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BURMA RELATED NEWS - JUNE
13-14, 2002.
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HEADLINES
----------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Burma renews Suu Kyi
isolation
Reuters - Myanmar accuses Thailand of backing
terrorism
AFP - Aung San Suu Kyi travels outside of
Yangon
Reuters - Thai-Myanmar talks delayed by border
flghting
AFP - Thai queen concerned for border villagers
after schoolbus shooting
Reuters - Krung Thai Bank to shut 2 overseas
branches
Dow Jones - THAI PRESS: PTT Delays THB4.5 Bln
Gas Payment To Myanmar
Reuters - Myanmar's Suu Kyi makes pilgrimage in
freedom test
AP - Myanmar renews verbal attacks on Thailand
over border problems
BBC - Freedom test for Suu Kyi
Tehrantimes - Myanmar Fighting Blights the Lives
of Thai Villagers
Bkk Post - Investment
body could mediate talks
Bkk Post - Burma told to beware of touchy issues
Bkk Post - Request for
talks on drugs war welcomed
Xinhuanet - No Talks With Thailand Until All
Lost Outposts Recaptured: Myanmar Official
Xinhuanet - Myanmar Holds Mass Rallies to
Denounce Thailand
----------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Thursday, 13 June, 2002,
11:38 GMT 12:38 UK
Burma renews Suu Kyi isolation By Larry Jagan BBC Burma analyst in Bangkok Burma's military rulers have renewed their efforts to isolate the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi just weeks after releasing her from house arrest. The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader has not met any senior
military officials since her release on 6 May, and the generals have made no
attempt to resume talks with her.
The two sides started secretive talks in October 2000, and Aung San Suu
Kyi's release had seemed to signal the start of more substantive negotiations.
Shortly after Aung San Suu Kyi was freed, Burma's deputy intelligence
chief, Brigadier General Kyaw Win told journalists that both sides trusted each
other and a new stage in the dialogue process would start soon - but that was
more than four weeks ago.
Renewed restrictions
The generals are again trying to restrict the opposition leader's movements
and political activities.
Since her release Aung San Suu Kyi has been visiting party offices and
inspecting international aid projects.
It is these latter visits which worry the generals most. So far Aung San
Suu Kyi has visited a UNICEF project and a hospital in the capital Rangoon - the
Muslim Free Hospital.
Both times thousands of people gathered to glimpse Aung San Suu Kyi,
according to Rangoon residents. When she visited the hospital, the traffic was
brought to a standstill.
The opposition leader is anxious to see more aid projects, and many
international groups working in Burma have invited her to visit their showcase
projects.
On Wednesday Aung San Suu Kyi was scheduled to visit a Japanese
non-governmental organisation, but the trip was cancelled by the government.
Earlier the government also refused permission for the opposition leader to
visit UN programmes in government buildings.
Essential work
Opposition sources say visiting these kinds of projects is an important
part of the work of the NLD's central executive committee, as it prepares a
report on the need for humanitarian assistance.
For some time NLD party leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, have been
critical of UN aid programmes. They have suggested that a thorough examination
be carried out of what money has been spent and what impact it has had on the
lives of the poor before increased aid is considered.
NLD sources say its report on the humanitarian situation and the review of
the party's policy on aid should be completed by the end of the month.
This is crucial, they say, before the dialogue process can proceed onto
substantive issues.
Threats
But while the NLD leaders are preparing for the talks to resume and move
onto the next stage, Burma's generals appear more anxious to isolate Aung San
Suu Kyi than engage her in fresh discussions about the country's future.
The generals certainly do not want her to be seen socially. After Aung San
Suu Kyi attended a prominent wedding in Rangoon recently, the father of one of
the couple - a former ambassador and now a prominent businessman - had all his
government contracts cancelled and his mobile phone confiscated.
The military government has warned other businessmen that there would be
severe repercussions if they have any contact with Aung San Suu Kyi.
The big test
When she was released, Aung San Suu Kyi said all restrictions upon her had
been lifted, but the reality now seems very different.
The real test will be when she tries to make her first visit outside
Rangoon. Opposition sources say she plans to do that within the next few weeks
and Mandalay is the most likely destination.
