News and Views from Myanmar (Vol.1

[OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx]

Subject: News and Views from Myanmar (Vol.1   No. 39)

News and Views from Myanmar
(Weekly Brief from MOFA, Yangon, Myanmar)
Vol.1         6 October 1999       No. 39

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FOREIGN RELATIONS
1.  Minister U Win Aung arrives back from UNGA                

GENERAL NEWS
2.  Press Conference on seizure of Myanmar Embassy by armed terrorists  

ECONOMIC NEWS
3.  Protocol on sensitive products signed at AEM meeting            
4.  Agreements signed on IDD Intercommunication             
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FOREIGN RELATIONS

1.  Minister U Win Aung arrives back from UNGA

    After attending the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly 
in New York, U Win Aung, Myanmar Minister for Foreign Affairs, arrived back 
in Yangon on 4 October. Foreign Minister U Win Aung delivered a statement on  
24 September at the plenary meeting of the 54th Session of the United Nations 
General Assembly.

    The Minister also attended the Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting 
held on 23 September and made a statement. On 27 September, the Minister 
delivered a statement at the special Session of the Implementation of the 
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island 
Developing States. The same day, the Foreign Minister accompanied by Myanmar 
Ambassadors and responsible officials attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers? 
Meeting held at the New York Palace Hotel. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers 
jointly hosted a reception at the UN Headquarters on 28 September to honour 
the President of the 54th Session of the UNGA.

    After meeting  the Adviser to the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Maurice 
Strong on 24 September,  the Foreign Minister called on the UN 
Secretary-General Mr. Kofi  Annan on 30 September. The Minister also called 
on the President of the 54th Session of the UNGA, Namibian Foreign Minister  
Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, at the UN Headquarters on 29 September.
 
    While in New York, Minister U Win Aung met the Foreign Ministers of 
Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Jamaica; India, Cuba, Bangladesh, 
Iran, Cote d?Ivoire and Senegal as well as  the Chairman of the European 
Union and Foreign Minister of Finland and exchanged views on international 
issues, bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest.

    Minister U Win Aung attended a reception at the Asia Society where he 
made a briefing on Myanmar on 24 September in New York. He explained with 
historical facts, the current developments in the country, progress of the 
National Convention and the drafting of the constitution and unprecedented 
achievement of peace and stability in the country due to the present 
government?s efforts. He also explained about the progress achieved in the 
development of the border areas and national races, relations with 
neighbouring countries, and Myanmar?s participation in international fora. 

GENERAL NEWS

2.  Press Conference on seizure of Myanmar Embassy by terrorists 

    A press conference on the salient points of the seizure of the Myanmar 
Embassy in Bangkok  by a group of  armed terrorists on  1 October 1999 was 
held  in the meeting hall of Myanma Radio and TV on 5 October. Deputy 
Director of Defence Service Intelligence and Deputy Chief of the Office of 
Strategic Studies Maj-Gen. Kyaw Win explained the purpose of the Press 
Conference, and head of Department of OSS Col. Thein Swe  explained the 
salient points of the incident. 

