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POSTBAG - Sue the Burmese over fish



Subject: POSTBAG - Sue the Burmese over fishing ban

BANGKOK POST - October 14, 1999

Postbag

Sue the Burmese over fishing ban

Asean as a grouping has always maintained that politics and economics
are
different issues.

What happened at the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok was politics and the
closing
of borders and the driving out of Thai fishing boats from Burmese waters
is
economics.

This is proof that in spite of all pretences, the Burmese regime still
will
not accept the fact that all things in life cannot be sorted out by
brute st
rength.

At the same time, both Thailand and Burma are members of the WTO, which
was
created to encourage fair trade.

The fishing companies of Thailand should not just wait for the Burmese
regime to re-open the fishing.

We are sure that all have legal contracts with the Burma officials. The
Thai
companies also should not be afraid of other nationals taking their
place as
their contracts remain in effect and the Burmese regime knows that no
other
nation or national will tolerate them as much as the Thais.

As the Thai companies did not violate any part of the contracts, they
should
take the breaching of the contract by the Burmese regime to the WTO and
sue
Burma in a Thai court, and impound all the regime's property to cover
all
the expenses incurred.

While waiting for government solutions, that is the alternative the Thai
fishing companies should take to show Rangoon that violations of legal
contracts cannot be done in an off-hand manner.

Pyi Thit Nyunt Wai, Washington DC