It was her attempt to travel to that city by train that led to her being
placed under house arrest in September 2000.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday June 14, 7:09 PM
Myanmar accuses Thailand of backing terrorism By Aung Hla Tun and Andrew Marshall YANGON/BANGKOK, June 14 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government
accused Thailand on Friday of supporting ethnic minority rebel groups, in a
statement likely to inflame simmering tensions between the two countries.
In an official statement, the junta rejected as "ridiculous" Thailand's
assertion it does not give support to ethnic Shan and Karen guerrillas active in
remote border regions.
"It is very appalling to hear the Thai authorities claiming that they are
taking a neutral stand and not taking sides with either the Myanmar government
or the terrorist groups," the Myanmar government statement said.
"Are we to understand that breeding, training and supporting these
terrorist groups to be able to attack and threaten the security of a
neighbouring country (can be) taken as not siding with them...?"
Myanmar has repeatedly accused Thailand of backing the Shan State Army and
Karen National Union, the two main ethnic minority rebel groups still fighting
the junta's rule. Thailand denies the charge and says it does not meddle in
Myanmar's internal affairs.
Tempers flared between the two countries last month after Thailand massed
thousands of troops at the border.
They were ostensibly there for a training exercise, but military sources
said they were preparing for a strike against the United Wa State Army, an
ethnic army allied to the Yangon junta, which Thailand accuses of producing most
of the heroin and methamphetamine pills in the notorious Golden Triangle region.
MYANMAR SAYS NO TO TALKS
After protests from Myanmar, the troops were withdrawn. But the Shan rebel
group took advantage of the confusion to seize some bases from Myanmar troops.
Myanmar said Thai soldiers helped the Shan, and closed key border crossings
in protest. State-run media in Myanmar have repeatedly denounced Thailand.
Thai newspapers say the Thai government and military are at odds on how to
deal with Myanmar. The government is keen to play down tensions while the
military favours a more belligerent approach, particularly against the Wa force,
newspapers say.
The Thai government has been pushing for talks but has so far been
rebuffed. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Friday that Myanmar wanted
to recapture its lost bases from the Shan before sitting down to talks with
Thailand.
"Let them resolve their internal problems first," Thaksin told reporters.
"We must give them time and should not rush them. We should not interfere with
their internal affairs."
The Thai army rejects claims it helped the Shan, but says it returned fire
when stray shells landed on Thai soil.
Thaksin told reporters Thailand had been assured by Myanmar that its forces
fighting the Shan would not intrude into Thailand. Thousands of Thai villagers
have been evacuated from the border region because of the danger of stray
shells.
At a news conference in Yangon, Myanmar's deputy intelligence chief
reaffirmed that the junta would not enter talks until it had recaptured the
bases lost to the Shan last month.
"We received offers through their ambassador to normalise relations but we
will not talk before we recapture all our lost camps," Major-General Kyaw Win
told a news conference.
Kyaw Win said the Myanmar army had recaptured outposts from the Shan and
was gearing up to retake the main base lost in May.
"This camp is surrounded by minefields and there is bad weather and
difficult terrain, so we do not want to rush to recapture this camp," he said.
"We are taking time systematically sweeping the mines while shelling the camp
with heavy artillery.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday June 14, 4:55 PM
Aung San Suu Kyi travels outside of Yangon June 14 - (AFP) - Myanmar
pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has traveled outside the
capital for the first time since being freed last month from 19 months of house
arrest, family sources and the junta said.
The Nobel peace laureate left in a four-car convoy at 6:00 am (2330 GMT
Thursday) on Friday to go to Mon State, 200 miles (320 kilometres) south of
Yangon, on a visit to a Buddhist monk she had called on in 1995 after her
release from a previous period of house arrest.
"She has left this morning for Mon state and she is going to be there
overnight," a family member told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Yangon authorities confirmed that Aung San Suu Kyi had left the
capital.
"Yes, this was the understanding we had, and we were informed," the junta's
Brigadier General Than Tun told AFP.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was accompanied by vice chairman of her National
League for Democracy (NLD), Tin Oo, 10 NLD youth members, and her personal
doctor, was to stay the night at the monastery of the venerable Tha Myin Nya,
said the family member.
She was not expected to visit local leaders or other figures on her trip,
which was being seen as a religious event ahead of her 57th birthday June
19.
"This is entirely private and personal," the source said of the trip.
The diminutive but charismatic figure has made five trips to townships
within the Yangon area since the military junta released her from house arrest
May 6.
