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BURMA RELATED NEWS - MAY 27,
2002.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------- Kyodo News - Yangon
accuses Karen group of staging border attacks
Asia Pulse - India's Gail Signs Cooperation
Agreement With Korean Gas Corp
Bkk Post - Burma re-opens checkpoint
The Nation - Wa drug force fights back
The Nation - EDITORIAL: Border tensions:
real-life soap opera
Bkk Post - Chavalit tells troops to fire flares,
not shells
ST - Myanmar's abrupt border closures
cause much suffering, say traders
----------------------------------------------------------------- Yangon accuses Karen group of staging
border attacks
Monday, May 27, 2002 at 09:30 JST
YANGON (Kyodo News)? The
Myanmar military government has accused the Karen National Union (KNU) rebel
group of trying to create mistrust between Thailand and Myanmar by staging
attacks on both sides of the border, state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar
reported Sunday.
"KNU insurgents, which usually create problems at the border and cause
misunderstanding between Myanmar and Thailand, launched an attack on May 24 at
the Thai army camp to give the impression that the attacks were launched by the
Myanmar army and Democratic Karen Buddhist Association (DKBA)," the report says.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Monday May 27, 9:02 AM
India's Gail Signs Cooperation Agreement With Korean Gas Corp NEW DELHI, May 27 Asia Pulse -
The Gas Authority of India Ltd [GAIL] (BSE:GAIL) today signed an agreement with
Korean Gas Corporation (KoGas) pertaining to cooperation in the hydrocarbon
sector.
The agreement was signed by GAIL chairman and managing director Proshanto Banerjee and KoGas CEO and president Myung Kyu Kim. Banerjee said the agreement covers a broad range of activities for gas and
LNG projects, the development of trunk gas pipelines, the establishment of gas
processing plants, exploration and production projects, the retail marketing of
gas (including CNG for automobiles) and services.
KoGas is GAIL's partner in exploration and production activities in an offshore block in Myanmar in conjunction with Daewoo International and ONGC Videsh Ltd. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Monday 27 May 2002
Burma re-opens
checkpoint
Burma has reopened a checkpoint opposite a village in Mae Hong Son's Muang
district, but told its soldiers to check imported goods to prevent illicit drugs
coming in.
On Saturday Burmese soldiers removed barbed-wire barricades from Ban Na Mon
checkpoint, opposite Mae Hong Son's Huay Pueng village, to allow merchants to
resume trading.
Rangoon shut its border with Thailand last Tuesday, from Mae Hong Son in
the North to Ranong in the South.
The move was in retaliation for cross-border shelling the day before.
Poolsak Sunthornpanitkii, chairman of Chamber of Commerce Region 9, said
Burma's move was welcome.
The border situation in Mae Hong Son was not as tense as in Chiang Mai or
Chiang Rai, which probably explained why the border crossing was
re-opened.
Meanwhile, Wa forces yesterday opened fire on a ranger unit in tambon Nong
Ouk in Chiang Mai, slightly injuring one Thai soldier. Twenty Wa raiders
retreated into Burma after Thai rangers retaliated with mortar shells.
Lt-Gen Udomchai Onkhasing, Third Army commander, said Wa forces might have
wanted to take revenge. They probably believed, mistakenly, that Thai forces had
shelled their base.
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
Wa drug force fights back CHAIWAT PUMPUANG Published on May 27, 2002 Wa drug-army fighters attacked Thai Ranger positions on Saturday night and
yesterday in what appeared to be retaliation against an all-out Thai offensive
against their strongholds early last week.
Troops from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) engaged in a 40-minute
shoot-out against a Thai Ranger unit near Muang Na in Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao
district just before midnight on Saturday. The gunfire was backed by shelling
coming from Wa rear units deeper inside Burma. The battle scene was less than
two kilometres north of Muang Na, a small village that sits on the Thai-Burmese
border in this province.
The second attack, also in the same area, came just before dawn yesterday.
There were no reports of casualties in either action as Thai troops successfully
fended off the Wa troops.
The attacks reinforced the prediction by some Thai military intelligence
officers in the area who said the pro-Rangoon outfit would not go down without a
fight following heavy setbacks from the Thai offensive against the group's drug
labs and strongholds along the border.
