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The Nation (14/12/99)
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<font face="arial" size=5><b>Police heighten surveillance, security at
Burma embassy <br>
</font></b><font size=3>THE Police have strengthened their surveillance
and security protection for the Burmese embassy following a renewed
threat by a militant Burmese group that seized the diplomatic compound in
early October. <br>
Pol Maj-Gen Somphop Sakuntawipat, commander of the Police Metropolitan
Zone 6, said yesterday that he had instructed the Yannawa Police Station,
which is responsible for the Burmese Embassy, to co-ordinate closely with
all units of Thai police intelligence. <br>
He said the surveillance, which had been in force since Dec 9, had worked
well and so far there had been no indication of any violence against the
diplomatic mission. <br>
Somphop said it would be ''a miracle'' if the armed Burmese militants
could attack and capture the embassy again. The seizure on Oct 1 was
possible because the embassy had no proper screening of visitors, he
added. <br>
''Now the Burmese embassy has strengthened its security measures and
imposed very strict checks of people going in and out of the compound
including the installation of closed-circuit televisions and
checkpoints,'' said the police general. <br>
Moreover, security guards were patrolling the premises around the clock
at all entry points inside and outside the compound, he added. <br>
With or without a threat from the armed group, Somphop said Thai
authorities had the responsibility to provide full security to foreign
diplomatic missions in Thailand whether or not there was an official
diplomatic request. <br>
Such responsibility was part of the country's measure to oversee internal
peace and stability, he added. <br>
A group of five Burmese gunmen who called themselves Vigorous Burmese
Student Warriors held over 80 Burmese and non-Burmese hostage at the
embassy for 25 hours before releasing them unharmed in exchange for their
flight to safety. <br>
The leader of the group Johnny or Kyaw Ni told The Associated Press in an
interview last week at a border hideout on the Thai-Burmese border that
his group had planned to strike again. <br>
However, he did not elaborate. <br>
He also disclosed that his group had planned to kill the Burmese
Ambassador U Hla Maung during October's raid, adding that the envoy was
lucky to be alive as he had left the compound just five minutes before
the seizure. <br>
Johnny said his group was also prepared to kill four other Burmese
citizens if they had to. <br>
Meanwhile, Deputy Agriculture Minister Arkom Engchuan said yesterday that
Thailand stood ready to hold talks with the Burmese junta on the
reopening of the Burmese waters for Thailand's fishing fleet. <br>
Rangoon closed its waters to Thai boats shortly after the embassy seizure
and has since refused to resolve the problem. <br>
Arkom said Burma was well aware that it was the only fishing source for
Thai fishing industries and thus wanted to reform fishing contracts,
rules and regulations for Thai fishing companies. <br>
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</font><font size=5><b>Border village suffers for Burmese link<br>
</font></b><font face="arial" size=3>BAN TAKO LANG, Suen Pheung -- Nearly
a month after Thailand embarked upon affirmative action to repatriate
Burmese illegal immigrants, the tiny border hamlet of Ban Tako Lang is
one of the places hardest hit by the measures. <br>
The life of inhabitants here has been shrouded with fear from constant
military raids and regular extortion from some unscrupulous officials
exploiting legal loopholes. <br>
According to the village chief Watchara Yamaroon, on Nov 9 the army
entered the village and rounded up a considerable number of people and
loaded them onto trucks. <br>
Watchara said he could not understand the objective of the action since
those particular villagers had been living here for more than seven
years. <br>
The village of Ban Tako Lang is situated near the Thai-Burmese border in
Ratchaburi province more than 100 kilometres west of Bangkok. <br>
The major crackdown was believed to have been enforced to apply pressure
to the village, which the Army suspected of being an important supply
transit point for the mystical ''God Army'' rebel group in Burma. <br>
God Army arrived in the international spotlight after it provided refuge
for the five Burmese student rebels who seized the Burmese Embassy in
Bangkok and held hostages inside for more than 25 hours. <br>
The five, calling themselves Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors, were
subsequently given a safe passage to the border area with Deputy Foreign
Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra offering himself as a surrogate hostage to
guarantee their safety. <br>
The spot where the five vanished into the wilderness was believed to be
near Ban Tako Lang. <br>
According to Watchara, shortly after the deputy foreign minister and the
rebels left the area, the Army launched a search throughout the entire
village and coincidentally founded a truck loading 40 sacks of rice in
front of a church. <br>
Since then, he added, the village had come under close watch from all
security agencies and was implicitly branded as a supply route for the
God Army and the five Burmese fugitives. <br>
At times, the Army would come in and round up people and herd them
towards the border, he said. <br>
''Villagers here live in fear. Sometimes they are forced to run into the
woods with their children in the middle of the night to avoid capture,''
said Avud Aree, one of the villagers. <br>
''It happens every time unfamiliar vehicles are seen coming into the
village''. <br>
He said those who were caught were sent to Sangklaburi in Kanchanaburi
province before being taken to the border. <br>
''During the registration process at the border, an officer came over and
asked who would like to go back home. He asked for Bt6,500 or any
valuable item in exchange for the favour,'' said Avud, adding that the
payment could be made either in cash or instalments. <br>
Those who could afford to pay the bribe were transported back to their
homes while those who could not pay would be banished from the country,
he added. <br>
However, such allegations of malfeasance by public officials has been
downplayed by Immigration Bureau Commission Pol Lt Col Dr Chidchai
Wansathit who said he did not believe immigration police were implicated
in unlawful acts. <br>
He said it anyone could be disguised as police officers to extort money
from people. Moreover, there are many agencies responsible for the
repatriation of the illegal workers. <br>
BY PREECHA SA-ARDSORN <br>
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