Bkk Post - Casino owner has the con

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Subject: Bkk Post - Casino owner has the contacts

Bangkok Post - Oct 25, 1999.
Casino owner has the contacts
Thai violations of fishing rights led to their ejection, argues negotiator

Achataya Chuenniran

The name of Vikrom Aiyasiri may be unfamiliar to many, but people in border
trade circles cannot deny knowing him. Mr Vikrom, chairman of the Andaman
Club Company which operates a casino on the Burmese side of the border, is
known to have developed close ties with the Burmese military.

His name was drawn to the attention of the media and general public recently
when a group of fishing trawler owners, fish merchants, cold storage and
animal feed factory owners turned to him to act as a go-between to resolve
the conflict over fishing rights between Thai fishermen and Rangoon.

Since Burma closed the border and revoked fishing agreements with Thai
operators, the fishing industry and related businesses have been badly
affected. Rangoon made its move after five Burmese dissident students
stormed the Burmese embassy in Bangkok on Oct 1. While many believe Burma's
order to close the border was in retaliation for Thailand's handling of the
occupation of its embassy, Mr Vikrom thinks differently.

"Burma's orders to seal all border passes with Thailand and to suspend the
fishing concessions have nothing to do with the siege of its embassy in
Bangkok," said Mr Vikrom.

He said Rangoon was in the process of reassessing its fishing rights as Thai
fishing operators were mostly found to have violated fishing regulations.

"Burmese authorities want to scrap the old concession system and introduce a
new one, which will be more effective and stricter," Mr Vikrom said.

After the new system is introduced, Thai fishing operators who are granted
concessions to fish in Burmese waters must strictly abide by the
regulations.

Violators of fishing regulations will face harsh punishment, said Mr Vikrom.

After he was approached to convince Rangoon to reopen its border, the casino
operator began his task immediately.

Mr Vikrom had invited senior Burmese military officers and policy makers to
his Andaman Club on Koh Song in Burma to discuss fishing concessions for
Thai trawlers on several occasions.

"Our talks focus on the refunding of concession fees to Thai fishing
operators.

"The discussions will be lengthy.

"But, I believe there will be a positive response," said Mr Vikrom.

To run businesses smoothly in Burma, Thai and foreign businessmen must
strictly maintain an ethical approach to all aspects of the trade, he
emphasised.

Fishing violations by Thai trawlers have resulted in a huge loss of income
for Rangoon, he said.

This was the main reason why Burmese authorities decided to revoke fishing
concessions issued to Thai operators, he added.