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BurmaNet News: March 15, 2001
- Subject: BurmaNet News: March 15, 2001
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 15:05:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
March 15, 2001 Issue # 1756
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*Nation: General says Thailand treating Burma as "subordinate state"
over border closure
*Kyodo: Karen rebels step up offensive against Myanmar military
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Bangkok Post: Chavalit's personal approach let country down China;
Ex-PM says he never disgraced leadership
*Nation: Burmese boat reportedly fires at Thai fishing trawler in Thai
waters
*AFP: Thailand, Myanmar to tackle drugs issue in first foreign
ministers' meet
*Xinhua: Myanmar Fined for World Cup Pull out
*AFP: God Army's twins' fate uncertain after tearful reunion with mother
*Kyodo: Japanese teacher remembers Bush as spoiled student
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Xinhua: Malaysia, Myanmar to Sign Barter Trade Agreement
OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*SPDC: Press conference--Burma ?clarifies? Thailand's unilateral closure
of Tachilek-Mae Sai Friendship Bridge
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
Nation: General says Thailand treating Burma as "subordinate state" over
border closure
15 Mar 01
Excerpt from report in English by Thai newspaper The Nation web site on
15 March
A top Burmese military official accused the Thai army yesterday of
treating his country like a "subordinate state" after a border skirmish
last month, and vowed that Burma would continue to keep a key border
checkpoint closed.
Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, deputy director of Defence Services Intelligence, said
the Thai military unilaterally shut a busy border checkpoint last month
and tried to reopen it this week without consulting Burma.
The Thai army had also laid down six conditions for reopening the
checkpoint, he said. "They behaved as if Burma were a subordinate state,
under their influence," he told a news conference. "They failed to abide
by international norms set for promoting good neighbourly relations."
Thai officials closed a bridge linking Mae Sai in Thailand with Tachilek
in Burma after a series of skirmishes last month...
Rangoon's latest salvo came a day after it accused Thailand of making
Burma a scapegoat for its failure to tackle drug problems at home...
Thailand's Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a statement denying the
allegation. A spokesman said the ministry regretted that the Burmese
government would take such an attitude towards the problem of drug
production and trafficking, especially with regard to methamphetamines.
"Recognizing the seriousness of the drug scourge, the Thai government,
far from putting the blame on any country, has undertaken to accelerate
efforts aimed at drug prevention and suppression as one of its most
urgent national issues," the spokesman said.
The international community has recognized Thailand's past and ongoing
efforts to address its drug problem and has applauded the government's
earnestness in making the war against drugs a top national priority, he
added.
The spokesman urged the Burmese government to show its will and
determination to seriously eradicate drug manufacturing in the locations
controlled by the United Wa State Army.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who last weekend hosted a
high-profile conference to fight the narcotics problem, rebutted the
opposition's accusation that he embarrassed Rangoon by exposing the Wa
town of Mong Yawn, which lies in Burmese territory.
"We simply pointed out a minority group in Burma that has posed a threat
to our youth. We have not blamed Rangoon," he said.
___________________________________________________
Kyodo: Karen rebels step up offensive against Myanmar military
BANGKOK, March 14
The Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic rebel group in Myanmar, is
intensifying its armed offensive against the Myanmar military as more
Karen people are being tortured by junta forces, KNU Secretary General
Pado Mansah said Wednesday.
On March 6, 50 KNU rebels with heavy weapons attacked a military outpost
at Wekalay, a village 120 kilometers from the southern province of
Moulmein, killing three Myanmar soldiers and burning road construction
equipment.
The attack was the first since 1997. Karen soldiers captured the
outpost, which contained about 70 government troops at the time, but
relinquished it after half an hour.
Since 1997, more than 400 houses of Karen people have been torched and
several women raped by Myanmar soldiers, Mansah said.
The KNU is the largest group representing the ethnic minority in
Myanmar. It first took up arms in 1949 to demand autonomy from the
central government of the time.
___________________________________________________
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
Bangkok Post: Chavalit's personal approach let country down China; Ex-PM
says he never disgraced leadership
March 15, 2001
Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai yesterday defended his policy on
Burma and said his administration would never disgrace itself by using
"personal ties" for its own gains.