She has mainly visited the township offices of her NLD, which won a
landslide election victory in 1990 that the junta refused to recognise.
Observers have said a trip outside of the capital would be the true test of
the regime's commitment to allow her freedom of movement.
Aung San Suu Kyi's second period of house arrest - the first lasted from
1989 to 1995 - was imposed in September 2000 after she made several attempts to
leave Yangon on party business.
Her attempt to travel to the township of Kawhmu, which defied an order
confining her to Yangon, culminated in a nine-day standoff.
When she again attempted to travel, this time to northern Mandalay on party
business, the junta escorted her home before placing her under house
arrest.
Aung San Suu Kyi has said the military regime has not placed any conditions
on her release this time, and that she is free to travel wherever she
wishes.
Following her May release she told reporters she intended to travel around
Myanmar and hinted that as a matter of courtesy she would give the junta prior
notice of her travel plans.
"She made it very clear to us that they do not want any official security
accompanying them or following them," Brigadier General Than Tun said.
"So we have gone along with that and they are on their own."
Although Friday's trip was a religious excursion, military intelligence
agents were expected to be monitoring her whereabouts, experts said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday June 14, 4:27 PM
Thai-Myanmar talks delayed by border flghting By Vithoon Amorn and Aung Hla Tun BANGKOK/YANGON, June 14 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
said on Friday he would give Myanmar time to recapture border outposts seized by
an ethnic minority rebel group before seeking talks to mend strained bilateral
relations.
Myanmar troops, backed by their allies in the United Wa State Army,
launched an offensive last week to recapture bases near the border seized by the
Shan State Army, a separatist rebel group which the junta says is tacitly
supported by Thai troops.
The Thai army has denied supporting the Shan fighters, and says the ethnic
Wa force is the main producer of heroin and methamphetamines in the notorious
Golden Triangle region.
The border skirmishes have battered relations between the two countries.
Myanmar has closed key border crossings and state-run media have bitterly
criticised Thailand. The Thai government, anxious to mend relations, has been
pushing for talks.
"Let them resolve their internal problems first," Thaksin told reporters.
"We must give them time and should not rush them. We should not interfere with
their internal affairs."
At a news conference in Yangon, Myanmar's deputy intelligence chief
reaffirmed that the junta would not enter talks until it had recaptured bases
lost to the Shan last month.
"We received offers through their ambassador to normalise relations but we
will not talk before we recapture all our lost camps," Major-General Kyaw Win
told a news conference.
AGE-OLD ANIMOSITY
Myanmar officials kept up their war of words against Thailand, saying the
country was still smarting from defeats by armies from Myanmar centuries ago.
"It is very sad that they adopted extremism based on historical events
centuries ago when they had wars with Myanmar kings," Colonel Min Lwin, a senior
military intelligence official, told the news conference.
"It can be seen that they are very cunning and bear grudges against us, and
always want to get the upper hand."
Thai newspapers say the Thai government and military are at odds on how to
deal with Myanmar. The government is keen to play down tensions while the
military favours a more belligerent approach, particularly against the Wa force,
newspapers say.
Thailand massed thousands of troops at the border last month ostensibly for
a training exercise, but military sources said they were preparing for a strike
against the Wa.
After protests from Myanmar, the troops were withdrawn. But the Shan -- one
of two main ethnic minority rebel groups still fighting the junta in Myanmar --
took advantage of the confusion to seize some bases from Myanmar troops.
The Thai army rejects claims it helped the Shan, but says it returned fire
when stray shells landed on Thai soil.
Kyaw Win said the Myanmar army had recaptured outposts from the Shan and
was gearing up to retake the main base lost in May.
"This camp is surrounded by minefields and there is bad weather and
difficult terrain, so we do not want to rush to recapture this camp," he said.
"We are taking time systematically sweeping the mines while shelling the camp
with heavy artillery."
Thaksin told reporters Thailand had been assured by Myanmar that its forces
fighting the Shan would not intrude into Thailand. Thousands of Thai villagers
have been evacuated from the border region because of the danger of stray
shells.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Thai queen concerned for border
villagers after schoolbus shooting
June 14 - (AFP) - Thailand's
Queen Sirikit has expressed her concern for villagers on the Thai-Myanmar border
after three children were killed when their schoolbus was ambushed, reports said
Friday.
