Daily News-March-09- 2001- Friday

  • Burmese Opposition Groups Endorse Reconciliation Talks
  • Burma complains it's a scapegoat for everything
  • Thai government confident of peace with Burma
  • Women in Burma are being oppressed various ways
  • Bangkok welcomes KL's effort for reconciliation in Rangoon
  • A Clash, a Crash and a Coup
  • Rangoon Silent on Taleban Destruction
  • Thais make an enemy out of Burma
  • Burma Denies Rights U.S Group's Accusations Of Forced Labor
  • Burma dismisses coup rumours raised by Thai army commander
  • Burma's dissidents called for Suu Kyi talks to be unveiled
  • Changes at top in Rangoon,Maung Aye may be under arrest
  • Pro-democracy and ethnic groups Call for tripartite peace talks
  • Chavalit to seek Rangoon role on border

    • Burmese Opposition Groups Endorse Reconciliation Talks

    MAE SOT, Thailand (AP)--Twenty-five Myanmar opposition groups Thursday welcomed talks between the country's ruling junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi but called for continued international pressure on the government.

    The groups issued their statement after a meeting of their representatives Tuesday and Wednesday at the headquarters of the Karen National Union ethnic rebel group, opposite Thailand's Tak province, 370 kilometers northwest of Bangkok.

    Those attending were from groups representing several ethnic minorities, exiled members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, students, Muslims, Buddhist monks and pro-democracy activists.

    The aim of the meeting was to stake out a common position on the talks between the junta and Suu Kyi, which began in secrecy last October, said Maung Maung Aye, minister for information and secretary of the National Council of Burma, one of several opposition umbrella groups.

    The talks were made public in January by U.N. envoy Razali Ismail, who arranged them.The junta had previously refused to talk directly to Suu Kyi to help resolve the country's political deadlock.

    Thursday's 19-point opposition statement affirmed "full confidence in ... Aung San Suu Kyi's integrity and her commitment to the establishment of a truly democratic political system in Burma."

    It also urged the junta to build confidence by easing its tight political control, and called for both sides to eventually broaden their talks to include ethnic minority groups.

    The statement urged the international community to keep its hard-line position toward the junta "until substantive political agreements are reached " and "not to take precipitous unilateral action such as providing aid without proper consultation, which could endanger the dialogue process."

    The statement ended with the groups vowing to "work together to facilitate the dialogue process."
    Burma complains it's a scapegoat for everything

    source : Reuters

    BANGKOK, March 8 — Myanmar's military government complained on Thursday it was always made a scapegoat for regional problems, and predicted that before long it would even be blamed for causing the Asian financial crisis.

    In the latest salvo in a war of words with Thailand after bloody clashes on their border last month, Myanmar said in a statement received in Bangkok that certain groups in Thailand were making wild accusations to damage its image.

    ''Since the beginning of this year, a number of unsubstantiated accusations were launched against Myanmar which eventually were found out to be purely wild and irresponsible speculations or deliberate cover-ups to serve the interests of certain quarters in Thailand,'' it said.

    ''Very soon, these very same sources will be daringly claiming that Myanmar was responsible for the 1997 financial crisis that hit the region.''

    The government said a ''recent study'' had concluded that Myanmar was being victimised by some Thai officials.

    ''It is...disappointing to learn that a recent study shows that a steady stream of irresponsible speculations and allegations have been systematically launched against Myanmar by some Thai officials,'' it said.

    LINK WITH THAI AIR BOMB

    Thai newspapers have said this week that some senior military officers believe Myanmar may have been behind a bomb attack on Saturday that destroyed a plane that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was due to board.There has also been speculation that the United Wa State Army, an ethnic minority army allied to the Myanmar government that has been widely accused of being the main player in the region's drugs trade, could have been behind the bombing.

    But Thai intelligence and anti-narcotics officials have said they doubted Yangon or the Wa were involved. Myanmar's involvement is regarded as unlikely as Thaksin is seen as more favourable to Yangon's ruling generals than Thailand's last government. The Myanmar government statement said speculation about the bombing was an example of the groundless accusations faced by Yangon.

    ''The United Wa State Army was almost staged as the culprit until the Thai Office of the Narcotics Control Board dismissed that suggestion,'' it said.