He was responding to remarks on Monday by Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, who blamed the Chuan government for failing to improve
ties with Burma.
"The previous government had a clear-cut policy not to exploit personal
ties to secure logging contracts or other concessions. That kind of
practice makes Burma look down on us," Mr Chuan said. Relations with
Burma would not have sunk this low if the two sides sat down and talked,
Gen Chavalit said, citing Rangoon's failure to keep its promise to open
its side of the Mae Sai-Tachilek checkpoint.
The deputy premier criticised Mr Chuan for not visiting Burma after he
was invited by prime minister Than Shwe.
The Democrat-led administration tried to resolve disputes with Burma
through proper channels, said Mr Chuan, who insisted there was no need
for him to visit Rangoon.
Mr Chuan also criticised the government for releasing photographs of
alleged drug manufacturing activities at the United Wa State Army's Mong
Yawn settlement.
Deputy defence minister Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa defended the pictures
and said the Thai people had the right to know.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra denied ill intentions toward Rangoon
and said he never implicated any Burmese leader in the drug trade.
"We talked about the minority groups in Burma, which use the border
areas to manufacture narcotics. I said nothing about the Burmese
government," he said.
Gen Yutthasak said the Thaksin administration declared war on drugs, not
on any particular country.
He said high-level talks would be held if discussions at the Regional
Border Committee-level did not succeed.
Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong will lead the Thai
delegation in the April 1 talks.
Ampa Santimetanedol
___________________________________________________
Nation: Burmese boat reportedly fires at Thai fishing trawler in Thai
waters
15 Mar 01
A Thai fishing trawler was chased into Thai waters off Ranong Province
yesterday by a Burmese navy patrol boat that opened fire at another Thai
trawler, slightly injuring two Burmese crew members on board, a Thai
navy source said.
The medium-sized Burmese gunboat fired M-40 machine guns at the 15-metre
Pornnimitr 1 with its crew of 10 at about 9am local time yesterday,
inflicting minor damage, the source said.
"We were informed by the crew of Pornnimitr 1 that the scene of the
attack was in Thai waters. Our examination of the spot proved that the
claim was true," he said. He suspected that the Burmese patrol boat,
with the number 441, intruded into Thai waters while in hot pursuit of
another Thai trawler that was illegally fishing in its territorial
waters.
"From what I was told, it may be not Pornnimitr 1 that trespassed on
Burmese waters. The Burmese gunboat chased a Thai vessel into Thai
waters only to face many Thai boats. So it chose the damaged ship as a
new target," he said.
Thai navy chief of staff Adm Taweesak Somapa said the incident occurred
in a no-man's zone in the Andaman Sea but declined to say if the
confrontation was in retaliation for the Thai premier's strong criticism
of Burma as a major source of illicit drugs.
Another navy source said the navy would ask the Foreign Affairs Ministry
to send Burma a protest note.
___________________________________________________
AFP: Thailand, Myanmar to tackle drugs issue in first foreign ministers'
meet
BANGKOK, March 15 (AFP) - Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai
said Thursday he will ask Myanmar for its cooperation over the drugs
crisis during the first talks with his counterpart Win Aung in Chile
later this month.
Surakiart said the meeting would take place on the sidelines of the
inaugural session of the East Asia-Latin America Forum to be held in
Santiago from March 29-30.
"We will ask if it is possible for Myanmar to sign a drugs suppression
and prevention cooperation agreement with Thailand, like China has
done," he said in a radio interview.
The meeting with Win Aung will be the highest-level talks between the
two neighbours since Thailand's new government led by Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra was sworn in last month.
The issue of massive drugs production within Myanmar's borders, which
is feeding a serious addiction crisis in Thailand, has sparked a growing
rift between the two sides in recent weeks.
Thaksin declared a "war on drugs" earlier this month at an
unprecedented meeting of top officials charged with thrashing out a
coordinated strategy to close down the narcotics trade.
The premier said he would demand explanations from Myanmar's generals
over the deadly flow of methamphetamines from jungle refineries operated
by Yangon-allied ethnic druglords.
Myanmar lashed out at the tough new approach, saying Thailand should
put its own house in order before trying to use its neighbour as a
"scapegoat" for its drugs problems.
