NEWS - Thais Alarmed by Australian

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Subject: NEWS - Thais Alarmed by Australian Tactics in East Timor

Thais Alarmed by Australian Tactics in East Timor

BANGKOK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A senior Thai Defence Ministry official
said on Friday Thailand was alarmed by television pictures showing
Australian soldiers pointing guns at the heads of militia suspects in
East Timor. 

The source, who did not want to be identified, said Thai troops planned
to take a more "softly-softly" approach when they were deployed in the
troubled territory next month. 

"We are not going to point guns at the heads of people like we have been
seeing Australian soldiers doing on television," he said. "That doesn't
look good -- it's terrible." 

Asked if he considered this provocative behaviour, he replied: "yes." 

The renewed criticism from Thailand, which Australia last week named as
deputy commander of the International Force for East Timor, is a fresh
headache for Major-General Peter Cosgrove, the force commander. 

Earlier on Friday, the Australian military said there was no dissent
among the multinational force after a senior Thai military officer told
Reuters Thailand was concerned about Cosgrove's "aggressive attitude" on
the ground in East Timor. 

The Thai deputy commander of the force Major-General Songkitti
Chakkrabhat and Thai military Supreme Commander General Mongkol
Amphonphisit were in Jakarta on Friday for talks with Indonesian
military chief General Wiranto. 

The Thai military said they aimed to ease the mounting tensions in East
Timor. 

"We keep telling our Indonesian friends and also local people that we
are going in to provide assistance on humanitarian grounds," Defence
Ministry spokesman Lieutenant-General Sanan Kajornklam said. 

"Our task will focus on humanitarian aid and civil affairs. We are not
going in to fight with anyone, so we foresee no trouble at all," he
said. 

Sanan said Thailand planned to send the first 200 of its 1,000 troops to
East Timor early next month. 

"It could be October 1 or a couple days after that -- the armed forces
are working on the precise date," he said. 

The spokesman defended the delayed deployment, saying Thailand had
awaited a formal request from Indonesia, whereas the countries already
deployed had made advanced preparations. 

"We prepared our troops to go to East Timor only after Indonesia asked
us to lend a hand. Indonesia wanted to have its close friends to go in
to help resolve the problem," he said. 

He said the soldiers would be deployed in Baucau, about 100 km (60
miles) from Dili, which was expected to be quieter that the troubled
capital. 

He said Caucasian troops could face problems in East Timor, but Asian
troops were unlikely to be targeted. 

"The initially assessment has shown that sentiment against the troops
from certain nations will be on the rise in the coming months...but the
East Timorese and Indonesia troops will not confront with troops from
Thailand and especially the fellow Muslims from Malaysia," he said. 

He said Thai troops expected to stay in East Timor about six months but
may stay longer if asked to take part in U.N. peacekeeping operation
when Indonesia formally hands over East Timor to the United Nations. 

Australia has been anxious to involve countries of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in operation. 

Many Indonesians are unhappy about an Australian-led force and Jakarta
had expressed a preference for troops from ASEAN, which groups Thailand
and Indonesia with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines.