NEWS - Shan troops cross border to

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Subject: NEWS - Shan troops cross border to abduct nine from Mae Hong Son

THE NATION - October 30, 1999 

Local & Politics 

Shan troops cross border to abduct nine from Mae Hong Son

AN ethnic group in armed conflict with the Rangoon junta has abducted
nine hilltribe people in Mae Hong Son province, saying one of the
captured men is a mutineer dealing in drugs, Thai authorities said. 

Some 15 to 20 armed men belonging to The Shan State Army crossed the
border from Burma on Thursday night to abduct nine people, including a
one-year-old girl from Ban Maihung, three kilometres from Pan Ma Pa
District, according to Governor Poj Uthana. 

He said the group had captured Maung Too and three of his comrades
before taking five others with them. 

The armed men forced Ja Tao, a villager, to drive them to the border
before disappearing into Burma, said Don Pramudwinai, the Foreign
Ministry spokesman. 

Don said the incident was unrelated to the recent arrest of 22 Thai
gamblers opposite Ranong province. 

The Shan State Army claimed responsibility for the incident. Yesterday
the third Army Region deployed troops to arrest the intruders, but no
traces were found. 

Thai military officials said they were seeking the release of any Thai
nationals. At least some of the captives were believed to be Shans
without formal Thai residency. 

The objective of the abduction was unclear, the governor said, adding
that a group of Thai police was following the armed group. 

The Shan State Army, which has vowed to oppose drug trafficking along
the border, said in a statement yesterday that one of the captured men
was a mutineer dealing in drugs. 

Yod Surk, who leads 4,500 Shan State Army troops, has said the Shan
State Army has adopted an anti-drug policy and its movement is no longer
merely fighting for independence from Burma. 

Maung Thu, the alleged narcotics trafficker, will be punished in
accordance with Shan State Army regulations, and the others will be
released as soon as the army determines they are not involved in drug
trafficking, he said. 

The Shan State Army was formerly run by drug lord Khun Sa, who has
surrendered to the Rangoon military junta. Yod Surk is a former aide to
Khun Sa. 

At a monthly briefing for journalists yesterday, the Thai army said
troops were combing four provinces along the rugged border with Burma
for five student exiles who stormed the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok a
month ago, driving relations between the countries to their lowest level
in years. 

The four provinces are home to tens of thousands of refugees from Burma
who have fled the military regime's attempts to crush resistance to its
rule. 

''The army task force, with cooperation from the Border Patrol Police
and special border armed forces, have joined the search,'' said
spokesman Col Pairoj Thogma-eng. ''If arrested, the five men will be
sent to face criminal charges in Thailand.'' 

Pairoj stressed, however, that the military believed the five were on
the Burmese side of the border, probably receiving assistance from
ethnic or student rebels opposed to the regime. 

The Nation, Agencies