Annan to Help Thais Resettle Myanmar Refugees
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Visiting U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Thursday he would help Thailand speed up the resettlement of Myanmar refugees from its soil.
Annan told Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai he would seek greater cooperation from third countries to accept more Myanmar refugees, a Thai government spokesman told reporters.
Chuan told Annan during a two-hour meeting that Thailand had borne the brunt of caring for more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees at its western border for nearly two decades.
The mostly ethnic Karens, who have fled fighting between Karen rebels and Myanmar troops, have lived in sprawling camps inside Thailand since early 1980s.
``Mr. Annan told the prime minister that he would help speed up resolution of the refugee problem by seeking cooperation from third countries to accept more refugees from Thailand,'' said the spokesman, Akapol Sorasuchart.
But Annan had urged Thailand to continue providing shelter to Myanmar refugees until fighting near the Myanmar border was over.
Thursday, February 10 7:03 PM SGT
Myanmar refugees top agenda in Annan's talks with Thai PM
BANGKOK, Feb 10 (AFP) -
The fate of 100,000 Myanmar refugees living in Thailand topped the agenda at talks between Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Thursday, officials said.
Government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart said Chuan asked the United Nations to help repatriate the refugees who have fled fighting between junta troops and ethnic insurgents.
"Thailand welcomes and offers assistance to them. But some of them are causing problems, so Thailand thinks that repatriation would be best," he told reporters after the meeting.
Akapol said Annan urged Thailand to be patient with the refugees and continue to shelter the needy.
Annan did not address the press and details of the meeting were only made available by Thai officials.
As the talks took place, Thai forces raided a holding centre full of exiled Myanmar students and detained 15 of them in a security sweep ahead of a major UN conference here this weekend.
A squad of 500 police and military officers searched Maneeloy holding centre in western Ratchaburi province looking for stockpiles of illegal weapons, provincial Governor Komes Deangthongdee told AFP.
No weapons were found in the sweep, but some computers were confiscated.
The raid was part of a massive security operation before the start of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) due to start Saturday, officials said.
It came with Thai forces on a heightened state of alert in Ratchaburi after 10 Myanmar rebels crossed the border last month and held hundreds of people hostage in a hospital.
In October Myanmar student gunmen, several of them former residents of Maneeloy, briefly took over Yangon's embassy in Bangkok.
Both incidents severely embarrassed the Thai government and led to threats to get tough with refugees and exiled dissidents.
Aid workers and envoys from the European Union, which funds many of the refugee camps on the border, have recently expressed concern over the fate of the refugees amid heightened border tensions.
Akapol on Thursday said Annan had pledged United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cooperation in helping find third countries for exiled student activists.
Thailand said it wanted several thousand Myanmar students moved to third countries after the embassy siege.
The two leaders also discussed the overall role of the UNHCR in Thailand.
The refugee agency recently gave "person of concern" status to a Cambodian opposition activist, Sok Yoeun, accused by Phnom Penh of attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The UN agency reportedly did not inform Thai authorities and Sok Yoeun's presence in Thailand was used by the opposition to embarrass the government in a parliamentary no-confidence debate in December.
Sok Yoeun was later arrested by immigration police and is serving a six-month jail term for illegal entry.
Annan arrived in Thailand late Wednesday to attend the UNCTAD meet which is aimed at better sharing the benefits of trade liberalisation with developing countries.
"Lasting peace and security around the world can only be attained if all countries achieve comparable levels of economic and social development," Chuan told Annan in an opening address.
Akapol said Annan and Chuan also discussed cooperation with the United Nations in regional security issues, including East Timor.
He said both men wanted to see East Timor foster closer relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Thursday, February 10 6:01 PM SGT
Annan and Thai PM discuss fate of 100,000 Myanmar refugees
BANGKOK, Feb 10 (AFP) -
Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekapi met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan here Thursday for talks on the repatriation of some 100,000 Myanmar refugees in the country, officials said.
Government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart said Chuan asked the United Nations to help it repatriate the refugees, who fled fighting between junta troops and ethnic insurgents.
