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Closure of waters hurts fishermen

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<font size=5><b>Closure of waters hurts fishermen<br>
</font><font size=3><i>Cost of suspension of fishing rights is B800,000
per <br>
</b></i>About 300 fishing boats have returned to Ranong and remain idle
in port following the closure of Burmese waters to Thai fishermen.<br>
About 100 other boats have opted to fish in Thai territorial waters in
the Andaman Sea as they cannot afford to remain ashore and absorb
expenses.<br>
Capt Paruehat Rathda, acting director of the Thai-Burmese fishing
coordination centre, denied a report that a number of Thai boats had been
seized by Burmese authorities.<br>
The boats which have not returned were believed to be registered in Burma
and were operating under a joint venture contract, he said.<br>
These boats were required to report to the ports of registration.<br>
Chana Pongsathaporn, a trawler owner, said the immediate cost to each
boat affected by the suspension of fishing rights was 800,000 baht.<br>
This included the concession fee and costs of ice, fuel, food supplies
and labour.<br>
The damage to 400 boats was at least 320 million baht.<br>
Other related business were also hit.<br>
The total overall damage was expected to be known this week.<br>
Burma closed major border checkpoints following the occupation of its
embassy in Bangkok on Oct 1-2, suspended Thai fishing concessions and
reportedly reinforced military units.<br>
This has severely hit border trade and caused severe shortage of fuel and
necessities on the Burmese side of the border. Chiang Rai Thai traders
have resorted to delivering goods across the border via Chiang Saen
district on the Mekong river.<br>
Sunthorn Paorun, the assistant Chiang Saen customs office chief, said the
cargoes, including diesel fuel, are delivered by boat to Ban Pong across
the river and then trucked across rough terrain 40km to Tachilek,
opposite Mae Sai.<br>
In Tachilek, the price of petrol and diesel has risen to 13 baht a litre,
he said.<br>
Mae Sai district, a major border town which usually conducts a high
volume of daily trade with Tachilek, remains quiet.<br>
Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart said he was not worried about
reported Burmese troop deployments, because Thai soldiers and border
patrol police were vigilant along the border.<br>
He added that Thailand's policy towards Burma would remain
unchanged.<br>
Maj-Gen Sanan believed that international communities were sympathetic to
Thailand in its peaceful handling of the seizure of the Burmese embassy
by five armed dissident students.<br>
Only people who would like to see bloodshed opposed the government's
actions, he said.<br>
The interior minister said all 1,700 Burmese students under the care of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and another 900 students still
unaccounted for must report for registration or face tough legal action
as illegal immigrants.<br>
The ministry was in contact with the UNHCR, he said.&nbsp; <br>
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</font><font size=5><b>Soft siege highlights junta's hard line <br>
</font><font size=3>Thongbai Thongpao<br>
</b>Last week's siege of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok made headlines
all over the world. Armed with rifles and grenades, five dissidents
calling themselves &quot;Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors&quot; stormed
the embassy about 11 a.m. on Friday, October 1, and took 89
hostages.<br>
They pulled down the Burmese flag and raised a red standard emblazoned
with a fighting peacock-the symbol of the pro-democracy movement in
Burma.<br>
Pressure mounted amid concerns that the incident might escalate into
violent bloodshed when hundreds of policemen surrounded the walled
embassy compound with sharpshooters taking up positions in nearby tall
buildings.<br>
The frenzy heightened when one local TV channel reported that the siege
was committed by &quot;terrorists&quot; and flashed back to a similar
hostage crisis in Peru which ended in a bloodbath when soldiers took the
hostage-takers by surprise and killed them all.<br>
The public was concerned about the safety of innocent hostages. A loss of
life would also tarnish the image of Thailand.<br>
Luckily, the event ended peacefully, because Thai authorities were
careful while the dissidents had no intention to kill anyone. In a
statement sent to news media, the dissidents demanded the release of all
political prisoners in their military-ruled homeland, a dialogue between
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the military, and the
convening of an elected parliament.<br>
None of the demands sounded serious. The dissidents seemed to be well
aware that the Thai government was in no position to oblige and there was
little chance to get what they had asked for.<br>
Finally, all they asked of the Thai authorities was to take them to the
Thai-Burmese border. The 25-hour incident ended smoothly when a
helicopter flew the dissidents, accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister
Sukhumbhand Paribatra, to the border in Ratchaburi.<br>
The Thai government was praised by many countries for its handling of the
crisis, which ended without a single drop of blood.<br>
It was Thailand's second embassy siege.<br>
Looking back, it is debatable whether the dissidents achieved their
goals. The students succeeded in that they seized the Burmese Embassy and
replaced the Burmese flag with that of the pro-democracy movement. They
also succeeded in announcing to the world community their ideology and
unwavering stance. Attention was focused again on the Burmese military
junta and its violation of human rights and democratic rule.<br>
The dissidents achieved all this with minimal resources and risks. The
ploy proved effective as news about the siege and their announcements was
broadcast around the world. What they did reiterates the preamble of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<br>
The third paragraph of the preamble reads: &quot;... Whereas it is
essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last
resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights
should be protected by the rule of law,.. now, therefore, the General
Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common
standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations..&quot;Burmese
people have been forced to rebel against tyrants who disrespect the laws
and human rights. The one to blame, therefore, is the military junta of
Burma, not the Burmese students or the people.<br>
The siege also cast doubts over the constructive engagement policy
maintained by Thailand and other Asean members. It proves that Asean's
policy to open the door to Burma to join the regional community has
failed to change the attitude of the military junta.<br>
Is it high time that the policy be revised? <br>
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