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A Siege - of Sorts (r)



Is this kind of thing really printed? Incredible! More incredible than
the embassy incident. You see, how a crisis, reveals how the world works
or thinks. Otherwise the snailheads really look like smart people!

"...Says political scientist Chayachoke Chulasiriwongs of
Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University: "The government has been letting
these people
run around. How could you let somebody take machine guns and grenades
into the
center of Bangkok? Really incredible. Ridiculous." "

Like, ah, you mean, ah, there are no drug gangs operating in Bangkok.
Oh, I must have been misinformed. Just rock muscians carry machine guns
in guitar cases, right? I guess this "political analyst -glad i didnt go
to his classroom - doesnt like rock  music!

I think the whole place needs a little shaking up. I mean, if you're
neighbor was doing all these terrible things, the cops would be in there
in a minute, and they'd all be in jail for a long time.

Once again, thank you Warriors for the chance to think again. when you
shake the apple tree, the apples fall, so how long will it take until
these generals in burma fall on theirs?

ds


Journalists really are going too far with their superlatives and
so-called reporting; its pathetic.


> ASIAWEEK
> 
> OCTOBER 15, 1999 VOL. 25 NO. 41
> 
> A Siege - of Sorts
> 
> Behind the drama at Myanmar's embassy
> 
> By ROGER MITTON Bangkok
> 
> Thailand is home to thousands of Myanmar exiles who have fled the
> military regime back home. Among diplomats at the Myanmar embassy in
> Bangkok are several with a military background, including ambassador
> Hla Maung. Security at the mission is notoriously lax and the Myanmar
> side has long complained to the Thais in vain. The single - often
> dozing - Thai policeman inside the unlocked main gate would wave
> visitors through without even a cursory check, despite the embassy
> being a high-risk one and the fact that most disaffected Myanmar
> exiles live in border camps where weapons are easily available.
> Putting these factors together, it is surprising that the armed
> takeover of the embassy on Oct. 1 did not occur earlier.
> 
> When it did happen, it was with evident ease. Five masked youths
> brandishing automatic rifles and grenades stormed a side-entrance and
> occupied the compound within minutes, taking diplomats and visa
> applicants as hostages. What followed was a wild and wacky 24-hour
> siege that fortuitously ended without bloodshed. As both terrorists
> and hostages made and received phone calls from outside, the Thai
> authorities belatedly scrambled into action. An adjacent office
> building was taken over as a command center and the street outside was
> shut to normal traffic - though journalists and curious onlookers,
> including tourists, had no difficulty getting close to the scene.
> 
> Conflicting reports filtered out about the number of terrorists and
> their demands. No one seemed sure what was going on. But the Thais
> continued with their haphazard and laidback negotiation. Surprisingly,
> it worked. A day later, the terrorists exchanged their hostages for
> Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra and another
> official and then were flown by helicopter to the Thai-Myanmar border
> where they were released to melt into the jungle - presumably to
> celebrate a successful mission. But there was plenty of criticism.
> Says political scientist Chayachoke Chulasiriwongs of Bangkok's
> Chulalongkorn University: "The government has been letting these
> people run around. How could you let somebody take machine guns and
> grenades into the center of Bangkok? Really incredible. Ridiculous."
> 
> Myanmar's junta agrees. Says Brig.-Gen. Zaw Tun, deputy national
> planning minister in Yangon: "They got away so easily. If that had
> happened in Myanmar, they would have been punished." Still, it was
> evident the gunmen were exasperated rebel students rather than
> clinical killers. That said, there were reports - since denied by Thai
> officials quoted locally - that the group's leader was involved in
> hijacking a Myanmar civilian aircraft 10 years ago. Says Soe Aung of
> the Bangkok-based All Burma Students' Democratic Front: "These actions
> are the indications of the people's desperation; they can't be
> tolerant any more."
> 
> Officially, all sides publicly condemned the assault, including
> Western governments, mainstream Myanmar exile groups and even the
> National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
> Sukhumbhand, a former academic who has been having a torrid time as a
> first-term MP, emerged an unlikely hero. Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai
> and Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart were also praised for their
> hands-on role in bringing a peaceful end to the incident, though Sanan
> blotted his copybook by saying: "We don't consider them to be
> terrorists. They are student activists who fight for democracy."
> 
> A group of six or seven hostages felt the same way. Rather than praise
> the Thais who had faciliated their release, they burst into wildly
> demonstrative scenes of support for their former captors. They
> cheered, donned revolutionary headbands and waved NLD and
> pro-democracy flags. This performance and filmed scenes of some of
> them hugging their abductors lent credence to allegations made by
> Yangon that collusion had occurred. But Arthur Shwe of the National
> Council of the Union of Burma dismisses this. Says he: "The hostages
> had nothing to do with it."
> 
> Yes or no, security at the embassy - and at other foreign missions in
> Bangkok - is likely to be upgraded. And PM Chuan said the situation
> regarding Myanmar exiles living in Thailand may need to be reviewed.
> Says Chayachoke: "By us treating the students very leniently, it looks
> to the Myanmar government that we are giving them support." But few
> expect draconian action. As for relations between Bangkok and Yangon,
> bilateral ties had been improving after the regime's leaders visited
> Bangkok in March and then Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan went to
> Yangon and Mandalay where he praised his counterpart Win Aung for
> teaching him "a lot about history." He notably did not call on Suu
> Kyi. Now there could be a chill. Says Zaw Tun: "We are a little bit
> angry."
> 
> Sanan's comment will not help. Even the exiles do not share this view.
> Says Shwe: "It is natural they be branded terrorists. Their motive was
> good but [not] their action." There is a fear of repeat acts and even
> a sense that perhaps the five gunmen have shown the democracy
> activists the way of the future. The NLD's non-violent credo has got
> it nowhere, and it may be hard for the movement to convince young
> hotheads not to heed a call to arms.
> 
> --------------------------------------------