The Nation - October 14, 1999

[m.win@xxxxxxxxxx]

THE NATION - October 14, 1999

Headlines

Junta seeks arrest of hostage-takers

BURMA yesterday demanded that Thai authorities arrest the five armed Burmese
dissidents who were set free at the border after storming the Burmese
Embassy in Bangkok earlier this month.

U Hla Maung, the Burmese ambassador to Thailand, indicated that this would
be a condition for resolving current problems over border crossings and
fishing rights.

''We want Thailand to arrest the five who stormed the Burmese Embassy and to
put them on trial here,'' the ambassador said through an interpreter.
''There is no need to send them to Burma. The sooner the five are arrested,
the sooner the border and fishing problems will be resolved.

''What we are concerned about most at the moment is the five armed Burmese
who took over the embassy. Their intention was to get me. They not only
stormed the embassy, but also committed robbery.''

The ambassador was speaking after an hour-long meeting with Foreign Minister
Surin Pitsuwan.

Bilateral relations between Burma and Thailand have soured following the
siege of the embassy on Oct 1. Burma has sealed all border checkpoints and
cancelled fishing licences for Thai vessels.

Surin reiterated Thailand's seriousness in tackling Burmese concerns by
pointing out that 10 charges had been filed against the five assailants who
are believed to have returned to an area of Burma facing Ratchaburi province
after being released at the border.

U Hla Maung also urged Burmese students living in Thailand and other
displaced citizens to return in order to join in the country's development.

He guaranteed that the students would not face any legal charges or
prosecution if they returned.

Foreign Ministry's spokesman Don Pramudwinai said that Surin had also
invited Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win for a visit to clear
up any problems arising from the embassy incident.

Don emphasised that filing charges against the five was a clear sign of
Thailand's intention of bringing them to justice.

''The charges show that we will not let the wrongdoers go unpunished,'' he
said. ''At present, it is up to the police and other authorities concerned
to look for the five Burmese.''

Don played down the closing of border checkpoints, saying this was Burma's
way of expressing dissatisfaction.

''They usually seal the border with Thailand [when bilateral problems
arise],'' he said.

Commenting on a call by opposition parties for the government to be more
aggressive over problems with Burma, Don said the closing of checkpoints and
cancellation of fishing licences did not constitute a threat to Thai
security.

Samak Suntharavej, leader of Prachakorn Thai Party, said Thailand should
stand firm, adding: ''We're not going to die if we don't befriend Burma.''

During his meeting with Surin, U Hla Maung dismissed a news report that
Burmese border troops had been reinforced in order to attack Karen refugees
when the dry season set in.

Don quoted the ambassador as saying the troop movements were just normal
rotation of soldiers in the border region.

In a separate interview, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Oum Maolanond
said that Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra had sent a letter to
his Burmese counterpart, Khin Maung Win, stating Thailand's position that it
would not forgive any acts of terrorism against foreign representatives on
its soil.

Sukhumbhand said Thailand had contingency plans for tackling terrorist
incidents.

Gen Bo Mya, leader of the Karen National Union, the biggest group of armed
dissidents operating on the Thai-Burmese border, yesterday pledged to help
Thailand arrest the five assailants if they were found on his territory.

Distancing his group from the five, Bo Mya said the assailants had been
released a long way from the areas where the Karen National Union operated.

He said Rangoon's accusation that the Karen National Union was involved with
the five was part of a smear campaign aimed at destroying his group.

Former Thai army chief Gen Chetta Tanajaro, who has close links with Rangoon
and advises the government on Burmese affairs, expected an invitation to
visit Rangoon within a few days to discuss bilateral problems.

Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Korn Dabarasi said Burmese
leaders had reaffirmed that they wanted to maintain cooperation with
Thailand. The ties would not be affected by the current tension on the
border, he added.

Korn was speaking after returning from Rangoon where he attended a regional
conference on public health. He also met Lt Gen Khint Yunt, first secretary
of the ruling State Peace and Development Commission.

