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BURMA RELATED NEWS - June 19,
2001.
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HEADLINES
---------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - OIC condemns violence in
Burma
BBC - Thaksin builds bridges with
Burma
AP - Myanmar Opposition Party Marks Aung San Suu
Kyi Birthday
AFP - Thai PM attempts to end months of turmoil
on mission to Myanmar
Reuters - Myanmar opposition marks Suu Kyi's
56th birthday
VOA - Thailand's Prime Minister Makes Official
Visit to Burma
Bkk Post - King and Queen to be invited to
Burma
Bkk Post - NGOs blast
Burma trip
Bkk Post - Political harmony looms
Bkk Post - PM pledges to draw up master
plan
The Nation - Junta
caught dealing drugs
The Nation - Sweetness
and light
SCMP - Thaksin shakes off graft woes in Burma
NSTP - 64 illegal aliens + infant detained
in police ops
---------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Tuesday, 19 June, 2001, 00:40
GMT 01:40 UK
OIC condemns violence in Burma The Islamic Conference Organisation, the OIC, has condemned what it calls
the aggressive attacks against Muslims in Burma.
In a press statement released in Jeddah, the Secretary-General of the OIC,
Dr Abdelouahed Belkeziz, said extremist Buddhists had killed women and children
and burnt down several mosques in the Burmese regions of Toungoo and Arakan.
The OIC called on the international community to demand that the Burmese
government stop the attacks.
Last month, the authorities in Burma said there had been clashes between
Muslims and Buddhists in which at least 10 people are said to have died. The
violence apparently began when Buddhists saw television reports about the
destruction of Buddhists statues by the Muslim Taleban authorities in
Afghanistan.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
BBC - Tuesday, 19 June, 2001, 15:52
GMT 16:52 UK
Thaksin builds bridges with Burma By Jonathan Head in Rangoon
The Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has arrived in the Burmese
capital, Rangoon, for a visit intended to help repair relations between the two
neighbours.
Thai and Burmese troops have clashed several times along their common
border this year after accusations from the Thai side that Burma tolerates
large-scale drugs production.
After weeks of sometimes open hostility towards their Thai neighbours, the
Burmese military government showed a very different face on Tuesday.
The Thai prime minister was greeted with a 19-gun salute, a guard of honour
and thousands of schoolgirls cheering and waving flags through the monsoon rain
as he drove into Rangoon.
Drugs accusations
Both sides clearly want this visit to draw a line under the dramatic
deterioration in relations between the two countries.
But the sight of Mr Thaksin, flanked by the uniformed generals of Burma's
ruling military council, was a reminder that these are two very different types
of government with very different views of the problems which divide them.
The Thai side wants Burma to put a stop to the narcotics production in the
northern Shan state which has resulted in a huge increase in drug addiction.
The Burmese government accuses Thailand of backing ethnic rebels in the
Shan state, and says it is corrupt Thai officials who allow drugs into the
country.
Balancing act
Mr Thaksin hopes his personal charisma will help the Burmese generals to
see things his way.
He has made tackling drugs a top priority of his administration.
But he also faces pressure from Thai businesses, eager to invest in Burma,
to improve links between the two countries.
Given those conflicting demands, perhaps the best this visit can achieve is
to persuade these two historic rivals that talking is a better way to resolve
their differences. Tuesday June 19, 4:50 PM
Myanmar Opposition Party Marks Aung San
Suu Kyi Birthday
YANGON (AP)--The National
League for Democracy held a quiet ceremony Tuesday to mark party leader Aung San
Suu Kyi's 56th birthday, while the would-be guest of honor remained under
virtual house arrest, party officials said.
About 400 persons, most women and members of the NLD, attended the ceremony at the party's headquarters in downtown Yangon. Since 1998, the NLD and dissidents abroad have designated Suu Kyi's
birthday as Myanmar Women's Day, although the ruling military regime marks that
on July 3.
Most members of the NLD's central executive committee were present except
for party chairman Aung Shwe and vice chairman Tin Oo, who like Suu Kyi are
under confinement.
Suu Kyi, who has been held at her lakeside residence since Sept. 22 last
year after trying to defy official travel restrictions, was to offer alms to
Buddhist monks to mark her birthday, said NLD secretary U Lwin, who meets with
Suu Kyi once a week at her home.