As the sparring continued, the Thai foreign ministry issued a strongly
worded statement late Wednesday that criticised the junta for its tetchy
response to the Thai initiative.
The ministry "expressed regret to learn that the government of Myanmar
would take such an attitude towards the problem of drug production and
trafficking, especially methamphetamines."
It invited Myanmar to show the international community it was serious
about fighting drugs, "which is a serious problem threatening regional
security, the health and social well-being of all peoples in the ASEAN
region."
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) as well as China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and
twelve Latin America countries are to attend the Santiago meeting,
Surakiart said.
___________________________________________________
Xinhua: Myanmar Fined for World Cup Pull out
GENEVE, Switzerland, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's football association
has been fined 23,500 dollars by FIFA for failing to play a 2002 World
Cup qualifing match in Iran on Thursday. The FIFA Organising Committee
for the World Cup said the fine should be given to Iran FA to help
offset their expenses for the cancelled match. The match should have
been played in November in Terhan but Myanmar pulled out at the last
minute and withdrew from the 2002 World Cup. Myanmar have also been
banned from competing in the 2006 World Cup.
2001-03-15 Thu 10:40
___________________________________________________
AFP: God Army's twins' fate uncertain after tearful reunion with mother
SUAN PHUNG, Thailand, March 15 (AFP) - The boy leaders of the God Army's
militia, who were captured two months ago on the Myanmar border, have
been reunited with their mother.
Luther and Johnny Htoo burst into tears when their mother Mah Kae was
brought from a refugee camp earlier this week to see her 13-year-old
sons, said police who have been holding them in this frontier town.
However, the pair's fate remains uncertain, according to officials in
the western province of Ratchaburi who are considering giving them
refugee status that will entitle them to asylum in Thailand.
"The committee which will decide how they will be classified has until
now not begun to meet," said Suan Pheung District Chief Payakphan
Phokaew.
Mah Kae, 48, who posed for photographs Thursday with her elfin-faced
sons, said she had been corresponding with them from the refugee camp in
far-off Pha Song Yang where she and the twins' father have been living.
"We knew they had been captured because they sent us a letter to the
refugee camp where we are staying, and we sent one back, so we that's
how we contacted each other," she said as she nursed the boys' young
sister.
The painfully shy twins, who appear years younger than their age, made
halting replies as they were asked what they believed the future held in
store for them.
"It is in the hands of God," they said.
Payakphan said the pair were in good health, despite their heavy
smoking habit, and that they would also be reunited with their father
shortly.
After their capture by Thai troops in January, the Htoo brothers
debunked the myths surrounding their militia band and said they dreamed
only of returning to Myanmar and going to school like ordinary children.
They downplayed their followers' belief that they possessed magical
powers that made them and their fighters invincible in battle against
Myanmar troops, saying the stories that they were impervious to gunfire
were not true.
Their mystical anti-Myanmar rebel movement, which had gained widespread
international publicity, was finally hunted down over a bloody New
Year's Eve raid on a village in Ratchaburi province.
Since then the twins and some dozen supporters, mostly women and
children, have been held at this border police headquarters, living
together in a small cottage as their future is considered.
Investigators are trying to determine if the twins were involved in the
seizure of a major Ratchaburi hospital last year, carried out by God's
Army fighters and rebels from another militia band.
However, the remainder of the group's members being held here look set
to escape punishment over the raid and previous attacks it has staged.
___________________________________________________
Kyodo: Japanese teacher remembers Bush as spoiled student
TOKYO March 15 Kyodo - As lame-duck Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori prepares
for his first summit with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington
next week, one of Bush's former teachers at Harvard Business School says
he does not anticipate any rapid improvement in Japan-U.S. relations.
''It's safe not to have a romantic illusion about President Bush,''
counseled Yoshihiro Tsurumi, now professor of international business at
Baruch College of the City University of New York. ''He is more
conservative than his father,'' former President George Bush.
Tsurumi, who taught Bush macroeconomic policy and international business
at Harvard in the mid-1970s, says the 43rd U.S. president is exactly
what his American critics deride him as -- ''a spoiled brat.''
Bush, the first U.S. president with an MBA degree, has not changed since
his school days, as seen through presidential debates and other
appearances, he says.
''He has been totally dependent on his father,'' Tsurumi said in a
recent interview in Tokyo with Kyodo News.