National police chief General Sant Sarutanond said the queen was concerned
about five villages in Suan Phung district of Ratchaburi province, where masked
assailants last week raked a schoolbus with gunfire 100 kilometres (61 miles)
southwest of here, the Nation newspaper reported.
Sant said after receiving the message he had ordered local police and
border patrols to step up security, the English-language daily added.
Three armed masked gunmen opened fire at the school bus in the province on
June 4 leaving three secondary school students dead and 12 injured.
Thai authorities have mounted a massive manhunt for the attackers, but
after nearly two weeks the search has met with little success.
Officers have turned their focus on the driver and personal conflicts he
may have had concerning a debt.
The army intelligence officer responsible for investigating the attack,
General Pallop Pinmanee, has come under fire for overstepping his job duties
related to the case by questioning an ethnic Karen colonel about the attack and
giving interviews to the press about the investigation, the paper said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday June 13, 7:19 PM
Krung Thai Bank to shut 2 overseas branches BANGKOK, June 13 (Reuters) -
Krung Thai Bank, Thailand's largest state bank, said on Thursday it planned to
close its New York and Yangon branches to cut costs.
"We are seeking approval form the central bank to close the two due to
their small business," bank President Viroj Nualkhair told reporters.
He said the bank's customers at the New York branch would be transferred to its Los Angeles branch. The branch in Myanmar's capital Yangon is the only one in that country. The bank has already said it will shut down its representative office in
Hanoi, Vietnam, in July due to limited business there.
Viroj said the bank's six remaining overseas branches and representative
offices in Los Angeles, Singapore, Bombay, Phnom Penh, Vientiane and Kunming in
China, would remain in business.
Krung Thai shares closed up 0.8 percent at 12.50 baht on Thursday, while
the overall stock market ended up 0.67 percent.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday June 14, 10:29 AM
THAI PRESS: PTT Delays THB4.5 Bln Gas Payment To Myanmar BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Thailand's
state-controlled oil and gas conglomerate PTT PCL (H.PTX) has delayed payment of
4.5 billion baht ($1=THB42.265) it owes to the government of Myanmar pending the
outcome of talks between the two countries on the purchase of natural gas, the
Nation reports, quoting a PTT source.
Thai Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit's planned visit to Myanmar
to discuss the terms of the contract and the price of natural gas supplied by
Myanmar's Yetagun field has been delayed due to recent border tensions between
the two countries, the report says.
Myanmar, which is accusing Thailand of supporting ethnic minorities
fighting the central government, has suspended all official contacts and closed
its border.
The THB4.5 billion payment covers the supply of natural gas from another
field, Yadana, in March to the power plant operated in Thailand by Ratchaburi
Electricity Generating Holding PCL (H.REG). The Yadana field is operated by
France's TotalFinaElf S.A. (TOT) and US-based Unocal Corp. (UCL).
----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday June 14, 3:58 PM
Myanmar's Suu Kyi makes pilgrimage in freedom test By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi set off for a two-day pilgrimage to a
provincial shrine on Friday in the most significant test of her freedom of
movement since her release from house arrest last month.
"The visit is a private pilgrimage," said a source from her National League
for Democracy (NLD).
Suu Kyi was driven from her Yangon home at about 6:10 a.m. (2340 GMT
Thursday) in a convoy of four cars, accompanied by other senior members of the
NLD, party sources told Reuters.
The pilgrimage is the first overnight trip outside Yangon Suu Kyi has
undertaken since Myanmar's military government released her from 19 months of
house arrest on May 6.
The government says there are no restrictions on her movement. But the
extent of her freedom remains largely untested as until now she has not ventured
far beyond the outskirts of Yangon.
She was heading for Thamanya Hill in Karen State, southeast of Yangon, to
see revered Buddhist monk U Winaya, one of the most respected monks in Myanmar
who attracts thousands of devotees each year to his retreat. Suu Kyi also
visited the monk shortly after her release in 1995 from a previous spell in
house arrest.
Opposition sources said Suu Kyi wanted to make the pilgrimage ahead of her
57th birthday on Wednesday.
Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is a devout Buddhist. She
emerged as the figurehead of the country's pro-democracy movement in 1988, and
since then has spent several years in house arrest.
STAND-OFF
Her latest spell in house arrest, from September 2000 until last month, was
prompted by several high-profile attempts to travel outside Yangon in defiance
of travel restrictions.