    Following are excerpts of the  press conference: -

-   As the International news media has already given out news reports of the 
events, this briefing will be confined to the experience recounted by the 
embassy staff who were the hostages in that siege.
-   On 1st October 1999, at 11.30 Thai local time a group of armed terrorists 
 suddenly entered the Chancery of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok under the 
guise of applicants for visas. This group after commandeering the weapons of 
the Thai security police, held captive as hostages eight embassy staff 
members and 20 foreigners who had come to apply for visas. 
-   When the incident occurred, Myanmar Ambassador  U Hla Maung  was away 
from the Embassy on official business, so were some Embassy staff members and 
their families. Thus, they escaped  capture at the hands of the terrorists. 
-   The terrorists were headed by Johnny (a) Kyaw Oo of ABSDF battalion 210 
and armed with three AK-47 and one  M-16 assault rifles,  two pistols, and 
four hand grenades. There were still other terrorists outside the Embassy  
grounds and  they were in constant contact with those inside.
-   The terrorists then phoned responsible officials of the Bangkok  
Metropolitan Police, and informed the latter that they had seized the Myanmar 
 Embassy and that the hostages they  were holding would be killed if any 
attempts were made by the police to free the Embassy. 
-   Embassy office superintendent U Aye Kyi was the first to report the 
seizure of the embassy to Yangon by telephone from his office . He was later 
found by the terrorists and held captive with the rest. 
-   On hearing news of terrorists? seizure of the Embassy, Military , Naval  
and Air Attaché to Bangkok  Colonel Kyaw Han contacted  officials of the Thai 
Armed  forces and requested  an anti-terrorist force to be dispatched to the 
Embassy .
-   Later, Thai Interior Minister Sanan Kachornparasart issued orders to 
dispatch a Thai security force and  an anti-terrorist squad and had them seal 
off the embassy. Thai Police Force members were later stationed on  the main  
thoroughfare and on other roads leading to the Embassy. Afterwards,  General  
Chetta Thanajaro and Interior Minister Sanan arrived  at the Bayer building  
near the Embassy and took direct charge of proceedings for the security of 
the embassy and the release of the hostages. Deputy Prime Minister Bichai 
Ratanakul  also arrived later to take  part in the supervision of the 
situation.
-   The Thai Police then contacted and held negotiations with the terrorists. 
The terrorists first demanded food and water for 50 persons. Other demands 
made were as follows:-
    ( a ) The release of all political prisoners;
    ( b ) The recognition of the 1990 election results; and
    ( c ) The reconstitution of a new government.
-   The terrorists seemed to have had a pre-arrangement with certain news 
agencies, because during the siege they held a question and answer session 
with them by telephone. Furthermore, they allowed some of the hostages to 
participate in interviews with the news agencies. 
-   At 8 am on 2nd October, the leader of the terrorists asked for two 
helicopters to land in the Embassy grounds to take them as well as some  of 
the hostages to the Thai-Myanmar border. 
-   The same day, the Thai authorities moved their headquarters to the 
Parliamentary Office building. They informed the Myanmar Government that 
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai himself would oversee the whole operation.
-   At 12.20 p.m. two vehicles entered the Embassy compound. The terrorists, 
taking with them some hostages, entered the vehicles and drove away to two 
helicopters which were at the Armed Forces Preparatory School near Lumbini 
Park. The car carrying Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand and his group 
followed in their wake. The terrorists then boarded the Police helicopter, 
which left at 1 p.m. and is said to have landed at Suen Phung village in 
Ratchaburi Province in the west.
-   The terrorists during the time they held siege of the Embassy not only 
indulged in vandalism by destroying the Ambassador?s office as well as other 
offices, but pilfered valuable articles, the embassy?s foreign currency fund, 
  and took away some official  letters and documents. 
-   By a very strange coincidence, just before the occurrence of this event, 
the ambassador of a Western Embassy in Bangkok, met Myanmar dissident groups 
on 17th and 18th September by way of giving moral support. 
-   This is the second time that such a breach of security has occurred on 
Thai territory. The first incident happened on 6th October 1989 when two 
members of the Alliance for Democratic Solidarity, Union of Burma hijacked a 
Myanmar Airways F-28 airliner on its flight from Myeik to Yangon and forced 
it to land in Thailand. These two terrorists were later arrested, charged and 
convicted, and sentenced to 6 years? imprisonment. However, they were 
released after serving only 3 years of their imprisonment, being found 
eligible for amnesty. As a surprising sequel, they were taken in and looked 
after by a former Thai senior official. 
-   On 23rd November 1993, a group of terrorists hatched a conspiracy to 
enter Myanmar and assassinate State leaders and also to bomb the Myanmar 
Embassy and Military Attaché?s Office in Bangkok. But Myanmar security 
officials received information about their plot and informed the Thai Police. 
Thus, their plot was foiled and the conspirators were apprehended.
-   On 10th November 1990, some members of ADSUB hijacked a Thai Airways 
airliner on its flight from Bangkok to Yangon and forced it to land in 
Calcutta, India. These incidents would reveal that all the acts perpetrated 
by those terrorists originated in Thailand as their base of operations.
-   At the Thai-Myanmar border, a total of 24 camps, officially recognized as 
refugee camps, can be found. But these camps have a history linked with acts 
of terrorism. 
-   Another dangerous terrorist plot which was uncovered and thwarted in 1989 
was called Operation Direct Link. In October 1989, members of the Alliance 
for Democratic Solidarity (Da-nya-ta) and other insurgent groups at the 
Thai-Myanmar border formed the Counter Intelligence of Public Affairs. Their 
main aim was to infiltrate Myanmar, give support to malcontents in the 
country and tarnish the prestige of the Government by provoking unrest with 
arson, robbery and other subversive acts in towns and villages, as Operation 
Direct Link. But, the Myanmar Armed Forces received news of this conspiracy 
in time and were able to take pre-emptive action and disrupt their plot. 
-   If this news briefing were superficially considered, it might sound as 
though all the blame was being put on the Thai Government. That is not the 
case. The intention is to bring the attention of other Embassies in Bangkok 
the events that took place in the Myanmar Embassy in relation, especially to 
the safety of diplomats and their families.
-   According to a Reuters news agency report in the 3rd October issue of the 
Nation Newspaper, however, the Thai Interior Minister Mr. Sanan  is alleged 
to have stated that, in spite of the fact that the entire Embassy was under 
siege by gunmen, it was not an act of terrorism, but  a fight for democracy.
-   When the entire international community has condemned the recent event as 
a terrorist act, such a comment by the Thai Interior Minister can only create 
misunderstanding between two neighbouring countries. 
-   Even the State Department of the United States of America strongly 
condemned this terrorist attack on a diplomatic establishment and the taking 
of hostages, and stated that there was simply no justification for terrorism 
under any circumstances.
-   According to the 3rd October issue of the Nation, Prime Minister Chuan 
said that it was necessary to keep a stricter and closer watch on the 
opposition activities of expatriate Myanmar students against the Myanmar 
Government. This is a positive remark that can help promote friendship 
between the two countries.