He recalled a conversation with Bush the student about a summer job at a
time when his father headed the U.S. liaison office in Beijing. ''I told
him then, 'You could become a fraternity president but not a CEO,''' the
Japanese professor said.
Tsurumi says Bush is ''a conservative with Americanism rather than an
internationalist with a multilateral vision.'' Bush and members of his
administration, many of whom worked under presidents Ronald Reagan and
Bush senior, consider Japan ''a partner it can deal with so easily,''
whereas China is a competitor and adversary Washington takes seriously.
''Under U.S. leadership, the United States will demand Japan to
contribute not only money but personnel as well'' for collective defense
in dealing with China, the professor said.
Although Japan's leverage is limited in light of the political gridlock
at home, Tsurumi said he believes Japan and the U.S. can review their
policy toward Beijing, in cooperation with Taiwan.
''Unfortunately, Japanese diplomats think diplomacy means wining and
dining,'' he said, referring to an unfolding embezzlement scandal
involving a former logistics chief at the Foreign Ministry.
But with Mori's reign certain to end in the near future, Tsurumi said it
is not clear how far the U.S. can go in pressing Japan to take
additional structural deregulatory measures.
The Japanese government will face a tough U.S. trade negotiating team
led by Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, described by Ryutaro
Hashimoto, a former prime minister and currently minister in charge of
administrative reform, as ''the most terrifying'' member of the Bush
cabinet.
As a senior Treasury Department and later State Department official,
Zoellick gave Hashimoto, who also served as finance and later trade
minister, a hard time.
Tsurumi speculated that Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, a lifelong
friend of Bush, will be tasked with formulating a vision for U.S. trade
policy while Zoellick will operate more ''as head of shock troops.'' The
Bush team also includes Andrew Card, his chief of staff and a former top
U.S. auto lobbyist.
Tsurumi, who holds an MBA and a DBA from Harvard University, has lived
in North America for nearly 40 years and written more than two dozen
books.
Despite the absence of bright spots on the Japan-U.S. horizon, Tsurumi
suggested remedial steps for Tokyo to improve its image in the U.S.
They include suspending economic aid to Myanmar's military government
until the start of serious dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and facilitating deposed Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori's
departure from Japan when his visa expires in May on condition his
safety in Peru is guaranteed.
Tsurumi also said Japan and the European Union can cooperate
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
Xinhua: Malaysia, Myanmar to Sign Barter Trade Agreement
KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia and Myanmar will soon
finalize an agreement to facilitate the conduct of barter trade between
the two countries, Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister
Rafidah Aziz said Thursday. There is also a need for both governments to
facilitate and promote bilateral trade by simplifying or removing
various obstacles, she said in a statement issued in conjunction with a
three-day trade and investment mission led by her to Myanmar which ended
Thursday.
The Minister outlined several concerns of Malaysian companies in doing
business in Myanmar, including the multiple exchange rates in force and
the limit imposed on the transaction/remittance overseas of each
company. She advised the businessmen at both ends of the trade
connection to mingle more and create a bond that would benefit bilateral
ties between the two countries. Barter trade is an important component
of the bilateral trade between Malaysia and Myanmar, which currently
amounts to 600 million ringgit (157.89 million U.S. dollars) and 800
million ringgit (210.52 million U.S. dollars) a year. Products exchanged
through the barter trade arrangement include agricultural products,
fish, timber products, electrical items, clocks, plastic goods, used
motorcycles and bicycles, and used vehicle parts.
Total trade between Malaysia and Myanmar last year amounted to 1.142
billion ringgit (0.3 billion U.S. dollars), a 3.1 percent increase over
that in 1999, with Malaysia's main exports to Myanmar including crude
petroleum, vegetable oil, margarine, and plastic and glass products and
its main direct imports from Myanmar including vegetables, natural
rubber, wood and fish. Meanwhile, Malaysian companies are actively
involved in 12 projects in Myanmar with investments totaling 1.248
billion ringgit (0.32 billion U.S. dollars) in areas of furniture
manufacturing, production of apparels, toys, food products and oil and
gas, as well as direct participation in hotel, tourism and real estate
development.