"Thailand welcomes and offers assistance to them. But some of them are causing problems, so Thailand thinks that repatriation would be best," he told reporters after the meeting.
Akapol said Annan urged Thailand to be patient with the refugees and continue to shelter the needy.
Annan did not address the press and details of the meeting were only made available by Thai officials.
Aid workers and envoys from the European Union, which funds many of the refugee camps on the border, have recently expressed concern for the refugees amid border tensions heightened by two hostage crises.
Last month a group of ethnic rebels crossed into Thailand and took over a provincial hospital before being shot dead by Thai special forces who stormed the complex. And in October, Myanmar student gunmen briefly took over Yangon's embassy in Bangkok.
Both incidents severely embarrassed the Thai government and led to threats to get tough with refugees and exiled dissidents.
Akapol said Annan had pledged United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cooperation in helping find third countries for exiled student activists.
Thailand said it wanted several thousand Myanmar students moved to third countries after the embassy siege.
The two leaders also discussed the overall role of the UNHCR in Thailand.
The refugee agency recently gave "person of concern" status to a Cambodian opposition activist, Sok Yoeun, accused by Phnom Penh of attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The UN agency reportedly did not inform Thai authorities of the move, and Sok Yoeun's presence in Thailand was used by the opposition to embarrass the government in a parliamentary no-confidence debate in December.
Sok Yoeun was later arrested by immigration police and is serving a six-month jail term for illegal entry.
Annan arrived in Thailand late Wednesday to attend the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which is aimed at better sharing the benefits of trade liberalisation with developing countries.
"Lasting peace and security around the world can only be attained if all countries achieve comparable levels of economic and social development," Chuan told Annan in a welcoming address.
Akapol said Annan and Chuan also discussed cooperation with the United Nations on regional security issues, including East Timor.
He said both men wanted to see East Timor foster closer relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Thailand served as second in command of the Australian-led international peace force for East Timor and will have 900 men in the UN force that is taking over security in the territory.
Thursday, February 10 2:24 PM SGT
UN's Annan holds talks with Thai PM
BANGKOK, Feb 10 (AFP) -
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met Thursday with Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekapi for talks on regional security issues including East Timor and Myanmar refugees, officials said.
Annan arrived in Thailand late Wednesday to attend the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which is aimed at better sharing the benefits of trade liberalisation with developing countries.
"Lasting peace and security around the world can only be attained if all countries achieve comparable levels of economic and social development," Chuan told Annan in an opening address.
Government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart said earlier talks would concentrate on regional cooperation with the UN, including peacekeeping in East Timor.
Thailand served as second in command of the Australian-led international peace force for East Timor and will have 900 men in the UN blue helmet force which is taking over security in the territory.
Akapol said that Chuan and Annan would also discuss the fate of the 100,000 Myanmar refugees living on the border where tensions have heightened since ethnic rebels entered Thailand and held a provincial hospital for more than 20 hours last month.
The siege was ended when Thai special forces stormed the hospital, killing all 10 gunmen.
"They will also evaluate the refugee situation in Thailand, especially the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)," Akapol told reporters.
The UN refugee agency recently gave "person of concern" status to a Cambodian opposition activist, Sok Yoeun, accused by Phnom Penh of attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The UN agency reportedly did not inform Thai authorities and Sok Yoeun's presence in Thailand was used by the opposition to embarrass the government in a parliamentary no-confidence debate in December.
Sok Yoeun was later arrested by immigration police and is serving a six-month jail term for illegal entry.
Thailand also wants the UNHCR to play a more active role in sending Myanmar students living in exile here to third countries, Akapol said.
Thailand said it wanted all Myanmar students moved to third countries after a group of dissident student gunmen took over Yangon's embassy in Bangkok in October last year.
Pressure to do so has heightened following the hospital seizure west of Bangkok last month.
Thursday, February 10 5:49 PM SGT
UN Chief Decries Use Of Child Soldiers After God's Army
BANGKOK (AP)--U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan lamented Thursday the plight of child soldiers like those in the Myanmar rebel group called God's Army, which was involved in a disastrous raid on a Thai provincial hospital two weeks ago.