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Nation
EDITORIAL: Border tensions:
real-life soap opera
Published on May 27, 2002
The order to pull Thai troops away from Burma is followed by a gift fo
video tapes
The order to withdraw the Thai Army from the northern border to ease
tension with Burma clearly shows the government's unprofessionalism and lack of
cooperation with the Army.Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's decision to issue
the order surprised many, particularly the Thai Army units that were deployed to
the border in Chiang Mai province early last week. The deployment came after the
Army claimed that the fighting in Burma between Burmese troops and the ethnic
Shan State Army (SSA) had spilled over into Thai territory.
The Burmese junta claimed that the Thai Army's firing of artillery was
aimed at supporting the SSA's attack on four Burmese army outposts. However the
Thai side argued that only warning shots were fired to protect local villagers
and their property, and that it had been conducting a routine military
exercise.
The premier issued the order to pull the Army out from the tense area
although commanders had sent protest notes to the Burmese junta to express their
outrage over incursions into Thai territory.
These incursions coincided with clashes between troops loyal to the United
Wa State Army - reputed to be a major producer of narcotics - and soldiers of
the SSA.
At the same time Burma held almost daily press conferences to condemn the
Thai Army and summoned the Thai ambassador in Rangoon to receive a protest note.
The tension reminded people of the old days when both countries were
engaged in frequent border clashes and verbal attacks.
Burma also reacted to the border tension by closing all checkpoints with
Thailand. The ritual closing usually puts pressure on the Thai government as it
badly jeopardises profitable border trade.
The latest conflicts erupted despite the Thaksin government's claim to have
normalised relations that had turned bitter during former governments.
They also fly in the face of a recent grand official visit of the Burmese
military junta's number two, General Muang Aye, who said that Burma would shut
down all drug businesses.
Thaksin's withdrawal order would seem to jeopardise the Thai Army's efforts
to protect the country's sovereignty and dignity. He could be seen as trying to
please Burma for unknown reasons even though he was well informed of the Thai
Army's situation.
Meanwhile, the Thai government took an innovative measure to ease the
current tension - it offered Burmese officials videotapes of prime time Thai
soap operas "Baan Sai Thong" (Golden Sand House) and "Vane Thong Luang" (Brass
Ring).
Deputy Defence Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapa said on Friday that
Thailand would do its best to make the Burmese understand that Thailand cared
about their feelings.
He said that Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung is a veritable fanatic for
Thai soap operas, especially those featuring his favourite actress Monrudee
Yamapai. Win Aung had earlier requested the videotapes, Yuthasak said.
Thaksin's order to withdraw troops from the northern border together with
the gift of videotapes has turned the Thai Army and the Kingdom's foreign policy
into subjects for a real-life soap opera.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Monday 27 May 2002
Chavalit tells troops to fire flares, not shells Surayud disagrees, says retaliation okay Wassana Nanuam Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has ordered soldiers to fire flares
as warning shots if stray shells from fighting inside Burma land in Thai
territory.
Troops have been told not to fire artillery shells in retaliation for
cross-border shelling by Rangoon troops.
Sources said Gen Chavalit's softer approach was in contrast with that of
army chief Surayud Chulanont, who told soldiers to observe the rules of
engagement and retaliate against any border intrusions.
Gen Chavalit yesterday said changes were needed to rules on cross-border
attacks to avoid further violence and misunderstanding.
Under the new rules, warning shots would not be fired from mortar or
artillery pieces even if stray shells land on Thai territory. Thai troops would
fire flares instead, he said.
The defence minister also proposed that Thai soldiers and Burmese troops
form a joint border patrol unit to keep the peace and patch up their
differences.
``Border checkpoints should be manned jointly by Thai and Burmese soldiers.
They will work, eat and play takraw together. If there are any border intrusions
or misunderstandings, they can discuss the problems and settle them calmly.''
Gen Chavalit said he had put the proposal to Burmese army chief Gen Maung
Aye. Burma had asked for time to study the matter.
A source said Gen Maung Aye and Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, first secretary of
Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council, would send staff to discuss
border problems with Gen Chavalit.
The source said Gen Chavalit preferred a meeting because the Foreign
Ministry was already holding diplomatic talks on the matter with his Burmese
counterpart.