The organizers of Tuesday's celebration, the NLD Women's Affairs Committee,
released six-page statement calling for the speedy release of Suu Kyi and
wishing success to the pro-democracy and human rights movements.
The NLD won a general election in 1990 but was blocked by the military from
taking power. Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize the following year for her
peaceful struggle for democracy. Since then, the military government has kept up
a more or less constant campaign of harassment and repression of her
party.
Tuesday June 19, 7:51 PM
Thai PM attempts to end months of
turmoil on mission to Myanmar
YANGON, June 19 (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Myanmar Tuesday to a warm welcome that belied the months of rancour the premier has promised to end during his inaugural official visit. In the biggest foreign policy test of his four-month-old administration,
Thaksin aims to arrest the alarming deterioration in ties between the neighbours
and historical rivals.
But the bitter row -- centred on responsibility for the drugs trade that
flourishes along their common border -- was put aside when Thaksin flew into
Yangon to a red-carpet reception and gushing editorials in the official
press.
Thaksin was greeted at Yangon airport by Myanmar's leader Senior General
Than Shwe, who will host an official dinner in Thaksin's honour Tuesday
evening.
After a 19-gun salute, the Thai leader drove into the city through a
gauntlet of hundreds of school children who despite a heavy downpour waved
national flags of both nations and cheered the premier's good health.
As he wrapped up a brief trip to Cambodia and departed on the next leg of
his mini-tour earlier Tuesday, Thaksin said he expected to have an open exchange
with Myanmar's ruling generals during his two days here.
"I can guarantee we will speak frankly this time," he said. "Countries who
share borders should build close relations at all levels."
Thaksin, whose government is battling an epidemic of methamphetamine
addiction fed by druglords who operate narcotics factories along the Myanmar
border, promised to grapple with the touchy drugs issue.
"Drugs are a priority because right now there is a war on drugs in Thailand
and Myanmar understands that," he said.
The perennially troubled bilateral relationship has sunk to new lows since
February, when fighting among ethnic militias on the drug-infested border
sparked a six-hour battle between the national armies.
Since then the row has degenerated into a slanging match that saw Myanmar's
official press hurl insults at Thailand's revered monarchy, while Thailand was
accused of trying to smear the military-run nation's reputation.
However, Myanmar's official press halted its daily stream of attacks on
Thailand to extend a glowing welcome to the premier Tuesday.
"May all auspiciousness attend on you," the New Light of Myanmar said in a
traditional greeting, adding that Thaksin's "prestige and stature attends beyond
the boundary of the Kingdom of Thailand."
The commentary said the visit should strengthen "already strong" ties
between Thailand and Myanmar and that efforts to fight the drug menace would
continue "in an atmosphere of friendly cooperation."
Thaksin's rise to power in the January general elections had been expected
to improve the notoriously testy bilateral relationship.
But neither his administration's pro-business stance nor the selection of
former army chief Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh -- who enjoys a close
working relationship with the junta -- has warmed relations.
Political commentators remain pessimistic that the prime minister's visit
will provide a speedy solution to the centuries-old animosity between the
neighbours.
"The long-term problems with Myanmar will not be solved just because the
two leaders talk to each other," said Saksit Sriwattananukulkij from Chiang Mai
University.
But Saksit said the visit would go some way to easing other Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members' fears that the spat is getting out of
control.
"ASEAN will be relieved because the problems between the two countries make
the grouping feel uncomfortable," he said.
Tuesday June 19, 6:13 PM
Myanmar opposition marks Suu Kyi's 56th
birthday
By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) celebrated the 56th birthday of
party leader Aung San Suu Kyi without her on Tuesday -- the Nobel peace laureate
is under de facto house arrest.
More than 300 NLD members, mostly women, attended a low-key ceremony in the
party's central Yangon headquarters to hear speeches praising Suu Kyi, who has
been confined to her lakeside house since September.
"May Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be free as soon as possible from restriction and
confinement. May democracy and human rights prevail as soon as possible," the
women's wing of the NLD said in a six-page statement read at the ceremony.
Suu Kyi has been in regular, confidential talks with Myanmar's military
government since October, aimed at resolving the political deadlock that has
gripped the country for more than a decade.
The NLD won elections by a landslide in 1990 but has never been allowed to
govern.
