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The Nation (4-10-99) No.(1)



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<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5><b>(1)Junta hails quick end to
siege <br>
</font></b><font size=3>RANGOON said yesterday it was relieved to see a
quick and peaceful end to the occupation of its Bangkok embassy by five
armed Burmese students but separately warned that ''the peace-loving
people of the world community should not tolerate the criminal and
terrorist activities they committed''. <br>
Burmese Foreign Minister U Khin Maung yesterday telephoned Deputy Foreign
Minister ML Sukhumbhand Paribatra to thank the Thai government. <br>
''They (Rangoon) are delighted that the siege and hostage-taking ended
quickly and thanked the Thai government for heeding Rangoon's suggestion
for a quick settlement,'' Sukhumbhand said before leaving for China
yesterday. <br>
The Burmese Foreign Ministry also told Thai Ambassador Pensak Chalalak
that Rangoon was relieved that the occupation was over and requested
increased security protection at the embassy, the residences of the
ambassador and embassy staff. <br>
It was the Rangoon military government's first statement since the
25-hour siege ended peacefully with the release of all 89 hostages,
including Burmese Embassy staff and foreigners. <br>
But in a separate statement released to the media yesterday, Rangoon
hinted that Thailand should take legal action against the students whom
it branded as terrorists. <br>
''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,'' the
statement said. <br>
This position appeared to contradict the statement made by Thai leaders
after the crisis broke out that the junta was taking a hands-off approach
and had authorised Thailand to take any action it deemed fit. <br>
Five armed men, calling themselves ''Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors'',
stormed the embassy on Friday and held 38 people hostage, including
diplomats. <br>
After bowing to demands and providing the hostage-takers an escape to the
Thai-Burmese border on Saturday, Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart
had called the gunmen democracy fighters. <br>
''They are not terrorists, they are students who are fighting for
democracy,'' he said. The group's leader, however, had a long history of
violent struggle, including the hijacking of an aircraft almost exactly
10 years ago. San Naing spent three years in a Thai jail for that offence
and was arrested again in Thailand on explosives charges in 1993 and
sentenced to a further six years' imprisonment. <br>
The students were demanding that the 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. <br>
The gunmen fled in a helicopter around noon on Saturday after Sukhumbhand
and Chaiyapreuk Sawaengcharoen, the former chief of the Maneeloy holding
centre for Burmese asylum-seekers in Ratchaburi province, offered
themselves as substitute hostages. <br>
Sukhumbahnd yesterday said he believed the armed students intended to
bring their past fruitless struggle for democracy to world attention but
no one would agree with their use of violence. <br>
The minister said while the incident was an end-result of the domestic
problem in Burma, it was time the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) and its neighbours reviewed their position on the policy of
flexible engagement with Burma. <br>
Asean has a long-standing policy of not commenting on, or interfering in,
the internal affairs of member countries. <br>
The minister also defended the government's handling of the incident as a
courageous move. ''We did not, in fact, apply any tolerant attitude
towards the armed students. We simply did what was necessary and chose a
way that others may have disagreed with,'' he said. <br>
''And what we deemed necessary was sending me as surrogate hostage,'' he
said. <br>
Sukhumbhand also downplayed his widely-praised heroic role, saying he was
just doing his job. <br>
The minister admitted that Thailand, as an open society, ran the risk of
becoming a haven for actions by diverse political groups. ''But asked to
choose between freedom and risk, we can easily say we choose freedom,''
he said. <br>
Sukhumbhand said it was the due responsibility of the authorities
concerned to take precautionary measures against any possible violence
that can occur in every society, not merely in Thailand. <br>
Dissident groups called the incident a ''wake-up call'' and warned of
more violence ahead if the military government of Burma didn't change its
harsh, autocratic rule. <br>
''In the past 11 years the democracy movement has consistently stood for
a non-violent solution, but this hasn't really delivered significant
progress,'' said activist Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean
Network on Burma. <br>
''The students appear to have acted out of outrage at the regime's
increasing repression and frustration with the failure of the
international community to respond to the plight of Burma's people,'' the
Washington-based Free Burma Coalition said of the takeover in a
statement. <br>
Once among the country's best and brightest, the dissidents live in
malaria-ridden jungle camps and are sometimes attacked by Burmese troops.
While dissidents continue to predict victory over the military, there are
few signs the generals who have ruled Burma for the past 37 years are
loosening their grip on power. <br>
Activists opposed to the Burmese government heaped praise on Thailand's
handling of the crisis and expressed hope the Thais would not crack down
on Thai-based groups opposed to the Burmese regime. <br>
''We also urge the local authorities not to embark on a security backlash
against exiled organisations that have been actively pursuing non-violent
means to achieve human rights and democracy in Burma,'' a statement from
nine activist groups said. <br>
The statement urged the Thai government to push for reforms in Burma.
<br>
The Nation, Agencies<br>
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