_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
SPDC: Press conference--Burma ?clarifies? Thailand's unilateral closure
of Tachilek-Mae Sai Friendship Bridge
A press conference to explain the true situation concerning the closure
of Tachilek-Mae Sai Friendship Bridge was held at the Defense Services
Guest House on Inya Road in Yangon [Rangoon] at 0930 today. It was
attended by Maj Gen Kyaw Win, deputy chief of the Office of Strategic
Studies [OSS] and deputy director of Directorate of Defense Services
Intelligence [DDSI], Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win, Deputy
Home Affairs Minister Brig Gen Thura Myint Maung, Deputy Information
Minister Brig Gen Aung Thein, heads of division from OSS and senior
military officers from the Defense Ministry, News and Periodicals
Enterprise [NPE] Managing Director U Tin Kha, responsible officials from
the State Peace and Development Council [SPDC] Chairman's Office, U Hla
Tun director of news from NPE, chief editors from the newspapers, U Win
Tin, chief editor from Myanmar [Burma] News Agency--Domestic, U Sein
Win, patron of Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar [FCCM], U Sao Kai
Hpa, FCCM chairman, U Nyunt Tin, FCCM secretary, member correspondents,
and responsible personnel.
At the press conference Maj Gen Kyaw Win, OSS deputy chief and DDSI
deputy director, said: Local and foreign journalists were invited to the
meeting to inform the public about Myanmar's continued closure of the
Tachilek-Mae Sai Friendship Bridge although the Thai side opened it at
1135 on 12 March. After the outbreak of armed encounters at the Tachilek
border, the bridge was unilaterally closed by the Mae Sai side at 0705
on 13 February without informing Myanmar. At the same time, all border
trade came to a halt as the Thai No 3 Military Region issued a directive
to indefinitely close all the legal and illegal border checkpoints to
Thailand which are under its control along the border at Chiang Mai,
Chiang Rai, and Mae Hong Son. It was found that the Thai authorities and
responsible organizations did not inform the border authorities from
Myanmar side, or the Township Border Committee, TBC, or the Myanmar
Embassy and Military Attache's Office in Bangkok, or the Myanmar
Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the unilateral closure of the border.
As the friendship bridge used by local people and citizens of both
countries as the main travel link was unilaterally closed under the Thai
military directive, the Myanmar side also closed all arrivals and
departures through the bridge from Tachilek on the same day at 0750. The
flow of border trade between the peoples of the two countries came to a
stop due to the closure of all the border gates including the friendship
bridge. Concerning the bridge closure, the Thai military officials gave
a reason that it was closed for security reasons to protect their
territory from intrusion by Myanmar troops.
They also prohibited exporting of rice, medicines, and fuel oil to
Myanmar side and even prevented goods from arriving via the Golden
Triangle Region, Laos, and the Chinese border along the Mekong River. It
can be seen that the Thai side did so with the aim of cutting food,
medicine, and fuel supplies to the Defense Services columns and the
regional militia. Myanmar did not face any big problem apart from a
slight rise in commodity and fuel oil prices as a direct result of the
border closure but the Thai merchants and small traders faced economic
losses owing to the halt in trading of regional produce. Moreover,
wholesalers also faced financial losses as their export and import
business stopped and they had to store the goods. Thai merchants and
small traders in Mae Sai disappointed with such economic failures
carried their unsold goods and local produce by car and dumped them in
front of Mae Sai Police Station on 8 March as a show of protest.
According to the news reports from Thailand it was known that the border
closure had inflicted daily losses of millions of bahts [Thai currency
unit] in Mae Sai.
The local Thai people and traders, disappointed with the current
situation, plan to stage protests while the locals took out their
frustration on the media persons, as they were exaggerating the
information in order to sell their news reports. According to the Chiang
Rai District Chamber of Commerce it is known that Mae Sai has the
highest income from border trade of any border town. The annual trade
between Myanmar and Thailand reached nearly three billion baths with the
town holding the No 1 position in border trade. The unilateral closure
has affected the town a great deal. Due to the above-mentioned
situations, Commander of Thai No 3 Military Region Lt Gen Watanachai
said on 7 March that as the situation at the borders have returned to
normalcy all border checkpoints including Mae Sai-Tachilek and Mae
Sot-Myawadi would be opened on 12 March. But it was known that the
directive prohibiting the export of necessary supplies including
medicines, food, and fuel oil for the Myanmar Defense Services was still
valid.