A bid to travel south of the capital by road in August 2000 led to a
nine-day roadside stand-off when police blocked her car. She was eventually
forcibly returned home, sparking an outcry from the international community.
A month later Suu Kyi was stopped from travelling by rail to the city of
Mandalay, and placed under house arrest.
Suu Kyi's NLD won Myanmar's last election, in 1990, by a landslide. But the
military government refused to hand over power.
Suu Kyi has been holding secretive talks with the junta since October 2000,
aimed at ending the country's political deadlock. But the talks have yet to
yield any concrete agreement and have focused on "confidence-building",
officials say.
Suu Kyi has said she wants to get down to substantive talks as soon as
possible to map out the country's political future.
The military government insists it is committed to building democracy but
says moving too fast could unleash anarchy. But the junta is keen to get
international sanctions lifted to try to salvage the country's tottering
economy.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar renews verbal attacks on
Thailand over border problems
Fri Jun 14, 6:59 AM ET YANGON, Myanmar (AP)- Myanmar
renewed its verbal attacks on Thailand Friday, accusing it of supporting ethnic
rebels fighting the military government's forces in border areas.
Normally shaky relations between the two countries have plunged since May
20 when Myanmar claimed the Thai army fired an artillery barrage to give cover
to Shan rebels fighting for autonomy in the northeastern border area. Thailand
says it merely fired warning shots in the air after the fighting between the
Shan and the Myanmar military spilled onto the Thai side.
"Such incidents are hard to dismiss, forgive and forget ... because this is
not an incident that happens only once in a blue moon but (is) rather a
methodical routine occurrence," a government statement said.
Had Thailand done this to the United States, it would have been regarded as
"simply a nation sponsoring terrorism," the statement said.
Since May 20, Myanmar has closed major border crossings with Thailand,
banned advertisements of Thai products, expelled Thai workers and banned visits
of official Thai delegations. Its official newspapers have carried scathing
attacks on Thailand and its monarchy.
The latest statement came after a few days' lull in its criticisms as
Thailand made efforts to mend fences.
Earlier Friday, the deputy military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Kyaw Win,
said Myanmar will not hold talks with Thailand until military operations to
retake the border posts overrun by Shan rebels near the border are
finished.
"The Thai side has approached Myanmar government through its ambassador in
Yangon for talks but we have not given any response," he said. "We will wait
until the completion of military operations," he told reporters.
Yangon declared last week its intention to stage an all-out offensive
against the Shan rebels and warned the Thai army not to retaliate if stray
shells accidentally fell inside Thailand.
In Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday the foreign
ministers of Thailand and Myanmar had a fruitful telephone conversation this
week, which would "easily lead to a normal situation."
"We should wait for Myanmar to solve its own problems especially its
ongoing fight to take back its outpost and with ethnic rebel groups. We should
leave them alone as Myanmar has agreed it wouldn't intrude or violate our
sovereignty," he told reporters.
----------------------------------------------------------------- BBC - Friday, 14 June, 2002, 03:06 GMT
04:06 UK
Freedom test for Suu Kyi The Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has left the capital,
Rangoon, for the first time since her release from house arrest last month.
She left her house early on Friday morning to on a pilgrimage to the
Buddhist shrine at Thamanya mountain, 320 kilometres (200 miles) south-east of
Rangoon.
She left quietly without prior announcement, apparently to ensure that she
was not followed by crowds of supporters.
The two-day excursion, to Karen state, is being seen as a test of her
freedom of movement after years under travel restrictions and house arrest.
An attempt to leave Rangoon in August 2000 resulted in a nine-day stand-off
when police blocked her car on a road.
She was eventually forced to return home.
An attempt to travel by train to Mandalay the following month, led to a
period of house arrest, which lasted for 20 months until early May.
Private trip
Aung San Suu Kyi is a devout Buddhist, and she will meet a monk, U Viniya,
at Thamanya mountain.
She visited the monk in 1995, after she was released from an earlier period
of detention.
"The visit is a private pilgrimage," according to a source from her
National League for Democracy (NLD).
She was accompanied by the NLD chairman Tin Oo and his wife.
The NLD easily won the 1990 elections, the last to be held in Burma, but
the military has refused to give up power.
Aung San Suu Kyi has said she wanted to resume talks with army leaders as
soon as possible.