    Relations between Thailand and Myanmar plummeted last month after a series of clashes along the border. The usually busy border crossing between the northern Thai town of Mae Sai and Myanmar's Tachilek remains closed because of the tension. Myanmar is also widely accused of systematic human rights violations, of employing forced labour, and of being one of the world's biggest players in the production and trafficking of illegal drugs. The military government denies the accusations.

    There was concern in some Southeast Asian countries last year that European objections to Myanmar's poor human rights record was damaging ties between the European Union and the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, which Myanmar joined in 1997.
    Thai government confident of peace with Burma

    source : ABC

    The new Thai governmnent says it's confident a recent border skirmish with Burmese troops will not escalate into a war between the Southeast Asian neighbors.

    It says the incident can be handled by the existing mechanism of the two countries' border committees.

    Fighting between Burmese troops and ethnic rebels spilled into Thai territory last month, provoking artillery exchanges between the two countries.

    The shelling left two dead and about 20 injured near the Thai town Mae Sai, a tourist destination and border crossing in the far north of the country.
    Women in Burma are being oppressed various ways, say activists

    New Delhi, March 8, 2001
    Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com )

    On the day of International Women’s Day, women in Burma from various backgrounds came together to speak out about one common problem they face, which is the discrimination and oppression under which they are living in Burma. Exiled women activists, under the banner of Women League of Burma (WLB), today held meetings and cultural exchange programs in various places including India, Thailand and Bangladesh.

    In New Delhi, more than 200 women and men from Burma gathered at Janak Puri in New Delhi this morning to celebrate the International Women’s Day.

    “One of the biggest slogan in the women rights movement across the world has been to break the barrier of silence. For us, March 8 has been the day when we speak out very loud and clear about women being oppressed”, said India’s known human rights lawyer Ms. Nandita Haksar at the function.

    The Women League of Burma (WLB), which is formed with various ethnic women organizations from Burma, also issued a statement today highlighting the suffering of women in Burma under the military dictatorship. “In addition, women in Burma are being discriminated by reasons of aged culture, custom and tradition, continued the statement.

    In India, meetings, processions, rallies and demonstrations were held to celebrate the day of women. “Women want political empowerment. That is what we have been fighting for. Women don’t need any body else to help them in any other kinds of empowerment. When we want an equal share in the political structure so that we can have a say in the development of the country”, said Ms. Jaya Jaitly, a leading women rights activist in India and President of Samata Party.
    Bangkok welcomes KL's effort for reconciliation in Rangoon

    KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) -- Thailand welcomed Malaysia's role in helping to strengthen national reconciliation in Myanmar, visiting Thai Foreign Minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai said on Thursday.

    He said Thailand regarded the initiatives by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Razali Ismail, the United Nations' special envoy to Myanmar, as a positive step towards enhancing the process.

    Dr Mahathir visited Myanmar last January and held talks with Senior General Than Shwe, the chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council on bilateral, regional and international issues.

    Speaking to reporters after holding talks with his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar at Wisma Putra here, Dr Surakiart said Thailand was ready to assist in the process in any way it could. --BERNAMA
    A Clash, a Crash and a Coup

    source : Irrawaddy news magazine

    Attention turned from Burma’s political center to its periphery in February, as events in the distant reaches of the country overshadowed the ongoing political dialogue in Rangoon.

    On Feb 10, a clash in Shan State spilled over into Thailand, as Burmese troops overran a military outpost on Thai soil in a bid to outflank the insurgent Shan State Army (SSA). Both the SSA and the Royal Thai Army took credit for retaking the base at Ban Pang Noon, where about 200 Burmese soldiers briefly detained 19 Thai paramilitary troops. The following day, fighting broke out at the nearby border crossing between Mae Sai and Tachilek, claiming several lives and setting off a war of words between the two countries.

    On Feb 19, a helicopter crashed in the Salween River near Pa-an, Karen State, killing Lt-Gen Tin Oo, Secretary 2 of the ruling junta, and several other military leaders. The death of hardliner Tin Oo sparked speculation about a realignment in the balance of power within the regime, as well as rumors that the crash might have been planned.