While the talks are going on, the NLD and the government have agreed to
refrain from public criticism of each other. NLD members said Suu Kyi had
requested that Tuesday's ceremony be low-key for this reason.
"We held this ceremony with a very low profile, attended only by members,
at the request of the lady herself," one NLD member said.
The NLD member said Suu Kyi had instructed party officials not to do
anything that could embarrass the government and affect the talks.
Both sides have agreed to keep the dialogue confidential, but concerns are
growing among foreign diplomats that the talks may have hit an impasse.
The government last month denied the talks had stalled, but said no
timeframe could be set for the negotiations to produce results.
Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar independence hero General Aung San, who
was assassinated in 1947 when the country was on the threshold of independence
from Britain.
The NLD has designated Suu Kyi's birthday as Myanmar Women's Day since
1998, angering the government which has designated July 3 for the occasion.
VOA - Thailand's
Prime Minister Makes Official Visit to
Burma
Gary Thomas - Bangkok 19 Jun 2001 12:45 UTC Thailand's prime minister is in Burma on an official visit. The two
Southeast Asian neighbors are at odds over a variety of issues. Those
differences have sparked clashes along the long Thai-Burmese border.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Burma late Tuesday on a
visit aimed at mending tattered ties between the two neighbors.
Mr. Thaksin flew to Rangoon directly from Phnom Penh, where he had been
meeting with his counterpart Hun Sen and other Cambodian leaders. While in
Rangoon, he is to meet with Burma's top leaders, as well as with Thai
businessmen operating in Burma.
The Burmese visit is widely seen as Mr. Thaksin's most crucial foreign
visit since assuming office earlier this year. Thai-Burmese relations are at
their lowest point in many years.
In advance of Mr. Thaksin's visit, however, Burmese media called an
editorial truce, refraining from the usual attacks on Thailand that have become
a daily staple of the government-controlled press.
Chayachoke Chulasiriwongs, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn
University in Bangkok, describes Thai-Burmese relations as in a "crisis." He
says Mr. Thaksin's high-profile visit is a last-ditch attempt to repair the
frayed Thai-Burmese relationship. "I would say it is better than doing nothing.
So far the Border Committee has not been able to do anything," he said. "And
even we tried to get into some sort of informal relationship, you know, that
some of our military claim that they might be able to talk to the Burmese
military. But that also failed. So I think this is more the last resort."
Mr. Chayachoke says the two countries have markedly different views on
common issues. "From our point, from the Thai point of view, drugs are supposed
to be the most menacing problem we have," he said. "But from the Burmese point
of view, drugs are not. The minority problem would be more of a menacing problem
for the Burmese."
Thailand says Burma is not doing enough to halt the flow of drugs into
Thailand, especially the explosive growth in trafficking of the powerful
stimulant methamphetamine. The drug is manufactured in Burma and shipped across
the border, where it finds its way into the hands young people in Thailand's
nightclubs and discos.
Burma rejects that, saying Thai authorities have failed to tackle the drug
problem inside Thailand. Burma also accuses Thailand of allowing armed
antigovernment ethnic groups to operate along the border. Ethnic groups have
used Thailand as a base to attack government outposts in Burma, then slip back
across the border.
There are also long-standing differences on border demarcation.
In February, a clash erupted along with border between the two sides'
troops. Differences over historical portrayals of Burma in a Thai movie and a
perceived insult to a late Thai monarch in a state-run Burmese newspaper further
eroded relations.
Bangkok Post - June 19,
2001.
King and Queen to be invited to
Burma
Junta hopes to make amends for royal slur Wassana Nanuam
Rangoon plans to invite Their Majesties the King and Queen to visit Burma,
a military source said yesterday.
The source said Burmese Prime Minister Gen Than Shwe would inform Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of the plan during his two-day visit to Rangoon,
beginning today.
Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Gen Sommai Wichavorn, who made final plans for
Mr Thaksin's visit, was advised of the plan by Burmese Foreign Minister Khin
Maung Win, the source said.
Burma's Foreign Affairs Ministry would draft and submit the
invitation.
They hoped to clear any misunderstanding caused by an article in the New
Light of Myanmar newspaper hitting out at a late Thai king, although another one
praised Their Majesties, who visited Burma decades ago.
The source said Burmese military leaders planned to raise several issues
with Mr Thaksin, including Burmese minority groups, the Shan State Army and the
role of the Thai media.