But since her release from her latest period of detention on 6 May, the
generals have made no attempt to resume talks with her.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Tehrantimes
Myanmar Fighting Blights the Lives of Thai Villagers June 13, 2002 MAE MOR, Thailand -- it is monsoon season in the lush green hills of
northern thailand, but the distant rumbling that echoes through the
near-deserted village of mae mor is not the noise of thunder -- but the sound of
war.
the village lies close to the border with myanmar where government troops
and their allies in the united wa state army are fighting bitter battles with
soldiers from the shan state army, an ethnic militia hostile to the yangon
junta.
dozens of stray shells from the fighting have landed on thai soil this
month, and many thai villagers on the border have been forced to pack up their
meagre possessions and flee.
mae mor, usually home to some 1,500 people, is almost empty. one of the
last remaining residents, 43-year-old pausueng seeyang, is loading up his truck
ready to leave.
rain falls softly as he drags a pink and blue mattress into the back of the
truck. he tucks it next to some old wooden cupboards and a tall rusty mirror.
they are the last of his family's possessions.
he closes the padlock on the front door of his home, unsure when he will be
able to return.
"i want to live here in my home but now it's too dangerous," he told
reuters, "i can hear the bombs every day.
it's not safe to live this close to the border so i must take my family and
go".
pausueng's five children have already moved to a safer area. their local
school sits deserted on a nearby hill. the classroom doors are padlocked.
the school appears to have been evacuated hurriedly -- some english phrases
on the blackboard end mid-sentence.
pausueng says the fighting across the border is the worst he can remember.
he hopes to return home soon, but is unsure about the future.
"i am a tea farmer, i want to get back to my crops," he said. "but there's
no way we can stay here".
the shadow of war simmering tension on thailand's border with myanmar has
long hung over villagers who live there. the two countries have a history of
distrust.
the northern border is in the notorious golden triangle region, source of
much of the heroin that reaches the west and most of the methamphetamine
stimulants flooding thailand.
thailand blames the wa for producing the drugs, while myanmar accuses the
shan. whatever the truth, local villagers have long had to cope with the danger
from armed drug caravans carrying narcotics out of myanmar and into
thailand.
drug money pervades every aspect of the local economy and corruption is
endemic.
uncertainty in the region is worsened by frequent closures of the main
border crossings between thailand and myanmar, impeding the business of frontier
traders.
myanmar last month shut major border crossings with thailand after tempers
flared between the two countries. many villagers -- and some tourists -- were
trapped on the myanmar side for days.
fighting across the border adds to villagers' problems.
dozens of villages stand empty like mae mor.
thousands have fled or been evacuated by the authorities.
deadly attack villagers along thailand's western border with myanmar also
live with the fear of armed attack.
the karen national union, an ethnic army active in the area, is the second
largest ethnic militia fighting the myanmar junta after the shan. a rival group,
the democratic karen buddhist army, is allied to the yangon government and the
conflict between the two groups sometimes spills over onto thai soil.
unexplained murders are common.
last week three teenagers were killed when men dressed in a style similar
to karen guerrillas opened fire on a school bus some 20 km (13 miles) inside the
thai border.
thai media reports on tuesday said ethnic karen gunmen were trying to stop
the bus to collect a debt payment from its driver.
in january 2000, ethnic rebels stormed the main provincial hospital in the
thai town of ratchaburi, demanding that doctors treat their wounds. a two-day
stand-off ended with thai security forces killing 10 guerrillas.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Friday 14 June
2002
Investment body could mediate talks
Agency will be called upon in last resort
Wassana Nanuam and Achara Ashayagachat
A private trade and investment body would act as mediator in the
Thai-Burmese conflict if diplomatic efforts failed, said a close aide to the
defence minister.
Gen Pat Akhanibutr, chief adviser to Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, said the
Thai-Burmese Economic and Friendship Association would be called upon as a last
resort.
The association, which promotes bilateral co-operation on investment, marks
its first anniversary next month.
Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, has
been invited to attend the birthday celebrations in Kanchanaburi.
``The association would be our last resort. Its work has never been
interrupted despite the border tensions,'' Gen Pat said.
Gen Chavalit said the latest round of border tensions with Burma should be
the final round. He was confident the two sides would reach an
understanding.
``There has been some misunderstandings between us. That has now passed,''
he said.
