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Helicopters Arrived (Latest Develop



Subject: Helicopters Arrived (Latest Development)

TOBER 01, 23:42 EDT

 4 Hostages Released in Thailand 

 By MATTHEW PENNINGTON
 Associated Press Writer 

 BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) ? A police helicopter
 hovered over the Myanmar Embassy to
 determine if a landing within the compound
 was possible Saturday, as the government
 moved closer to giving in to a dozen armed
 rebels and flying them to Myanmar's border. 

 The young rebels, who oppose Myanmar's
 military government, were holding about 40
 diplomats and foreigners inside the
 compound. 

 Armed with rifles and grenades, the dissidents
stormed through the
 embassy gate Friday morning, seizing hostages and
demanding the
 release of all political prisoners in their country. 

 On Saturday, they released four captives and were
pressing for a
 helicopter to fly them and some hostages to the
frontier. 

                              Bangkok police commander
Lt. Gen. Wannarat
                              Kotcharak said two
long-range helicopters
                              were being readied,
though a final decision on
                              the demand had not yet
been made. He said
                              police were trying to
determine if it was safe
                              to land inside the
compound. He did not say
                              whether the rebels, if
allowed to leave, would
                              be permitted to take the
hostages with them.

                              ``If a pilot agrees
we'll be furnishing two
                              helicopters depending on
the demands of the
                              hostage takers,'' he
said ``Our main policy is
                              the release of all
hostages with the
 guarantee of safe passage (for the rebels).'' 

 He said the final decision on how to resolve the
crisis would be ``taken at
 the highest level.'' 

 The releases came nearly 24 hours after the takeover.
A young Thai
 woman walked out of the embassy as crack police teams
ringed the walled
 compound in downtown Bangkok. 

 As the sick woman was driven away in one of
 the 11 ambulances standing by, the 12 rebels
 inside released an ailing man dressed in a
 traditional Myanmar sarong. Later, another
 Myanmar national and another woman were
 set free. Police speculated they were released
 because they were either ill or suffering
 extreme fatigue. 

 Meanwhile, a rebel holding an AK-47 assault
 rifle in one hand and a grenade in the other,
 appeared at the embassy gate with one of
 the hostages in front of him. He accepted several
bags of food brought by
 a policeman, smiled and shut the gate. 

 The hostage release and talk of the helicopters came
amid the resumption
 of negotiations Saturday, after they had been
suspended for several
 hours. 

 Before the two were released, police had said about
40 people were being
 held by the intruders, including 13 Myanmar
diplomats, Thais and other
 Asians and Westerners. The foreigners were probably
at the embassy to
 obtain visas. 

                              One of the
hostage-takers told the Associated
                              Press in a telephone
interview early Saturday
                              morning that Thai police
had acceded to their
                              demand that a helicopter
be provided to fly
                              them and some hostages
to the
                              Thai-Myanmar frontier,
where the Myanmar
                              rebel movement is based.


                              The hostage-taker, who
described himself as
                              a 29-year-old student
named Preeda, said
                              that he and the other
students distrusted the
                              Thai government, and if
a helicopter was not
                              provided, they would
``have to do
                              something,'' which could
include killing
 hostages. 

 He did not say there was an explicit threat to kill
Myanmar hostages every
 half-hour if the aircraft didn't come, as some of his
comrades had been
 quoted saying. It was not clear if the threat was
serious or even
 communicated to the authorities. 

 In a statement sent to news media, the dissidents ?
calling themselves
 the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors ? demanded the
release of all
 political prisoners in their military-ruled homeland,
a dialogue between
 Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
the military, and
 the convening of an elected parliament. 

 The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has
refused to
 negotiate with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi or
to convene the
 parliament legally elected in 1990. 

 Oun Hompromee, the embassy gardener and one of three
men who
 escaped the compound early Friday evening, said he
and a Thai policeman
 working as a security guard were accosted by four of
the intruders, who
 forced the two men at gunpoint to take the dissidents
to the
 ambassador's office. The envoy had left the compound
30 minutes earlier. 

 Oun said that he was able to sneak away as the
students gathered
 hostages, and he hid until he was able to escape. 

 Police said they believed no hostages had been hurt,
supporting claims
 made by the dissidents in communication with local
media. 

 In their prepared statement, however, the group
warned that if the
 Myanmar government doesn't heed their demands, ``it
is fully responsible
 for the consequences of this action.'' 

 Gunshots were heard several times in the early hours
of the siege. Two
 dissidents fired off an eight-shot salute in early
afternoon as they took
 down the Myanmar flag and raised a red standard
emblazoned with a
 fighting peacock, the symbol of the pro-democracy
movement in Myanmar. 

 Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, who arrived at the
scene after
 nightfall, said Thai authorities would not use force.


 A Myanmar government statement, received in Bangkok,
said Ambassador
 Hla Maung was working with Thai authorities to secure
release of the
 hostages.


=====

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