Rangoon felt uncomfortable about the making of a Thai movie Suriyothai
depicting a war between the ancient Thai kingdom of Ayudhya and Burma. Thai
representatives explained the film would focus on the roles of Thai characters
and visual effects, rather than details about Burma's role.
Earlier, Burma voiced discontent about a Thai historical movie Bang Rachan
and the TV series Atita.
However, Rangoon had no problem with the Third Army's plan to erect a
statue of King Naresuan the Great in Chiang Rai.
King Bayinnaung of Burma had taken care of Prince Naresuan as his adopted
child for seven years in Burma before the prince became king.
Mr Thaksin is due to arrive in Rangoon on a flight from Phnom Penh about
4pm today. He will be greeted by Gen Than Shwe before they inspect a guard of
honour.
In the evening, the first secretary of Burma's State Peace and Development
Council, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, will have a private talk with Mr Thaksin at the
state guest house near Inya Lake.
The prime minister and his delegation will later attend a reception hosted
by Gen Than Shwe.
Tomorrow morning, Mr Thaksin and his team are to visit the Shwedagon pagoda
in Rangoon and then meet Gen Than Shwe, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and Burmese army chief
Gen Maung Aye for official talks.
The Thai delegation is scheduled to leave Rangoon for Bangkok at 4.30pm
following tomorrow afternoon's ministerial-level meetings between the two
nations.
Bangkok Post - June 19,
2001.
NGOs blast Burma
trip
Three human rights NGOs yesterday issued a statement opposing Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to Burma.
The Committee Campaigning for Democracy in Burma, Forum Asia and Peace and
Human Rights Resource Centre said Burma had never shown its sincerity in solving
border and drug problems with Thailand.
Also, Burma's human rights violations had led to influxes into Thailand of
migrant workers and refugees which had caused a lot of social problems.
Mr Thaksin leaves today for a two-day visit to Burma.
The statement said Mr Thaksin's visit would be tantamount to supporting the
Burmese military junta's human rights violations.
It also suggested that should the prime minister insist on visiting
Rangoon, he should also raise the issue of human rights violations.
Thailand should offer to take a role in helping bring about national
reconciliation in Burma, including mediating talks between the junta and the
opposition National League for Democracy and minority groups.
The NGOs also said Mr Thaksin should ask to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.
Bangkok Post - June 19,
2001.
Political harmony
looms
Peace, unity and prosperity on the way, says Chavalit Defence Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said the reduced tension between
the Burmese democracy movement and the ruling junta could lead to the formation
of "a national government".
He said the national government would eventually help bring political
reconciliation, peace, unity and prosperity to the country.
The current political atmosphere in Burma was very encouraging, Gen
Chavalit said, and could help break the political impasse.
He said the national government would probably include several senior
members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu
Kyi.
Political dialogue has already begun between the ruling State Peace and
Development Council and the NLD, he said, but Mrs Suu Kyi might not actively
take part in the new government.
"I've a sixth sense that something positive is going to happen soon. The
trend is quite encouraging,"
The junta was reported to have released eight political prisoners who won
parliamentary seats in the 1990 elections. They also allowed some opposition
parties to reopen their offices.
A government spokesman said the release was the result of talks between the
military and the NLD.
"The national government would undoubtedly help lessen outside pressure,
create unity and lessen political rivalry," Gen Chavalit said.
A senior opposition leader said the release of the prisoners "could be" a
sign that talks between thegenerals and Mrs Suu Kyi were making headway.
Bangkok Post - June 19,
2001.
PM pledges to draw up master
plan
Region seen lacking unified schemes Bhanravee Tansubhapol
Thailand yesterday promised to host a summit meeting of Mekong countries to
map out a master plan for joint development of their areas.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made the pledge in talks with his
Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, who asked Thailand to be an organiser.
A source in the Thai delegation said Hun Sen proposed Thailand organise a
summit meeting of countries sharing the Mekong river to produce concrete
development plans.
The countries are Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. China is to
be brought in at a later stage.
Hun Sen was optimistic the proposed summit would bring about enthusiasm and
help create closer and quicker co-operation among the countries involved.
The Mekong region still lacked unified development schemes which should
include a transport network to ease contacts in the areas, Hun Sen said.