Ammarisa Tansathit, the association's spokeswoman, is close to Lt Gen Khint
Nyunt. She said relations between Thai businessmen and the Burmese strongman
were good.
However, she was worried that border tensions could rob Thai investors of
opportunities to do business in Burma.
``Burma has abundant resources, but doesn't know how to manage them. We
should take care of them,'' she said.
She said the defence minister was well-liked and respected by Burmese
military leaders.
``Gen Muang Aye visited Thailand in April for the first time in 10 years
because of Gen Chavalit,'' she said.
Not everyone is so optimistic. A member of the Human Rights Commission said
yesterday that confidence-building would elude Thailand and Burma so long as a
military regime remained in power in Rangoon.
Jaran Ditapichai told a seminar that verbal spats and border clashes would
continue on and off until the countries learned to trust one another.
``We have to accept the reality that Thai-Burmese relations are sensitive
and complicated since we have historic animosity, a long-disputed border,
presence of the adversarial ethnic groups and international obligations to
account for,'' Mr Jaran said.
The Thaksin government might be in a difficult position as it had to defuse
tensions with the military government as well as heed criticism from civil
society.
But no state could deny freedom of movement or speech, and Thai people or
civil organisations were entitled to lend peaceful support to ethnic
groups.
When a conflict erupted at the border, the government should allow
independent fact-finding missions to visit hotspots, Mr Jaran said.
The government's use of personal contacts to forge ties with Burma had not
helped defuse the standoff, he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Thursday 13 June 2002
Burma told to beware of touchy
issues
Chavalit warns of point of no return
Wassana Nanuam
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh yesterday strongly cautioned Burma
against making scathing remarks about the Thai monarchy following an article in
the junta's official mouthpiece, New Light of Myanmar.
Gen Chavalit, also deputy premier, said he had informed Rangoon and hoped
for a positive response.
``We have sent Rangoon a clear signal and asked it not to be too scathing
in its criticism or too abusive and provocative because some issues are
extremely sensitive and may be unacceptable to Thai people,'' Gen Chavalit
said.
Last week Gen Chavalit publicly warned that bilateral ties might reach the
point of no return if Rangoon overstepped the boundaries of ``certain sensitive
issues'' following criticisms in the New Light of Myanmar about Thai monarchs
during the Ayutthaya era.
Gen Chavalit's warning yesterday followed fresh criticism made in an
article published in the official Burmese newspaper on Friday. Part of the
article attacked the issue of press freedom in Thailand and referred to coverage
of events relating to the monarchy.
Gen Chavalit did not mention any specific articles but raised concern that
such criticisms could touch off a conflict that would get out of hand.
``As we are brothers, it is quite important that we act with caution,'' he
said.
``We have to be open-minded in our discussions,'' said Gen Chavalit, but
excessive criticism could lead to mistrust and dissent instead of creating
unity.
Several critics have penned strong articles in the New Light of Myanmar
describing Thailand as a bad neighbour whose people could not be trusted, and
that this lack of trust dated back to the Ayutthaya period, which ended with the
sacking of the Thai capital by the Burmese in 1767.
The paper launched its criticism against Thailand and the Thai military a
few days after a border incident on May 20, when Rangoon accused the Thai army
of supporting Shan rebels in their attack on Burmese outposts located opposite
Chiang Mai's Wiang Haeng district. It also accused Thai troops of joining Shan
attacks on Burmese outposts. The charges were totally dismissed by the Thai
army.
Gen Chavalit said he wanted to see a constructive relationship between the
two countries but regretted Rangoon's decision to close its border.
However, Gen Chavalit remained optimistic he would soon be able to meet
Burmese intelligence chief Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt to discuss the border
problem.
The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said the Thai and Burmese foreign
ministers had achieved ``a certain level of understanding'' on the border
situation following their telephone conversation on Tuesday.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post - Friday 14 June 2002
Request for talks on drugs war welcomed
Wassana Nanuam
Rangoon's request for talks on drug suppression co-operation with Bangkok
next month is a good sign for Thai-Burmese relations, PM's Office Minister
Thammarak Issarangkura na Ayuthaya said yesterday.
Gen Thammarak said the fact the junta initiated an approach through its
Bangkok embassy for a timetable for next month's anti-drugs meeting in Rangoon
showed Burma's determination to fight drugs.