    On Feb 24, word reached the outside world of a "quiet coup" in Pajau, Kachin State, where the leadership of the Kachin Independence Organization was reportedly ousted in part because of dissatisfaction with the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed with the Rangoon regime in 1993. The new leaders denied they seized power by force, but the incident highlighted the instability of ceasefire deals struck in the past decade.
    Rangoon Silent on Taleban Destruction

    source : Irrawaddy news magazine

    March 8, 2001—Burma's ruling military junta, which frequently portrays itself as a defender of the Buddhist faith, has maintained a strange silence on the destruction of ancient Buddhist artifacts in Afghanistan.

    The destruction of two massive Buddha images and other remnants of Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past by the country's fundamentalist Taleban regime has almost completely escaped the attention of the state-run media in Burma. Most Burmese contacted inside the country were unaware of the Taleban's planned demolition of the nearly 2,000-year-old standing Buddhas in Bamiyan, each measuring 53 meters in height.

    "There still hasn't been any news about this in the international news section of Burmese TV," said one viewer of the state-run MRTV television station in Mandalay. Other sources noted that The New Light of Myanmar, a regime mouthpiece, has run a couple of wire service stories on the incident on its international news page, but added that these were easily overlooked. To date, they said, they have seen no official comment.

    "The Burmese government has not issued any statement denouncing the Taleban's destruction of this Buddhist cultural heritage," confirmed one high-ranking official from the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Rangoon, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    This silence has baffled many outside observers, who suspect that the regime may be wary of inciting anti-Muslim sentiment at a time when it is facing a host of pressures on other fronts, including a tense standoff with Thailand over a recent territorial incursion, and hints of internal division following the sudden death of a top general.

    "The Burmese regime knows how to time communal violence very well," remarked one exiled dissident, noting that riots against Muslims and other minorities generally occur when the regime needs to deflect criticism away from itself.

    In early February, hundreds of Muslims in Arakan State, near Burma's border with Bangladesh, were attacked by mobs shortly after the Burmese regime was forced to abandon plans to build a dam on the Naaf River, which divides the two countries. More than 50,000 Burmese and Bangladeshi troops faced off across the border over the disputed project.

    Foreign-based Burmese radio stations, meanwhile, have given the Taleban story full coverage. One report even released a threat issued by the All Arakan Students' and Youths' Congress (AASYC), a group associated with the Burmese pro-democracy movement:

    "If the Taleban religious terrorists carry out their plans to demolish the Bamiyan Buddha statues, we, the AASYC, will not take any responsibility if any or every mosque in Arakan and in Burma is destroyed," read a statement issued by the group on March 3, 2001.

    Bringing balance to coverage of the incident has been nearly impossible, as even private journals inside Burma have been reluctant to pick up the story. "We cannot report on the Taleban story of cultural destruction unless and until the government gives us the green light or takes a clear stance on this issue, even though it has significant news value," explained the editor of a well-known weekly journal.

    While governments and organizations around the world, including many Islamic countries, express their condemnation of the Taleban's attack on these major world heritage sites, the majority of Burmese—more than 80% of whom are Buddhist—remain oblivious of this dramatic demonstration of one of the central tenets of their faith, the impermanence of all things.

    "Almost no one here feels stirred in their mind about the fact that the Taleban has been destroying the ancient Buddha statues using tanks and cannons, since they have not been informed about it," lamented one Burmese historian in Rangoon.

    Many Burmese Muslims also expressed regret over the regime's efforts to downplay this issue. "Many people here are not capable of distinguishing between Islamic fundamentalism and real Islam," complained one Muslim man who was educated in Burma. "Because they are not well-informed, they are easily incited."
    Thais make an enemy out of Burma

    The Japan Times: Mar. 9, 2001
    By PHILIP CUNNINGHAM
    Special to The Japan Times

    No one knows who put a bomb on a Thai Airways jet scheduled to carry Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Chiang Mai, but respected media outlets such as the Matichon newspaper and the Bangkok Post have hinted that the bombing may have something to do with drugs from Myanmar.