Mr Thaksin, who is due to leave Phnom Penh for Rangoon today, would raise
this issue with Burmese leaders, the source said.
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh also discussed the possibility of
collaborating with Thailand to clear landmines along their common border.
Thailand, meanwhile, asked for an increased allocation of seats for Bangkok
Airways, which flies between Bangkok and Siem Reap, Cambodia's most popular
tourist attraction.
The airline currently is allowed 4,000 seats per week on the lucrative
route. It wants 2,000 more mainly to serve tourists.
Government spokesman Yongyut Tiyapairat said the Cambodian government was
looking for Thais to invest in a hydropower project in Koh Kong province
bordering Trat, and also in a road development project from Poipet to Sisophon
after the conclusion of its feasibility study.
Also yesterday Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai signed a memorandum
of understanding on a comprehensive economic co-operation blueprint with Hor Nam
Hong, his Cambodian counterpart.
The agreement is meant to pool resources to jointly develop trade, tourism,
industry, investment and agriculture.
Mr Surakiart also signed another MoU on overlapping maritime claims with
Cambodian Prime Minister's Office Minister Sok An, which could open a way for
the two countries to start exploring natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand
for joint benefits, like Thailand did with Malaysia.
A working group will be formed between the two countries to address this
problem which has remained unresolved for 30 years. Territorial waters will be
marked to the north of the gulf and to the south a joint development area will
be worked out to explore gas and oil. Mr Surakiart said the prime ministers of
the two countries have also promised to complete land demarcation within the
term of their office.
Today Mr Thaksin will call on King Norodom Sihanouk, meet top Cambodian
parliament leaders and talk to Thai investors before leaving for Burma to wrap
up his visit to neighbouring countries.
The Nation - June 19,
2001.
Junta caught dealing drugs
An Australian television current affairs programme which aired last night
is certain to further complicate Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's
fence-mending mission to Rangoon today.
The programme, broadcast across Australia, claimed it had acquired
irrefutable evidence to show the Burmese military government's involvement in
the drugs trade.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "Foreign Correspondent" also
alleged that Thailand was training and supplying weapons to Shan guerrillas to
help stop the flow of drugs across the border into the kingdom.
The claims could not have been more untimely. They were backed up by a
noted Australian defence strategist, and could prove embarrassing for both
Thaksin and the Rangoon generals as they meet to try and ease the festering
cross-border tension.
The story featured film of a night military raid on a Burmese army post on
the Thai border in March. The clash ignited the war-of-words between Thailand
and Burma which eventuated in Thaksin's two-day visit to Rangoon, starting
today.
"Foreign Correspondent" reporter Evan Williams said the raid was carried
out by the Shan State Army, fighting an independence war with the junta.
During the raid, the programme alleged, the Shan captured a huge haul of
methamphetamine pills headed for Thailand. It was claimed the drugs, along with
weapons and ammunition, were stored at the post by the Burmese army.
"So concerned are the Thai authorities becoming about the drugs trade into
Thailand via remote mountain paths along the Burmese border, they're now
rearming and retraining Shan guerrillas to help them in their war against the
Rangoon government," a synopsis on the website of "Foreign Correspondent"
said.
"It's a striking change of heart for the Thais, who for years refused to
help the Shan in their independence struggle. It's also ironic that it's the
Shan who are now [at] the frontline in the West's war against drugs . . . since
for years they financed their war largely through taxes on heroin from the
Golden Triangle."
Professor Des Ball, from the Australian National University's Strategic and
Defence Studies Centre, travelled with Williams to the Thai-Burma border.
"In the case of the methamphetamine production labs, you've got Burmese
troops actually guarding the plants, you've got military intelligence guys
providing the escorts of the trafficking caravans and military people who allow
it to actually cross the border into Thailand," Ball said.
Ball has been a long-time critic of the Rangoon regime and has written
papers denouncing its involvement in the international drugs trade. He has also
criticised the Australian government for glossing over the drugs link in its
relationship with Burma.
In a 1999 paper entitled Burma and Drugs: The Regime's Complicity in the
Global Drug Trade, Ball described the Burma leadership as "drug-runners and
criminals" and Asia's most brutal and corrupt government.
"A major dimension of the corruption is the involvement of the regime -
from the most senior members of the State Peace and Development Council, which
rules the country, down to the infantry soldiers stationed in border areas - in
drug trafficking," he wrote.