The meeting was likely to be set for the middle of next month. The
government would be busy defending the 2003 Budget Bill before then, he
said.
Deputy Defence Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa said a delegation led by Gen
Thammarak would be the first to make an official visit to Rangoon since tensions
flared along the Thai-Burmese border last month.
Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was trying to contact Burmese
military leaders for talks, and had suggested they be held on the border,
somewhere between Chiang Rai's Mae Sai town and Burma's Tachilek township, which
was opposite.
Third Army commander Lt-Gen Udomchai Ongkhasing said there were indications
Burmese forces would continue their attacks on the Shan State Army. It appeared
they planned to capture all the Shan strongholds along the border.
Thai troops would stick to the policy that no foreign forces would be
allowed to launch attacks on their enemies from Thai territory, he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------- No Talks With Thailand Until All
Lost Outposts Recaptured: Myanmar Official
2002-06-14 14:26:49 YANGON, June 14 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar will not open talks with Thailand until all the four government military
outposts taken by an anti-government ethnic group are recaptured, a high-ranking
official said on Friday In a press briefing here, Major-General Kyaw Win, vice chief of Myanmar
Military Intelligence, claimed that the government has seized back three lost
major outposts out of the four from the Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA)
during the fighting that commenced June 6, leaving the only one, the Panmongsun,
yet to be recaptured.
Kyaw Win charged Thailand with not only backing the SURA in its attack
against the four government outposts but also personally involving in the
assault.
The Myanmar-Thai border conflict was sparked on May 20 when the SURA
attacked the four government outposts which Myanmar said was under the cover of
Thai army's artillery barrage, but the Thai side denied its involvement, saying
that Thai troops fired warning shots after strong shells from fighting in
Myanmar's territory fell on Thai soil.
The Myanmar military declared on June 4 launching offensive against the
SURA, aimed at recapturing the four lost outposts.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar Holds Mass Rallies to
Denounce Thailand
Xinhuanet 2002-06-14 13:37:49 YANGON, June 14 (Xinhuanet) --
Myanmar has held a series of mass rallies in seven areas since the beginning of
this month to denounce Thailand's backing of the anti-government ethnic group
Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA).
The mass rallies, organized by the government and attended by over 10,000
people in each event, started on June 1 and the areas where such gatherings took
place until Thursday covered Kengtung, Taunggyi, Mandalay, Yangon, Monywa, Bago
and Mawlamyine.
Myanmar has accused Thailand of providing the SURA with shelter, food,
military training, and arms and ammunition in its activities against the
government.
Speakers in these mass rallies described Thailand as a "bad" neighbor,
charging that country with abetting a handful of SURA in"encroaching" on some of
Myanmar's territory in the border area.
"Yodaya (Thailand)'s show of total disregard for the principles of the
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the duties of a neighbor
amounts to revealing its hostile attitude," the speakers said.
The Myanmar-Thai border clashes were sparked on May 20 when the SURA
attacked the four Myanmar government military outposts -- Panmongsun,
Nyaungbingon, Pangantgaw and Yanpaingsun. The Myanmar side charged that the
attacks were launched under the cover of Thai army artillery
barrage.
Myanmar claimed that during the fight, 48 government soldiers died, 16
injured, 21 captured and 42 arms and ammunition lost.
But the Thai side denied its involvement, saying that Thai troops fired
warning shots after strong shells in fighting between SURA and the United Wa
State Army (UWSA), which was supported by the Myanmar government troops, fell on
the Thai soil.
Shortly after the incident, the two countries exchanged protest
notes.
After the four government military outposts fell to the SURA, the Myanmar
military declared on June 4 launching attacks on the SURA, aimed at recapturing
the four lost outposts and the fighting has been going on since then.
For this, Myanmar has warned Thailand not to intervene, informing the
country to understand that accidental shells from fighting fall on Thai soil
were unintentional.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has unilaterally closed all its three major border
points -- Tachilek, Myawaddy and Kawthoung, expelled at least 500 Thai workers,
banned official entry visa to the Thai side and prohibited all Myanmar private
journals to carry Thai articles and advertisement.
In addition, Myanmar has also stopped buying electricity from Thailand for
supplying its two border towns of Tachilek and Myawaddy.
To solve the border conflicts, Thailand is trying to contact the Myanmar
side to bring about a high-level negotiation, but so far, there is no response
yet from the Myanmar side.
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