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By Charlotte Bevan in Bangkok
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By Charlotte Bevan in Bangkok
The Thai Foreign Minister, Surin Pitsuwan, has arrived in the Burmese capital,
Rangoon, for meetings with the country's military government in an attempt to
patch up deteriorating bilateral relations.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since a group of armed
students took the Burmese embassy in Bangkok by siege for 24 hours early last
month.
The Thai authorities let the students go free in return for the safe release of
around 40 hostages - a move that infuriated Burmese authorities.
Burmese officials were also furious when Thai ministers persisted in referring
to the armed men as students fighting for democracy, and not, as they would
have it, professional terrorists.
After the incident, Burma closed its land border with Thailand and revoked
fishing rights for Thai boats, a move that is costing Thailand millions of
dollars in lost trade.
Workers expelled
Earlier this month, Thailand expelled tens of thousands of illegal Burmese
labourers working in factories along the Thai-Burma border. The resulting
sudden influx of returning migrants has added to Burma's dire economic crisis.
Officials on both sides are now hoping the talks will go some way to salvaging
relations between the two countries.
Mr Surin's visit is at the invitation of his Burmese counterpart, Win Aung, but
correspondents say it is expected he will also be meeting Burma's powerful
First Secretary, General Khin Nyunt.
In a move that many thought might appease Burma's leaders, Thailand's security
council has announced new security measures to rein in the activities of an
estimated 3,000 Burmese activists and students fighting for democracy in
Thailand.
They want to move those students to a special holding camp and have urged the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to speed up the process of
resettling them in third countries.
Thailand is keen to patch up its relations with Burma before leaders from the
two countries meet at a summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations
next week
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Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
<html>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=5 color="#FF0000"><b>By Charlotte
Bevan in Bangkok</b> <br>
<br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica">The Thai Foreign Minister, Surin
Pitsuwan, has arrived in the Burmese capital, Rangoon, for meetings with
the country's military government in an attempt to patch up deteriorating
bilateral relations. <br>
<br>
Relations between the two countries have been strained since a group of
armed students took the Burmese embassy in Bangkok by siege for 24 hours
early last month. <br>
<br>
The Thai authorities let the students go free in return for the safe
release of around 40 hostages - a move that infuriated Burmese
authorities. <br>
<br>
Burmese officials were also furious when Thai ministers persisted in
referring to the armed men as students fighting for democracy, and not,
as they would have it, professional terrorists. <br>
<br>
After the incident, Burma closed its land border with Thailand and
revoked fishing rights for Thai boats, a move that is costing Thailand
millions of dollars in lost trade. <br>
<br>
<b>Workers expelled</b> <br>
<br>
Earlier this month, Thailand expelled tens of thousands of illegal
Burmese labourers working in factories along the Thai-Burma border. The
resulting sudden influx of returning migrants has added to Burma's dire
economic crisis. <br>
<br>
Officials on both sides are now hoping the talks will go some way to
salvaging relations between the two countries. <br>
<br>
Mr Surin's visit is at the invitation of his Burmese counterpart, Win
Aung, but correspondents say it is expected he will also be meeting
Burma's powerful First Secretary, General Khin Nyunt. <br>
<br>
In a move that many thought might appease Burma's leaders, Thailand's
security council has announced new security measures to rein in the
activities of an estimated 3,000 Burmese activists and students fighting
for democracy in Thailand. <br>
<br>
They want to move those students to a special holding camp and have urged
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to speed up the process
of resettling them in third countries. <br>
<br>
Thailand is keen to patch up its relations with Burma before leaders from
the two countries meet at a summit of the Association of South East Asian
Nations next week <br>
</font></html>
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