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Exiled Burmese face immigration cur (r)

Subject: Exiled Burmese face immigration curbs

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<font size=5><b>Exiled Burmese face immigration curbs<br>
</font></b><font face="arial" size=3>THE Thai government will impose
stricter immigration controls over the movement of exiled Burmese
students in Thailand and send those who are eligible to third countries
as soon as possible in the aftermath of the Burmese Embassy siege in
which five gunmen took 89 people hostage last Friday. <br>
Meanwhile, a government source said that a two-hour meeting of the
national anti-international terrorism committee yesterday agreed that a
similar incident could happen in the future, since there are many other
political groups in Thailand which have been watching the Thai
government's handling of the siege. <br>
In what is seen as a knee-jerk reaction to the hostage crisis, the
National Security Council (NSC) also threatened to revoke its
long-standing policy of leniency in not sending exiled Burmese students
back home. <br>
The NSC and Interior Ministry have informed the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of the moves and urged them to help
speed up the resettlement process of the Burmese students. <br>
Khachadpai Burusapatana, NSC chief, said the UNHCR has agreed to
cooperate and will first help check the exact number of Burmese students
in Bangkok and along the Thai-Burmese border. <br>
Khachadpai said 811 Burmese students are waiting at the Interior
Ministry-controlled Maneeloy camp in Ratchaburi province to be sent to
third countries. About 2,000 students are in Bangkok under the
supervision of UNHCR. <br>
A significant number could disguise themselves among the 100,000 Burmese
refugees sheltered in camps along the Thai-Burmese border. <br>
Khachadpai said the next step would be to consult with third countries,
such as the United States, Australia and Canada, on their readiness to
accept them. <br>
''It's time to implement the policy [of resettlement]. We have been
paying lip-service but have never taken action, not until trouble landed
on us,'' he said. <br>
The move was among the measures agreed upon at yesterday's meeting of the
anti-international terrorism committee in response to the siege which has
embarrassed the whole Thai intelligence network. <br>
The 25-hour hostage crisis ended peacefully with the gunmen fleeing
Bangkok by helicopter on Saturday in return for the release of the 89
hostages. <br>
Two of the gunmen were identified as students from the Maneeloy centre
while the identities of the three others, suspected to be members of
Burmese ethnic armed rebels, have not been verified yet. <br>
The captors claimed to be members of the anti-Rangoon Vigorous Burmese
Student Warriors, a splinter group of the All Burmese Students'
Democratic Front. <br>
Other measures included more frequent joint exercises involving
anti-international terrorist activities, and improvement of the
intelligence process and overall immigration control. <br>
A committee will be set up to study several guidelines for the
implementation of the anti-terrorism measures. <br>
Speaking after chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said
the Friday embassy siege had served as a lesson for all parties concerned
to be more vigilant so that they can prevent similar incidents. <br>
''It could happen again unless we are careful,'' Chuan said. <br>
The prime minister pointed out there was a great need to improve the
efficiency of personnel and intelligence units themselves as well as the
system of coordination. ''Good intelligence is not enough,'' he said.
<br>
''Thailand is an open country. Therefore, this incident will serve as a
lesson for Thai authorities to place more stringent immigration control
on not only students but also on foreign nationals entering the
country,'' he said. <br>
Chuan said responsible authorities yesterday admitted their deficiency in
intelligence-gathering and coordination for the failure to detect the
incident before it happened. <br>
Phummaraj Taksathipongse, director of the National Intelligence Bureau,
the government's highest intelligence supervisory agency, yesterday said
his agency's deficiency partly contributed to the failure to prevent the
incident. <br>
According to Chuan, security had been tightened to cope with a possible
Burmese student demonstration on Sept 9, the numerically auspicious date
to follow along the lines of the Aug 8, 1988, demonstration when Rangoon
cracked down on the democracy movement. However, security became lax when
the date passed with no violent incidents. <br>
The prime minister denied any responsible official had been singled out
for blame for the failure to prevent the incident. <br>
''The fact that all parties were in the dark about the incident is a
self- admission of mistake. I am satisfied with that,'' Chuan said. 
<br>
He said he understood that it was hard to keep track of the students'
movement. ''A large number of Thai people and Burmese students in
Thailand have developed a strong feeling against the Burmese
government,'' he said. <br>
''I want to see all the intelligence units sit and talk frankly about the
incident to find out the loopholes in our operation and what to do next
to improve their coordination,'' he said. <br>
The meeting also concluded that the assailants were not linked to any
terrorist group, as alleged by Rangoon, and that they resorted to violent
means just to bring the attention back to their struggle for democracy in
Burma, a government source said. <br>
The source also admitted that the captors belonged to a very new group,
whose impact was difficult to gauge. The so-called Vigorous Burmese
Student Warriors was reportedly formed on Aug 29. <br>
Khachadpai, meanwhile, said that the NSC would round up exiled students
inside Thailand, check their status, and prosecute those found to have
entered the country illegally. <br>
He said all students would then be transferred to the Maneeloy holding
centre near the Thai-Burma border, and the UNHCR would be asked to
quickly transfer them to a third country. <br>
Veerachai Naewboonian, deputy permanent secretary of Interior Ministry,
said students who were not accepted by a third country would be given
temporary shelter in Thailand. <br>
Veerachai said Thailand had already moved to ensure students were
confined to the Maneeloy centre. <br>
''Authorities will step up rules and regulations at the Maneeloy holding
centre,'' Veerachai said. <br>
Despite the crackdown on exiled students, Bangkok denied claims by
Rangoon that refugee camps inside Thailand were being used as terrorist
bases. <br>
''On this issue Thailand has a clear-cut policy that we will not allow
any groups of terrorists to operate against neighbouring countries from
inside our country,'' Khachadpai said. <br>
He said Thailand's policy of sheltering 100,000 refugees along the
Thai-Burmese border would remain unchanged, but all illegal Burmese
workers would be repatriated. <br>
''We have extended permission for 80,000 to 90,000 Burmese workers, but
those who are not granted an extension will be prosecuted for violating
immigration laws,'' he said. <br>
Police chief Pol Gen Pracha Promnok said that the police department has
set up a committee to investigate the hostage incident. <br>
''We have to admit that the students hid their weapons in a guitar bag
and came to Thailand in a pick-up truck from Ratchaburi. Well, we have
checkpoints but we cannot check all vehicles. We only check vehicles
which we suspect of having illegal items.'' <br>
He said that the police would tighten security at embassies. <br>
Chuan has instructed police to work with the Foreign Ministry to
strengthen security at 65 embassies and 10 consulates in Bangkok. <br>
Special Branch police deputy commissioner Maj Gen Yothin Matthayanun said
his agency would focus on improving security for diplomatic missions of
neighbouring countries and nations embroiled in political disputes, such
as Indonesia. <br>
He said that he has instructed the Foreign Ministry and the national
police office to coordinate with all embassies in Bangkok to prevent a
repetition of the incident. <br>
According to Chuan, the Burmese ambassador admitted that the security
problem at the Burmese Embassy was caused partially due to space
allocation. The visa section is located in the same compound as the
embassy building. This arrangement makes it easier to gain access to the
embassy. <br>
The Nation<br>
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