Annan praised Thai authorities for bringing the siege to an end without harming any of the hundreds of hostages, but said the incident pointed to the increasing use of child soldiers across the world.
Children are being turned into "fighting machines," he was quoted as saying by Thai government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart, after a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai in Bangkok.
The rebels, including three students who took shelter with the God's Army after pulling off a raid at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok in October, took over the hospital to pressure Thailand to grant them refuge from fighting with Myanmar forces. All 10 hostage-takers were shot and killed by Thai commandos. Myanmar is also known as Burma.
God's Army, led by 12-year-old twins Johnny and Luther Htoo, is fighting for survival in jungles along the Thai-Myanmar border, where they have battled the Myanmar military regime for three years.
The twins, who were not among the 10 killed at the Ratchaburi hospital, are believed by their 100 to 200 followers to have mystical powers that make them invulnerable in battle. Many of their followers are children as well.
The Myanmar government, which has been criticized by the U.N. for widespread human rights abuses, claims that God's Army is a front for a bigger rebel army of ethnic Karen insurgents, which is using the children to win international sympathy for their cause.
Annan is in Thailand for the opening of a major U.N. trade and development conference that starts Saturday.
Bangkok Post - Feb 10, 2000KNU officer accused of gun-running
Supamart Kasem, Tak
| Siege Drama Students enact a satire during a rally in front of Government House yesterday in protest against the way security forces killed all 10 God's Army rebels to end the occupation or Ratchaburi hospi8tal. - Apichit Jinakul |
Troops apprehended Capt Hter Khee, 42, of the Sixth Division, at a border point in at Ban Phakhee, tamon Ruam, Thai Pattana district, where he was seen with four westerners.
The 42-year-old officer, who was under military detention, had been targeted by the renegade Democratic Karen Buddhist Army after he broke an arms sale agreement, sources said.
He escaped with the money by fleeing to Thailand at Ban Muen Luechai, only to be pursued by renegade troops who clashed with border forces and took his wife and children hostage.
They were only released after the KNU paid the renegades in cash, rice and a car.
Last Year, Capt Hter Khee reportedly smuggled weapons from Burma to Umphang district on several occasions and eluded police arrest attempts.
Bangkok Post -Feb 9, 2000
Captured troops' fate lies with ministry
Foreign office to host talks with
Burma
The
Foreign Ministry will decide what happens to the six Burmese soldiers who were
caught in Mae Hong Son, the Third Army commander said yesterday.
Any request for their return must go through diplomatic channels, said Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong.
The army had done its duty in disarming the intruders, who were apprehended in Muang district after they came through the Nam Peing Din pass last Thursday, and they were being detained at the 7th regiment in Mae Sariang district.
The soldiers claimed they were hungry and looking for food.
Following the arrests the Burmese junta reinforced its troops stationed at the pass, in a bid to secure their immediate release.
Col Charnchai Nakprasert, commander of the 7th regiment, had ordered the withdrawal of seven paramilitary soldiers from a forward post at the pass to avoid confrontation with Burmese troops, Lt-Gen Wattanachai said.
Meanwhile, there was still no word about a soldier believed to have been seized by the United Wa State Army.
The Japan Times- Feb 10, 2000.
Aid to Myanmar targets fight
against Hansen's
As part of its official development assistance, Japan
will start a five-year medical cooperation project beginning April to help
Myanmar counter Hansen's disease, according to the Health and Welfare
Ministry.
Under the project, Japan will provide medical equipment
and send experts on the infectious disease to Myanmar to teach examination and
treatment procedures.
Japan also plans to accept medical trainees from
Myanmar.
As a special envoy for Yuya Niwa, health and welfare
minister, his predecessor, Sohei Miyashita, will visit Myanmar on Monday to hold
talks with government officials and attend the signing ceremony for the project,
the ministry said.
After democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from
house arrest in July 1995, Japan decided to resume health and education-related
ODA to Myanmar, partially lifting sanctions imposed against the country in 1988,
when the military cracked down on the democracy movement.
Miyashita will also repatriate the remains of what appear to be Imperial Japanese Army soldiers that were found last year in Myanmar and Thailand, the ministry said.
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