...rebellion against tyranny and op

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Subject: ...rebellion against tyranny and oppression, ...human rights ... protected by ... law

The dissidents achieved all this with minimal resources and
risks. The ploy proved effective as news about the siege and
their announcements was broadcast around the world. What
they did reiterates the preamble of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.The third paragraph of the preamble reads: "... Whereas
it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a
last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that
human rights should be protected by the rule of law,.. now,
therefore, the General Assembly proclaims this Universal
Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of
achievement for all peoples and all nations.."Burmese people
have been forced to rebel against tyrants who disrespect the
laws and human rights. The one to blame, therefore, is the
military junta of Burma, not the Burmese students or the
people."....


CCT wrote:
> 
> Closure of waters hurts fishermen
> Cost of suspension of fishing rights is B800,000 per
> About 300 fishing boats have returned to Ranong and remain idle in
> port following the closure of Burmese waters to Thai fishermen.
> About 100 other boats have opted to fish in Thai territorial waters in
> the Andaman Sea as they cannot afford to remain ashore and absorb
> expenses.
> Capt Paruehat Rathda, acting director of the Thai-Burmese fishing
> coordination centre, denied a report that a number of Thai boats had
> been seized by Burmese authorities.
> The boats which have not returned were believed to be registered in
> Burma and were operating under a joint venture contract, he said.
> These boats were required to report to the ports of registration.
> Chana Pongsathaporn, a trawler owner, said the immediate cost to each
> boat affected by the suspension of fishing rights was 800,000 baht.
> This included the concession fee and costs of ice, fuel, food supplies
> and labour.
> The damage to 400 boats was at least 320 million baht.
> Other related business were also hit.
> The total overall damage was expected to be known this week.
> Burma closed major border checkpoints following the occupation of its
> embassy in Bangkok on Oct 1-2, suspended Thai fishing concessions and
> reportedly reinforced military units.
> This has severely hit border trade and caused severe shortage of fuel
> and necessities on the Burmese side of the border. Chiang Rai Thai
> traders have resorted to delivering goods across the border via Chiang
> Saen district on the Mekong river.
> Sunthorn Paorun, the assistant Chiang Saen customs office chief, said
> the cargoes, including diesel fuel, are delivered by boat to Ban Pong
> across the river and then trucked across rough terrain 40km to
> Tachilek, opposite Mae Sai.
> In Tachilek, the price of petrol and diesel has risen to 13 baht a
> litre, he said.
> Mae Sai district, a major border town which usually conducts a high
> volume of daily trade with Tachilek, remains quiet.
> Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart said he was not worried about
> reported Burmese troop deployments, because Thai soldiers and border
> patrol police were vigilant along the border.
> He added that Thailand's policy towards Burma would remain unchanged.
> Maj-Gen Sanan believed that international communities were sympathetic
> to Thailand in its peaceful handling of the seizure of the Burmese
> embassy by five armed dissident students.
> Only people who would like to see bloodshed opposed the government's
> actions, he said.
> The interior minister said all 1,700 Burmese students under the care
> of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and another 900 students
> still unaccounted for must report for registration or face tough legal
> action as illegal immigrants.
> The ministry was in contact with the UNHCR, he said.
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Soft siege highlights junta's hard line
> Thongbai Thongpao
> Last week's siege of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok made headlines all
> over the world. Armed with rifles and grenades, five dissidents
> calling themselves "Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors" stormed the
> embassy about 11 a.m. on Friday, October 1, and took 89 hostages.
> They pulled down the Burmese flag and raised a red standard emblazoned
> with a fighting peacock-the symbol of the pro-democracy movement in
> Burma.
> Pressure mounted amid concerns that the incident might escalate into
> violent bloodshed when hundreds of policemen surrounded the walled
> embassy compound with sharpshooters taking up positions in nearby tall
> buildings.
> The frenzy heightened when one local TV channel reported that the
> siege was committed by "terrorists" and flashed back to a similar
> hostage crisis in Peru which ended in a bloodbath when soldiers took
> the hostage-takers by surprise and killed them all.
> The public was concerned about the safety of innocent hostages. A loss
> of life would also tarnish the image of Thailand.
> Luckily, the event ended peacefully, because Thai authorities were
> careful while the dissidents had no intention to kill anyone. In a
> statement sent to news media, the dissidents demanded the release of
> all political prisoners in their military-ruled homeland, a dialogue
> between Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the
> military, and the convening of an elected parliament.
> None of the demands sounded serious. The dissidents seemed to be well
> aware that the Thai government was in no position to oblige and there
> was little chance to get what they had asked for.
> Finally, all they asked of the Thai authorities was to take them to
> the Thai-Burmese border. The 25-hour incident ended smoothly when a
> helicopter flew the dissidents, accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister
> Sukhumbhand Paribatra, to the border in Ratchaburi.
> The Thai government was praised by many countries for its handling of
> the crisis, which ended without a single drop of blood.
> It was Thailand's second embassy siege.
> Looking back, it is debatable whether the dissidents achieved their
> goals. The students succeeded in that they seized the Burmese Embassy
> and replaced the Burmese flag with that of the pro-democracy movement.
> They also succeeded in announcing to the world community their
> ideology and unwavering stance. Attention was focused again on the
> Burmese military junta and its violation of human rights and
> democratic rule.
> The dissidents achieved all this with minimal resources and risks. The
> ploy proved effective as news about the siege and their announcements
> was broadcast around the world. What they did reiterates the preamble
> of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
> The third paragraph of the preamble reads: "... Whereas it is
> essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last
> resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights
> should be protected by the rule of law,.. now, therefore, the General
> Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a
> common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
> nations.."Burmese people have been forced to rebel against tyrants who
> disrespect the laws and human rights. The one to blame, therefore, is
> the military junta of Burma, not the Burmese students or the people.
> The siege also cast doubts over the constructive engagement policy
> maintained by Thailand and other Asean members. It proves that Asean's
> policy to open the door to Burma to join the regional community has
> failed to change the attitude of the military junta.
> Is it high time that the policy be revised?
> ------------------------------------------------------