THAI AUTHORITIES DETAIN MEMBERS OF

[lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

  Media Release
  Date: November 25, 1997
  

     THAI AUTHORITIES DETAIN MEMBERS OF BURMESE PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS
                                                      

Sangkhala Buri, Thailand: According to informed sources in
Sangkhala Buri, Thai army units from the 9th Division, including
two high-ranking officers, and local police arrested 17 members
from various pro-democracy opposition groups on November 24,1997. 
  
The arrests took place when Thai army units with the help of local
police raided offices belonging to Burmese opposition groups at
about 11:30 am.
  
The detainees include four members of the Democratic Party for New
Society (DPNS), two members of the National League for Democracy
(NLD), two members of the Karen History Research Department, two
adults and three boys from the Mergui-Davoy United Front (MDUF),
and four members of the Peoples' Defense Force (PDF).
  
According to the same source, Sergeant Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military
intelligence officer from Military Intelligence Unit 5 based at
Three Pagodas Pass, came to see the group in their police cells.
One of the detainees, Ko Kyaw Htet from the PDF, was reportedly
questioned by the Thai army for several hours.
  
Although the motive behind the arrests is unclear, local residents
told the ABSDF that the Thai Army must have acted at the request of
the SPDC (formerly the SLORC) after recent clashes near Mae Katha
between opposition forces and Burmese troops stationed at Three
Pagodas Pass. Twenty Burmese soldiers including a captain were
killed in the fighting and many others were wounded.
  
Three Pagodas Pass is situated opposite Sangkhala Buri in Thailand
and is a former stronghold of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), which
signed a cease-fire with SLORC in 1995.
  
Pro-democracy opposition groups are gravely concerned that the
detainees will be deported back to Burma as this is the first time
that a large number of pro-democracy group members have been
detained since the change of government in Thailand. 
  
A group of exiled ministers from the National Coalition Government
of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) was detained in September, 1997.
  


All Burma Students Democratic Front 
  
For more information please call 01-923 1687 or 01-654 4984.
  
  
The following is the list of opposition members who were
arrested.
  
  
  1. Ko Kyaw Htet        PDF
  2. Ko Shwe Thwe        PDF
  3. Ko Lu Maw           PDF
  4. Ko Aung Htoo        PDF
  5. Ko Charlie          DPNS
  6. Ko Win Naing        DPNS
  7. Ko Nyi Nyi          DPNS
  8. Ko Kyaw Naing       DPNS
  9. Ko Paw Tun Aung     NLD-LA
  10.Ko Aung San Nyunt   NLD-LA
  11.U Shein             MDUF
  12.Ko Than Htite       MUDF
  13.Maung Tun Sein      MDUF (12-year-old)
  14.Maung Letwae Tun    MDUF (8-year-old)
  15.Maung Nyi Nyi Lwin  MDUF (10-year-old)
  16.Ko Htet Khaung      Karen History Research
  17.Ko Myint Win        Karen History Research