Bkk Post-Burma continues violation

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Subject: Bkk Post-Burma continues violation of demarcation agreement

Burma continues violation of demarcation agreement

Concrete wall being built along river

Supamart Kasem
Mae Sot, Tak

Burma has continued to violate its border agreement with Thailand by
constructing a concrete wall along the Moei River despite protests by Thai
authorities.

Construction work has continued despite Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai's
proposal to his Burmese counterpart Gen Than Shwe, during the latter's
recent visit to Bangkok, for renewed border demarcation talks to settle the
conflict.

The land-filling work along a 500-metre stretch of the Moei River bank by
Burmese workers using earth, sand and gravel has encroached 20-200 metres
into the river and has gone uninterrupted despite the latest protest from
Thai authorities on March 5.

The Thai chairman of the Local Thai-Burmese Border Committee, Col Chayuthi
Boonparn, had proposed talks with his Burmese counterpart Lt-Col Tin Ngwe
but his proposal was rejected.

Col Chayuthi said the continued violation of the border agreement now
required the attention of higher level members of the Thai-Burmese border
panel. He intended to propose this for discussion at the next Regional
Thai-Burmese Border Committee to be held in Phuket from tomorrow to March
17.

The meeting will be co-chaired by First Army Region Commander Lt-Gen Taweep
Suwansing and Burma's Southeastern Force Commander Maj-Gen Myint Aung.

Col Chayuthi said the continued construction of the concrete wall along the
river bank demonstrated Burma's insincerity to solve the border conflict.

Thailand also plans to discuss the border issue with Burma at the Joint
Boundary Meeting in Rangoon next month, he said.

Burma has claimed that construction of the concrete wall was to prevent soil
erosion on the Burmese side of the river as the Thai side had completed
theirs.

Col Chayuthi said the concrete wall on the Thai side had not encroached on
the river and had been built after a joint survey and agreement with the
Burmese authorities.

The Burmese construction of the wall, therefore, was in violation of the
border treaty reached in 1996 by a Thai-Burmese technical committee to
dredge Moei River at the spot where the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge was

built.

Thailand and Burma agreed to dredge the Moei River at the Friendship Bridge
in 1996 based on an aerial photograph taken of the area in 1989, following
Rangoon's accusation that Thailand had encroached on the river.

The dredging work resulted in a 30-rai island being created in the middle of
the river, which the two countries agreed to jointly exploit for their
mutual benefit.

Thailand subsequently built a concrete wall on the Thai bank of the river to
protect it from erosion and Burma has since followed suit but while doing
so, has encroached between 20-200 metres into the river.

The present construction work is an extension of the 800-metre wall which
Burma completed in 1997.