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THE NATION: Yangon denies links to



Yangon denies links to ethnic rebels, says Bangkok should
''execute'' them

posted at 16:55 hrs (Bangkok time) 

BANGKOK, April 9 -- Myanmar's junta has denied links with ethnic rebels operating near the Thai
border, giving authorities here the green light to ''arrest and execute them,'' the Thai foreign ministry
said Thursday. 

In a written statement following the return of Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra from
Myanmar (Burma), the ministry said the junta had claimed not to ''control'' the Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA). 

The statement said Sukhumbhand had been told that ''if DKBA were to stage any further incursions
into Thai territories, the Thai authorities should arrest and execute them. 

''Any contacts between the government (of Myanmar) and the DKBA are through intermediaries.
The DKBA has never laid down weapons and surrendered to the Myanmar government, and is thus
an illegal organization.'' 

Sukhumbhand returned from Yangon (Rangoon), where he met junta first secretary General Khin
Nyunt, late Wednesday. 

Myanmar authorities have consistently denied any connection to the DKBA saying they had not
provided assistance to the group in its attacks on Karen refugee camps inside Thailand. 

The camps are primarily inhabited by rival Karen National Union (KNU) supporters.