Gen Chavalit said he would inspect the troubled border areas next week. He
believes Burma would reopen the border checkpoints soon.
Burma's closure of its border last week brought two-way border trade to a
halt, causing a severe shortage of consumer goods and pushing up fuel prices in
Tachilek.
Gen Chavalit dismissed a claim by Burma that he and Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra had a hand in ordering the shelling by Thai troops of Burmese
military bases.
Thai soldiers had fired mortar shells as warning shots only, he said.
A military exercise by Third Army troops along the border was necessary and
was not intended to threaten anyone.
Last week, the prime minister told troops to withdraw from the exercise in
a bid to ease tensions after Rangoon closed its border in response to the
skirmishes.
Meanwhile, the army chief has told soldiers guarding the border in Chiang
Mai's Chiang Dao district to retaliate against any border intrusions.
Col Somkhuan Saengpatnate, army spokesman, condemned a raid by Wa forces on
a ranger unit in Chiang Dao.
Col Somkhuan said 30 Wa rebels shelled the ranger unit in Ban Nong Na Nua
village about 3.45 am yesterday before retreating into Burma.
He said the army chief was upset about the cross-border attack and told the
Thai Border Committee to send a protest letter to its Burmese counterpart.
He quoted Gen Surayud as saying that the military would retaliate against
further attacks.
Col Somkhuan said the military was ready to retaliate in kind as the Wa
action clearly showed that it wanted to provoke a confrontation.
Sources said the army yesterday sent letters to printing houses and
international news agencies urging them to present inaccurate reports of the
border attacks. Reports that Thai soldiers had crossed the border to attack Wa
forces or the prime minister gave the green light were groundless, the sources
quoted the letter as saying.
----------------------------------------------------------------- The Straits Times - MAY 27, 2002
MON
Myanmar's abrupt border closures cause much suffering, say traders CHIANG MAI (Thailand) - Traders on both sides of the Thai-Myanmar border
say the abrupt border closures since last week are costing them more than US$1
million (S$1.8 million) a day in lost business.
Last Tuesday, Myanmar's military junta sealed the border at three key
crossings - Tachilek-Mae Sai, Myawaddy-Mae Sot and Kaw Thaung-Ranong - without
informing Thailand.
The move caught several traders and villagers off guard and effectively
brought commerce to a halt.
'Closing down the border is just ridiculous,' said a businessman in Mae
Sot, Thailand, who does business with Myanmar traders.
'Many people, especially in Myanmar, are suffering shortages of food,
medicine and petrol as well as many other basic needs.'
Thai-Myanmar trade, much of it black market, amounts to more than a million
dollars per day, say traders.
In many cases, it is a lifeline for Myanmar citizens desperately short of
commodities, medicine and hard currency.
Myanmar's agriculture sales were also being hurt badly, traders warned.
A source in Tachilek said agricultural goods bound for Thailand were being
held in poor-quality godowns near the border gate and risked being damaged or
ruined.
A Myanmar trawler taking fish and lobster to Thailand was turned back by
the Myanmar navy on Wednesday, residents of Kaw Thaung said.
Sources in the border towns also said that dozens of Myanmar nationals were
stranded in Thailand following the closures.
'Some of them were going to Thai doctors for medical treatment and are now
not allowed to return home to their relatives despite appealing to local
officials,' said Mr Nyunt Win of Myanmar's Kaw Thaung.
Tourists have also been forbidden from crossing, cutting into border
revenues.
Business sentiment was depressed, the businessman said.
It was a far different mood than earlier this month when the junta freed
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, he added.
In Tachilek, the army had laid sandbags and mounted additional machine guns
at the border gate, said a witness.
Tensions rose last weekend after Thai troops and the United Wa State Army,
a Yangon-aligned ethnic militia, traded fire across the border in Chiang Mai,
750 km north of Bangkok.
Myanmar has accused the Thai army of launching artillery attacks against
several of its military bases across from Chiang Mai province in coordination
with an attack by the anti-Yangon Shan United Revolutionary Army.
Thailand said it believed Myanmar might have shut the border to pursue its
own internal operations, suggesting it was clamping down either on anti-Yangon
insurgents or on drug-runners. --AFP
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