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Bkk Post - Rangoon calls for tighte



Reply-To: "TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Bkk Post - Rangoon calls for tighter security

Bangkok Post - Oct 5, 1999.
Rangoon calls for tighter security
Surin resolves to deepen relations
Saritdet Marukatat

Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung yesterday called for better protection at
the embassy in Bangkok in the wake of the siege by five armed dissidents who
held hostages at gunpoint.

Mr Win Aung said after talks with Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan that the
Thai government needed to take more safety measures at the embassy as the
incident had sunk the morale of Burmese diplomats working there.

Though the Burmese minister expressed relief over the peaceful end to the
25-hour saga, he said gunmen had threatened the lives of Burmese diplomats,
and included children and women among their hostages.

Mr Win Aung believed the gunmen were radical students from a refugee camp in
Thailand, and said he did not understand why the drama took place in
Bangkok.

The Burmese minister, who arrived in Bangkok on Sunday on his return from
the United Nations General Assembly in New York, inspected the embassy
yesterday before being accompanied by Burmese Ambassador Hla Maung for an
hour-long meeting with Mr Surin.

Rangoon has ordered its border with Thailand closed since the embassy siege
which began on Friday.

But the Burmese minister denied that the decision was in retaliation to the
hostage-taking, saying that the closure was temporary and a re-opening of
the border would need more time.

Mr Surin said the two countries remained resolved to deepen relations and
agreed not to let the incident obstruct diplomatic efforts to this end.

Security agencies would soon evaluate safety measures for Burmese and other
embassies in Thailand in order to ensure better protection of foreign
missions in Thailand, Mr Surin said.

While remaining committed to freedom of expression, government agencies
would evaluate the activities of pro-democracy Burmese students in Thailand
and oppose any activities which violate international laws, Mr Surin added.

Foreign ministry spokesman Don Pramudwinai said the border closure by
Rangoon was understandable for safety reasons but he hoped the measure would
be lifted soon.

"I don't see it as retaliation," he said.

The Thai spokesman characterised the siege as a "terrorist act" but did not
consider the gunmen as terrorists.

On Sunday in Rangoon, Ambassador to Burma Pensak Chalarak met with Nyunt
Maung Shein, the director-general of the Political Affairs Department, who
thanked Thailand for the peaceful end to the siege.