Though the announcement on the opening of the bridge was made on Thai
domestic TV channels and in Mae Sai, the Thais never sent any
information or made any consultation with the Myanmar side. Lt Gen
Watanachai arrived Mae Sai on 12 March at 0700 and discussed the opening
of the bridge with Thai officials.
At 0745, a delegation from the Thai Immigration Department arrived at
the Myanmar side, met with Myanmar officials, and explained the
following six points regarding the opening of the bridge:
1. The friendship bridge will be opened on 12 March at 1045.
2. No vehicle will be allowed to cross the bridge and all arrivals must
be on foot.
3. The bridge will be opened daily from 0600 to 1800.
4. Arrival or departure at the border gate will be permitted only to
Thai and Myanmar citizens. No foreigner will be allowed to enter or
depart.
5. All arrivals or departures will be permitted only a day's stay and
overstays will face legal action: and
6. Complete papers and documents are required for all arrivals and
departures.
Conditions presented by the Thai Immigration delegation were not the
facts discussed with the Myanmar side. It was found that these facts
were the ones which they unilaterally fixed. Therefore officials from
our side just met them and no discussions were made. At 1235 they
reopened the Mae Sai side of the Friendship Bridge and there were no
official contact with our side at that time. Everything was done
according to the instructions of the No 3 Military Region.
At 1230, an official letter from Chairman of Mae Sai TBC dated 11 March
was received which contain the following points in connection with the
opening of the bridge. a. to meet members of border committee on both
sides in the middle of the Friendship Bridge b. To delay the traffic
temporarily but pedestrians can go on foot after opening of the bridge
from 6 am to 6 pm. c. To delay entry for tourists in order to avoid
unnecessary problems d.
To permit transport of daily foodstuffs on manageable scale except
various kinds of fuel, rice, medicines, and vehicles and spare parts. e.
To permit the return of vehicles left in Thailand and Myanmar after
inspection by officials of both sides. After opening the bridge on their
side, the letter was sent to us only when we did not open the bridge
from our side. They took it for granted thinking that we would open the
bridge if they did. Their letter was written like a form in which
Myanmar was to follow the unilateral conditions they stated.
Looking back at the unilateral closing of the Friendship Bridge by the
Thai side, reopening of the bridge without official information, and the
unilateral decision to state regulations on using the bridge, the Thai
army considered that Myanmar had to follow their acts regarding border
issues between the two countries. They treated us like a satellite state
under their influence. Ignoring the equality between the two countries,
mutual respect, good neighborliness, and international law, procedures,
and customs on border issues, they have treated us like a satellite
country that should follow their desire. Moreover, Chairman of the Thai
TBC said unfairly that although Thailand opened the border, Myanmar
didn't. Despite opening the border checkpoint under the agreement
between the two countries, Myanmar didn't open its checkpoint. So
Myanmar did not keep her word and the people from both sides were not
satisfied with this.
It showed the position that Myanmar did not need to depend on Thailand
and Myanmar had no goodwill on opening the checkpoint. The truth is that
Thai officials did not inform the opening of the bridge in advance. It
was unilaterally opened because the flow of commodity stopped and the
Thai people and traders, who were suffering great losses, threatened
protests. The Friendship Bridge reopened according to their will without
giving any information to Myanmar Embassy and Office of Military Attache
in Bangkok and the TBC.
Due to their biased acts, Myanmar still closes the bridge on her side.
The Friendship Bridge on Myanmar side will be closed as long as regional
authorities do not receive any instruction from the superiors. These
clarifications are Myanmar's correct stand and attitude. The press
conference ended after Maj. Gen. Kyaw Win replied to queries raised by
the journalists. Similarly, the true facts concerning the closure of
Tachilek-Mae Sai Friendship Bridge and checkpoint were explained to
military attaches of foreign missions in Myanmar at the same venue at
1130. General Staff Officer--Grade-I of OSS Lt Col Hla Min explained the
matter on Thailand's unilateral closing of the bridge while OSS heads of
departments Col Kyaw Thein and Col Thein Swe answered questions raised
by the military attaches.
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