    The Press Conference concluded at 1.15 p.m. 


ECONOMIC  NEWS

3.  Protocol on sensitive products signed at AEM Meeting

    Myanmar delegation led by Minister Brig-Gen. Abel attended the 31st ASEAN 
Economic Ministers Meeting in Singapore from 27 September to 2 October. The 
minister and party also attended the 13th AFTA Council Meeting, the Fourth 
ASEAN-CER Consultations, the informal meeting between ASEAN economic 
ministers and trade ministers of dialogue partners ? Australia and New 
Zealand ? and the second meeting between ASEAN economic ministers and 
Economic and Industrial Cooperation Committee of Japan.

    At the meeting, as a plan to reduce taxes in giving momentum to set up 
the AFTA, the original six ASEAN countries agreed to reduce tax rates to 0 - 
5 per cent on 85 per cent of the commodities by the year 2000, 90 per cent in 
2001 and 100 per cent in 2002 and the new members Vietnam in 2003 and Myanmar 
and Laos in 2005 to reduce taxes to 0 - 5 per cent on commodities to the most 
possible number in accord with the agreement reached between the leaders of 
the ASEAN nations at the Sixth ASEAN Summit. The original six countries 
agreed to reduce taxes to 0 per cent, which is the ultimate aim of the 
setting of the AFTA, in 2015 and the four new members in 2018.

    The meeting also reviewed commodities, which are not in the list of 
commodities covered by the tax-reduction scheme, to be transferred to the 
list of commodities covered by the scheme; and implementation of the plan to 
ensure trade freedom and smoothness by reviewing the trade barriers which do 
not concern with the tax rate. The AFTA Council also accepted and approved 
the CEPT plan of Cambodia.

    The ASEAN economic ministers also signed the Protocol on Sensitive and 
Highly Sensitive Products. The protocol agrees to include unfinished 
agricultural produce in tax-reduction scheme in accord with the CEPT. 
Reaching of this protocol is an important milestone though many countries 
will have difficulties in reducing taxes on agricultural produce. The four 
new ASEAN countries and Australia and New Zealand reached the extension of 
MoU on Standards and Conformance between ASEAN and the CER Countries to 
Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The appraisal committee was formed and assigned 
duties to set up a free trade area between the ASEAN and the dialogue 
partners in 2010. The participants also sought the areas of cooperation 
between the AFTA and dialogue partners.

    On 2 October, the ASEAN economic ministers had an informal meeting with 
American entrepreneurs who were members of the ASEAN-American Economic 
Council on extending cooperation. The American entrepreneurs agreed to render 
cooperation to the ASEAN joint investment promotion mission led by Minister 
of Singapore Mr. George Yeo, who will visit the United States in the coming 
year to enhance US investments in the ASEAN region. The senior officers and 
entrepreneurs of the ASEAN nations will be included in the mission.


4.  Agreements signed on IDD Intercommunication

    Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications and Shinawatra Satellite Public 
Company Ltd. and Telephone Organization of Thailand signed the service 
agreements for the IDD Intercommunication on 28 September. The agreements 
will facilitate  satellite links between Myanmar and Thailand.

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