The Nation- Only time will calm Bur

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Subject: The Nation- Only time will calm Burma 

The Nation - Oct 13, 1999.
Headlines
Chetta: Only time will calm Burma

FORMER army chief and close personal friend of the Burmese junta Gen Chetta
Thanajaro said yesterday Burma was furious and there was nothing much the
Thai government could do except back off and let the tension abate before
resuming dialogue.

Chetta, who is serving as a security advisor to the government, was
appointed yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sanan
Kachornprasart to help open another channel of negotiation by using his
acquaintance with the generals in Rangoon.

Chetta said he had been in constant communication with Rangoon, using
personal leverage as well as his official capacity, but insisted that the
tension would not wither away at all soon.

''There is communication, but the fact is that they are still upset.
Therefore we should back off and give them some time to cool off,'' he said.

According to a source, Chetta personally talked with top-ranking Burmese
officials, especially Gen Khin Nyunt, the first secretary of the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC), who expressed unhappiness.

There has been no official dialogue on the subject between Bangkok and
Rangoon.

Chetta said the border was likely to remain closed until Rangoon was
confident enough to resume normal operations.

Such a measure is nothing new, he said, pointing to previous incidents when
disputes had surfaced between the two countries and Rangoon had responded by
closing the border and chasing Thai fishing vessels away.

''It has occurred several times, and we just cannot afford to let it
continue unaddressed. It is Thailand and Burma, not others, that will
suffer,'' he said.

''There is always an end to every problem, and no one wants to see this kind
of situation prolonged. All that we really need is time to mend fences,
since we cannot move away from each other,'' he added optimistically.

Local merchants, on the other hand, said the decision to close the border
was linked to growing tension.

Ties between the two countries have reached a new low in the past week. The
freeze was set off by Bangkok's soft-handed approach to the recent hostage
crisis, when five armed dissident stormed the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok,
taking 38 people at gunpoint while preventing 51 others from leaving the
compound.

The 25-hour stand-off ended peacefully after Thailand agreed to give the
five armed attackers safe passage to the Thai-Burmese border in return for
the hostages.

Rangoon was also infuriated by a comment by Interior Minister Sanan
Kachornprasart, who referred to the five Burmese hostage-takers as
''students fighting for democracy'' rather than terrorists as Rangoon had
branded them.

In response Burma dispatched a number of senior officials and the state-run
press to attack Bangkok while at the same time thanking Thailand for ending
the crisis in a peaceful manner.

Burma further retaliated by closing its border and revoking concessions to
Thai fishermen. These moves have crippled the fisheries industry and brought
cross-border trade to a standstill.

Moreover thousands of Burmese government troops have been deployed to the
border area, where a number of rebel forces are positioned, heightening the
tension along the border. A big offensive is likely to send thousands of
refugees across the border into Thailand.

While Rangoon cited security reasons for closing the border and ordering all
Thai fishermen out of its waters, Thai authorities said it was a clear
retaliation against Bangkok's soft handling of the embassy siege.

The Nation