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Push to resettle students abroad

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<font size=5><b>Push to resettle students abroad<br>
</font><font size=4><i>Tighter controls on remaining Burmese<br>
<br>
</font></i><font size=3>Ampa Santimethaneedol and Yuwadee Tunyasiri 
<br>
</font><font size=5>T</font></b><font size=3>he government will ask the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to speed up the
resettlement of exiled Burmese students in third countries.<br>
New restrictions will be placed on the movements of those who choose to
remain here.<br>
The move is part of a package of measures adopted at a meeting yesterday
of the anti-terrorism committee to review overall security in the
aftermath of the Burmese embassy siege last weekend.<br>
There are about 2,000 exiled Burmese students in Bangkok who are under
the care of the UNHCR. Another 811 Burmese students are housed atthe
Maneeloy centre in Ratchaburi province. In addition, there are
80,000-90,000 Burmese working illegally throughout the country.<br>
Kachadpai Buruspattana, secretary-general of the National Security
Council, said all the students under the UNHCR's care have to be
resettled in third countries.<br>
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said resettlement would reduce the burden on
Thailand. However, it would be voluntary. Those who chose to remain in
Thailand would be treated as refugees, but would face stricter
controls.<br>
&quot;The students cannot just come in and get out anytime they want,
otherwise our country will be turned into a place for the plotting of
criminal schemes,&quot; said Mr Chuan. However, Thailand's humanitarian
policy towards the students would continue.<br>
&quot;They must come under our law,&quot; the prime minister
stressed.<br>
A UNHCR official said the agency would &quot;continue to promote&quot;
the resettlement of refugees who qualify, in accordance with established
practice.<br>
Mr Kachadpai said regulations must be tightened to control the movements
of Burmese students at the Maneeloy detention centre. He admitted that it
was nearly impossible to control the illegal Burmese workers.<br>
At least one of the five students who seized the Burmese embassy used to
live at the Maneeloy centre. The group was thought to have come from
Ratchaburi by public transport, according to national police chief Pol
Gen Pracha Promnok.<br>
Other measures adopted by the anti-terrorism committee include:
improvement of intelligence gathering and analysis; stricter monitoring
of people coming from Burma and elsewhere; increased security outside
foreign missions in Thailand; more training and preparation to cope with
terrorism. The committee also agreed to set up a working group comprising
representatives from the Foreign Ministry, Interior Ministry, the
National Security Council and the Office of the Royal Thai Police to
review the overall security mechanism concerning international
terrorism.<br>
Pummarat Taksadipong, director of the National Intelligence Agency,
admitted the agency was at fault for not having any advance information
about the embassy siege.<br>
Pol Lt-Gen Yothin Mathayomchan, commissioner of the special branch
police, said embassies were responsible for security inside their
compounds<br>
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