20
      cooperate and will first help check the exact number of Burmese =
students=20
      in Bangkok and along the Thai-Burmese border.=20
      <P>Khachadpai said 811 Burmese students are waiting at the =
Interior=20
      Ministry-controlled Maneeloy camp in Ratchaburi province to be =
sent to=20
      third countries. About 2,000 students are in Bangkok under the =
supervision=20
      of UNHCR.=20
      <P>A significant number could disguise themselves among the =
100,000=20
      Burmese refugees sheltered in camps along the Thai-Burmese border. =

      <P>Khachadpai said the next step would be to consult with third =
countries,=20
      such as the United States, Australia and Canada, on their =
readiness to=20
      accept them.=20
      <P>''It's time to implement the policy [of resettlement]. We have =
been=20
      paying lip-service but have never taken action, not until trouble =
landed=20
      on us,'' he said.=20
      <P>The move was among the measures agreed upon at yesterday's =
meeting of=20
      the anti-international terrorism committee in response to the =
siege which=20
      has embarrassed the whole Thai intelligence network.=20
      <P>The 25-hour hostage crisis ended peacefully with the gunmen =
fleeing=20
      Bangkok by helicopter on Saturday in return for the release of the =
89=20
      hostages.=20
      <P>Two of the gunmen were identified as students from the Maneeloy =
centre=20
      while the identities of the three others, suspected to be members =
of=20
      Burmese ethnic armed rebels, have not been verified yet.=20
      <P>The captors claimed to be members of the anti-Rangoon Vigorous =
Burmese=20
      Student Warriors, a splinter group of the All Burmese Students' =
Democratic=20
      Front.=20
      <P>Other measures included more frequent joint exercises involving =

      anti-international terrorist activities, and improvement of the=20
      intelligence process and overall immigration control.=20
      <P>A committee will be set up to study several guidelines for the=20
      implementation of the anti-terrorism measures.=20
      <P>Speaking after chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Chuan =
Leekpai said=20
      the Friday embassy siege had served as a lesson for all parties =
concerned=20
      to be more vigilant so that they can prevent similar incidents.=20
      <P>''It could happen again unless we are careful,'' Chuan said.=20
      <P>The prime minister pointed out there was a great need to =
improve the=20
      efficiency of personnel and intelligence units themselves as well =
as the=20
      system of coordination. ''Good intelligence is not enough,'' he =
said.=20
      <P>''Thailand is an open country. Therefore, this incident will =
serve as a=20
      lesson for Thai authorities to place more stringent immigration =
control on=20
      not only students but also on foreign nationals entering the =
country,'' he=20
      said.=20
      <P>Chuan said responsible authorities yesterday admitted their =
deficiency=20
      in intelligence-gathering and coordination for the failure to =
detect the=20
      incident before it happened.=20
      <P>Phummaraj Taksathipongse, director of the National Intelligence =
Bureau,=20
      the government's highest intelligence supervisory agency, =
yesterday said=20
      his agency's deficiency partly contributed to the failure to =
prevent the=20
      incident.=20
      <P>According to Chuan, security had been tightened to cope with a =
possible=20
      Burmese student demonstration on Sept 9, the numerically =
auspicious date=20
      to follow along the lines of the Aug 8, 1988, demonstration when =
Rangoon=20
      cracked down on the democracy movement. However, security became =
lax when=20
      the date passed with no violent incidents.=20
      <P>The prime minister denied any responsible official had been =
singled out=20
      for blame for the failure to prevent the incident.=20
      <P>''The fact that all parties were in the dark about the incident =
is a=20
      self- admission of mistake. I am satisfied with that,'' Chuan =
said.=20
      <P>He said he understood that it was hard to keep track of the =
students'=20
      movement. ''A large number of Thai people and Burmese students in =
Thailand=20
      have developed a strong feeling against the Burmese government,'' =
he said.=20

      <P>''I want to see all the intelligence units sit and talk frankly =
about=20
      the incident to find out the loopholes in our operation and what =
to do=20
      next to improve their coordination,'' he said.=20
      <P>The meeting also concluded that the assailants were not linked =
to any=20
      terrorist group, as alleged by Rangoon, and that they resorted to =
violent=20
      means just to bring the attention back to their struggle for =
democracy in=20
      Burma, a government source said.=20
      <P>The source also admitted that the captors belonged to a very =
new group,=20
      whose impact was difficult to gauge. The so-called Vigorous =
Burmese=20
      Student Warriors was reportedly formed on Aug 29.=20
      <P>Khachadpai, meanwhile, said that the NSC would round up exiled =
students=20
      inside Thailand, check their status, and prosecute those found to =
have=20
      entered the country illegally.=20
      <P>He said all students would then be transferred to the Maneeloy =
holding=20
      centre near the Thai-Burma border, and the UNHCR would be asked to =
quickly=20
      transfer them to a third country.=20
      <P>Veerachai Naewboonian, deputy permanent secretary of Interior =
Ministry,=20
      said students who were not accepted by a third country would be =
given=20
      temporary shelter in Thailand.=20
      <P>Veerachai said Thailand had already moved to ensure students =
were=20
      confined to the Maneeloy centre.=20
      <P>''Authorities will step up rules and regulations at the =
Maneeloy=20
      holding centre,'' Veerachai said.=20
      <P>Despite the crackdown on exiled students, Bangkok denied claims =
by=20
      Rangoon that refugee camps inside Thailand were being used as =
terrorist=20
      bases.=20
      <P>''On this issue Thailand has a clear-cut policy that we will =
not allow=20
      any groups of terrorists to operate against neighbouring countries =
from=20
      inside our country,'' Khachadpai said.=20
      <P>He said Thailand's policy of sheltering 100,000 refugees along =
the=20
      Thai-Burmese border would remain unchanged, but all illegal =
Burmese=20
      workers would be repatriated.=20
      <P>''We have extended permission for 80,000 to 90,000 Burmese =
workers, but=20
      those who are not granted an extension will be prosecuted for =
violating=20
      immigration laws,'' he said.=20
      <P>Police chief Pol Gen Pracha Promnok said that the police =
department has=20
      set up a committee to investigate the hostage incident.=20
      <P>''We have to admit that the students hid their weapons in a =
guitar bag=20
      and came to Thailand in a pick-up truck from Ratchaburi. Well, we =
have=20
      checkpoints but we cannot check all vehicles. We only check =
vehicles which=20
      we suspect of having illegal items.''=20
      <P>He said that the police would tighten security at embassies.=20
      <P>Chuan has instructed police to work with the Foreign Ministry =
to=20
      strengthen security at 65 embassies and 10 consulates in Bangkok.=20
      <P>Special Branch police deputy commissioner Maj Gen Yothin =
Matthayanun=20
      said his agency would focus on improving security for diplomatic =
missions=20
      of neighbouring countries and nations embroiled in political =
disputes,=20
      such as Indonesia.=20
      <P>He said that he has instructed the Foreign Ministry and the =
national=20
      police office to coordinate with all embassies in Bangkok to =
prevent a=20
      repetition of the incident.=20
      <P>According to Chuan, the Burmese ambassador admitted that the =
security=20
      problem at the Burmese Embassy was caused partially due to space=20
      allocation. The visa section is located in the same compound as =
the=20
      embassy building. This arrangement makes it easier to gain access =
to the=20
      embassy.=20
      =
<P>&nbsp;</P></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT=
></DIV></BODY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_0007_01BF1051.EF861340--