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AFP : Thailand denies paying hostag
- Subject: AFP : Thailand denies paying hostag
- From: euburma@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 02:27:00
Subject: AFP : Thailand denies paying hostage takers
Thailand denies paying hostage takers and announces student crackdown
BANGKOK, Oct 5 (AFP) - Thailand Tuesday strongly denied allegations it
paid one million dollars to five gunmen in order to end the Myanmar hostage
crisis and announced a crackdown on exiled students.
"We did not give the gunmen any money," Interior Minister Sanan
Kachornprasart told reporters.
"We gave them only a bag and a telephone, there was no money, arms, or
anything else inside the bag..it was just clothes for one of them," he said.
Local press reports said the opposition New Aspiration Party accused
the government of paying one million dollars to the radical student gunmen
in order to end the hostage crisis quickly. The armed students, calling
themselves the "Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors" seized the Yangon
embassy here Friday, holding 38 people captive for 25 hours. Sanan said
he had received reports two of the five gunmen had been living at a Thai
holding center for exiled Myanmar dissidents. He said authorities would
strictly enforce regulations confining the estimated 2000 exiled students
in Thailand to the Maneeloy holding centre near the Thai-Myanmar border.
"Foreign visitors will be confined to designated areas and students
will not be allowed to roam free anymore," he said.
He said if students left the center they would be repatriated to
Myanmar. Sanan said police were attempting to confirm the origins of the
five gunmen. The men disappeared into jungle near the Thai-Burma border
after a dramatic escape from Bangkok in a helicopter supplied by Thai
authorities in exchange for the release of hostages. Thailand's
intelligence network has been criticised for failing to forsee the hostage
crisis and Sanan said its operations would be reviewed.
"We have to improve our intelligence system in every way because in the
past we have only had to deal with problems theoretically and we had no
actual experience," he said.
Despite criticism from Myanmar of Thailand's decision to give the
gunmen safe passage to the border, Sanan said it was the best solution to
the crisis.
"Nobody died, not a single drop of blood was spilled, if it happened in
other countries it could have been devestating," he said.