''Khint Yunt reiterated to me twice that both countries must be patient as
they were still cooperating in many areas, not only public health,'' he
said.

The Nation

------------------
THE NATION - October 14, 1999

Headlines

US pledges aid for asylum-seekers

US Assistant Secretary of State Julia V Taft yesterday reassured Thailand of
Washington's continued assistance for Burmese asylum-seekers living in the
Kingdom and vowed to help increase Burmese students' resettlement
opportunities, according to a US Embassy statement.

Taft, who heads the State Department Bureau for Population, Refugees and
Migration, met with a number of high-ranking officials in Bangkok yesterday
to discuss the matter.

During her meetings, she praised Bangkok for its humanitarian asylum policy
extending back over 25 years, according to the statement.

She also reaffirmed that Washington would continue its support for the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and non-governmental
organisations to assist Burmese asylum-seekers in Thailand.

The pledge came against the backdrop of the Burmese Embassy hostage-taking
by five heavily armed Burmese students calling themselves the ''Vigorous
Burmese Student Warriors.''

Thai authorities vowed to impose more stringent controls on the Burmese
asylum seekers living in the country and urged the international community
to help in finding a third country for them.

However, a US Embassy official here said the offer was not linked to the
seizure of the Burmese Embassy on Oct 1.

''We have flexible numbers so if the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees refers us more cases we will consider more cases, but it wasn't in
response to what happened here,'' the official said.

The United States is a vocal critic of the Burmese junta's human rights and
democracy record, but has condemned the hostage-takers for their use of
force.

The embassy siege severely strained bilateral ties between Thailand and
Burma and added fire to long-simmering historical suspicions.

Rangoon used official press mouthpieces to pound Bangkok with diatribes
alleging the latter of harbouring ''terrorists''.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said he plans to talk with the UNHCR in
Geneva later this month about resettling the students as quickly as
possible.

The Nation, Agence France-Presse

--------------------
THE NATION - October 14, 1999

Headlines

Soldiers tell reporters to clear border

SOLDIERS from the 1st Army Region yesterday ordered all reporters out of the
Thai-Burmese border checkpoint area in Ratchaburi's Suan Phung district,
saying that an expected upcoming offensive against rebel armies by Burmese
troops could spill over on to Thai soil.

Meanwhile, a war of words erupted yesterday between troops from the 29th
Infantry Regiment and media representatives when a group of army officers
patrolling the area jumped out out of their vehicle and shouted at
journalists who had positioned themselves in Tambon Fah Pok in Suan Phung
district.

Reporters and their cameramen were there to document Thai troops being
mobilised in the area to prevent expected fighting between rebel armies and
Burmese government troops from spilling over onto Thai soil.

A senior Karen National Union officer said the Thai army may have
overreacted as an all-out offensive by Burmese government troops against
rebel armies is very unlikely because of the rainy season.

The muddy terrain has prevented both sides from engaging in all-out combat.
The next round of any offensive will not be for another month when the wet
season ends, said the officer.

He said there had been some exchanges of fire between government troops and
soldiers from the God's Army in Mawtha, Karen State -- but no casualties
were reported.

The God's Army, made up of ethnic Karen Christians, is headquartered out of
Kamaplaw in Karen State. It functions separately from the Karen National
Union.

In Mae Hong Son, Pol Lt Gen Kowin Wattana dismissed fears that fighting
between the Burmese army and rebel troops could spill in Thailand.

Border police and army security forces along the border in the northern
region from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son remained on a state of alert.

In a separate development, an unconfirmed report claimed that the Burmese
army was planning to attack refugee camps in Ta Song Yang district in Tak
province.

The Burmese have in the past used splinter groups to attack and burn refugee
camps on the Thai side of the border. More than 100,000 Burmese refugees,
most of them loyal to rebel forces, are living in camps along the border.

The Nation

-------------------