The Nation - June 19,
2001.
Sweetness and light
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Burma yesterday to a
red-carpet reception and gushing editorials in state mouthpieces, belying the
bitter feuding between the two neighbours in recent months.
Thaksin was greeted at the airport by Burmese leader Senior General Than
Shwe. After a 19-gun salute, the Thai leader drove into the city through streets
lined with schoolchildren who, despite heavy rain, waved flags of both nations
and cheered the premier.
Meanwhile high officials last night confirmed that Rangoon had invited
Their Majesties the King and Queen to visit Burma.
South China Morning Post
Tuesday, June 19, 2001
Thaksin shakes off graft woes in Burma WILLIAM BARNES in Bangkok
Putting aside his graft worries at home, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra will try to present a business-as-usual face today at the start of a
two-day visit to Burma following months of turbulence in relations between the
historic rivals.
His arrival, from Cambodia, will come just days before Burma's anticipated
publication of a history book in which Thai people are described as lazy and
servile. And commentaries in state-run newspapers have pointed to Thailand's
"weak" history and lacklustre monarchs.
Even more alarming for Thais were allegations made in the state-run New
Light of Myanmar that a member of the royal family was involved in drug
trafficking. The allegation has yet to be retracted despite at least two
protests to Burmese leaders.
Such insults are keenly felt but the Thais' main gripe is that Burma's
military regime turns a blind eye - at best - to the blatant drug trafficking of
its armed ethnic minority allies, such as the Wa.
The irritation over waves of amphetamines sweeping across the border is
compounded by the Rangoon regime's inability to admit any responsibility and its
willingness to blame the Thais for buying the drugs.
The two countries fought a six-hour battle in February, when Burmese
soldiers tried to enter Thailand to attack rebels. More recently, Burmese
shelled an agricultural project, sponsored by the royal family, near the border,
and the Thai army drove Burmese intruders from a hilltop.
"One has to keep in mind that since the fall of Ayutthaya 237 years ago no
Thai army has stood up to Burma as courageously and firmly as [northern
commander General] Wattanachai is doing," said Kavi Chongkittavorn, managing
editor of the Bangkok-based Nation newspaper, recently.
Kavi said it was strange for Mr Thaksin to make this unusual visit at a
time when Thai policymakers have markedly changed their previous line of
thinking that a Yugoslav-style break-up of Burma should be avoided at all costs.
The massive growth in the production and distribution of illicit
amphetamines in northern Burma's Shan state in the 1990s has changed that. If
the generals in Rangoon need a rival so as to puff themselves up, then Thailand
has shown itself ready and willing to take up the challenge over the past couple
of years.
Burma is, after all, an old enemy that Thai history books remind each new
generation was responsible for destroying the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya.
Yet there is a strong undertow of vested interests keen to see that Thai
entrepreneurs do not miss out on any business bonanza in what remains one of the
great "under-exploited" countries of the region.
Prime Minister Thaksin, for his part, has insisted that by his visit the
countries' problems will be solved. "It'll all be fixed," he said.
The New Straits Times Press
JASIN - 64 illegal aliens + infant
detained in police ops
by Mohamad Yatim Latip Sixty-four illegal immigrants, including a six-month-old baby girl, were
detained following a police raid at a construction site in Merlimau, 27km from
here, today.
The operation, conducted at the site of the Malacca Polytechnic, was held
to curb criminal activities among the illegals.
State Traffic and Public Order chief Superintendent Onn Ahmad said besides
the baby, those detained in the 10.30am operation were 48 Indonesian men, 11
Indonesian women, three male Indian national and a Myanmar man.
He said one of the Indonesians was later taken to the Melaka Tengah police
headquarters for investigations when he was found with a fake identity card
following checks by the National Registration Department.
"The others were taken to the Merlimau police station before they were sent
to the Machap Umboo detention camp," he said, adding that the illegals were aged
up to 38 years.
In the ensuing chaos during the operation, a four-month-old baby boy was
abandoned by his mother when she made a hasty getaway to escape the raiding
party.
Onn said the baby was handed over to an Indonesian woman with permenant
resident status for temporary custody.
The joint operation was conducted together with the General Operation
Force, policemen from various departments and NRD
officials. |