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AFP : Myanmar embassy gunmen leave



Subject: AFP : Myanmar embassy gunmen leave trail of mystery

Myanmar embassy gunmen leave trail of mystery
    by Dan Eaton

BANGKOK, Oct 3 (AFP) - Gunmen who stormed the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok 
demanding the junta hold talks with Aung San Suu Kyi's democratic 
opposition have left a trail of mystery paradoxes after fleeing to the 
border.  Who the gunmen were, and if their action signals a resort to 
violence by Myanmar students in their quest for democracy after years of 
political stalemate, remains uncertain.  The only person who really seemed 
sure of the armed group's identity was Thai Interior Minister Sanan 
Kachonprasart.
    "They are not terrorists, they are students who fight for democracy," 
he told reporters after Thai authorities provided them with a helicopter to 
the border.
    "They can go anywhere they want," he said, as long as they did not stay 
in Thailand.
    The five armed men calling themselves the "Vigorous Burmese Student 
Warriors" held almost 40 people hostage, including diplomats and 
foreigners, for more than 24 hours after storming the Myanmar embassy here 
Friday. They demanded the Myanmar junta free all political prisoners and 
open talks with the National League for Democracy (NLD), which 
overwhelmingly won the 1990 elections ignored by the military.
    Meanwhile, the NLD in Yangon, and exiled student groups and activist 
NGOs here, sympathised with their objectives but quickly denounced any 
involvement and the use of armed force.
    "We categorically condemn the seizure of the embassy and the taking of 
hostages," the NLD said.
    It said the embassy crisis was the result of "many acts of injustice 
and cruelty repeatedly perpetrated by the military regime".
    The gunmen expressed deep frustration at the political stalemate in 
Myanmar, hinting they were a student splinter group.
    Yet, at first glance, they do not appear to represent a new generation 
of activists within pro-democracy ranks.
    According to reports quoting police and NGOs here the leader of the 
group, identified as San Naing, alias "Johnny," had a long record of 
terrorist activities committed in the name of democracy. Under another name 
he hijacked a domestic Myanmar airliner in 1989 and diverted it to 
Thailand. He was sentenced to six years in jail here, but released under a 
royal pardon after serving only three.  Having been refused asylum in 
Australia, he later spent more time in prison on explosives charges.
    The attack on Yangon's embassy put the Thai government in a 
predicament. Officials here were not in a position to negotiate demands for 
a change in Myanmar's military government.
    And Sanan's statement leaves a question mark over the future of 
Thailand's relations with its neighbour and fellow Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN) member.   ASEAN has has a policy of not commenting 
on, or interfering in, the internal affairs of member nations.
    Then there are the ironies: Thailand's government earns praise from its 
usual critics, activist NGOs, and the US is found in a rare moment of 
solidarity with the Myanmar junta.   "Although the incident is over, it is 
also very important to make these criminals realise that no matter under 
what pretext or disguise it might have been staged, the peace-loving people 
of the world community will not tolerate the criminal and terrorist 
activities they have committed," an official junta statement said. The 
United States used similar words to condemn the attack.
    "We strongly condemn this terrorist attack on a diplomatic 
establishment and the taking of hostages, regardless of the perpetrators' 
motives or demands," State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters 
in Washington.
   "There is simply no justification for terrorism under any circumstances."
    Yet the embassy attackers appear for the moment to have pulled off a 
remarkable coup, returning Myanmar's political stalemate to the 
international limelight, and getting away with it.   Human rights groups 
and dissidents released a statement warning Myanmar's ASEAN partners that 
the hostage crisis should be considered a "wake up call."
    "The event is a grim reminder that there are consequences for failing 
to achieve peaceful positive changes in Burma," said the statement, signed 
by nine organisations.
    "The best way to prevent such unfortunate events from recurring in 
ASEAN's  front yard is to engage in a peaceful, political process at an 
early stage."

Thin Myat Thu (Thida)                                  Tel: + 47 22 414143
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Democratic Voice of Burma      http://www.communique.no/dvb