    "Unfortunately it's to be expected," sighs Sunait Chutintaranond, a Burmese-speaking Thai scholar who notes that the initial U.S. media reaction to the Oklahoma City bombing also involved finger-pointing based on unfair ethnic stereotypes. Sunait, an advocate of friendship and understanding between the two nations, is worried about the tendency to blame Myanmar for everything that goes wrong in Thailand from petty crime to terrorism. Director of the Thai Studies Center at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, Sunait, educated at Cornell University, is the author of "On Both Sides of the Tenasserim Range" and "The Image of the Burmese Enemy in Thai Perceptions and Historical Writings."

    "During the Cold War, 'communist' was the catch-all term for evil," explains Sunait. "It was a way of labeling the enemy, assigning blame and creating a pretext for a certain kind of policy. Nowadays, the buzzword is drugs. The nuance of the Thai term 'ka buan kan ya sep dit' (narco-terrorism) is important; it goes beyond illegal substances and points to an organized criminal force."

    The origin in Myanmar of the drugs crippling contemporary Thai society adds fuel to the fire, given the "dormant historical enmity" between the Thais and Burmese. While the current border troubles are primarily about domestic politics in Myanmar -- there is a brutal power struggle between Yangon and restive minorities that is being played out on the border -- there is the danger that Thais will misconstrue the slightest spillover as a deliberate provocation and attack on Thai sovereignty.

    Last year, Sunait organized a joint Thai-Burmese conference at Chulalongkorn's Faculty of the Arts to discuss the mythologies of Thai history and the demonization of Myanmar. He marvels at how little anti-Thai sentiment can be found in Burmese popular culture. "Thailand is never mentioned as an enemy," which is a stark contrast to the heavy dose of anti-Myanmar sentiment in Thai textbooks, films and media reports. Two current big budget films, "Bangrajan" and "Queen Suriyothai," pit heroic Thais against villainous Burmese, while Myanmar's celluloid epics, such as "Never Shall We be Enslaved" tend to be about fighting the British since nationalism there was shaped in a colonial context.

    How did Myanmar get to be the bogeyman? "Laos is too small, China is too far, Cambodia is 'ungrateful' but not threatening, and conflicts with Vietnam, with no shared border, usually focus on Cambodia." Thailand constructed its national myth with Myanmar as the archetypal other, dating back to the Burmese sacking of Ayutthaya in 1767.

    The frail state of the Thai economy is cause for further worry. Many Thais share the perception they were beaten up and humiliated by the International Monetary Fund and powerful bankers, which has fueled nationalist sentiment of the sort that kept George Soros from showing up for a scheduled speech at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok last month.

    "The information Thai people get about Burma comes from two main sources, the military and the merchants. Not surprisingly, the military paints Burma more darkly and wants the border sealed, whereas those interested in trade and tourism want an open border. Newspapers reflect this split rather evenly, but television, being more conservative, tends to offer short and sensational reports of border trouble," said Sunait.

    The Thai Army, preoccupied with security and sovereignty (not to mention funding), has its own reasons for playing up the apparent threat. Yet Thaksin's new defense minister, Gen. Chavalit, enjoys good personal relations with power brokers in Yangon, so the dynamic might change slightly, with some military elites shifting to favor engagement and trade with Yangon, while other elements of the military and parliamentary opposition continue to argue for sanctions.

    "Most of Thailand's current troubles have nothing to do with Burma at all," said Sunait. "But Burma is the most convenient enemy."

    Philip Cunningham teaches media studies in the Faculty of Communication Arts at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
    Burma Denies Rights U.S Group's Accusations Of Forced Labor

    BANGKOK (AP)--Burma on Friday dismissed as anti-government misinformation, allegations by a U.S. human rights group that the ruling military was still using civilians for forced labor.

    In a statement faxed to The Associated Press in Bangkok, a government spokesman claimed that Human Rights Watch was being manipulated by Shan rebels and other anti-government groups operating from inside Thailand.

    The statement said the "misinformation (is) tailored to coincide" with next week's International Labor Organization meeting in Geneva to review the progress made by Burma toward eradicating forced labor.

    In November, the ILO's governing body took the unprecedented action of recommending that its 175 member states, employers, workers and international organizations review their dealings with Burma to make sure they are not abetting forced labor.

    Burma's military junta issued a decree last year making forced labor illegal. In a statement Wednesday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch alleged that the decree was issued only to avoid international criticism, and cited refugees who said the practice still persisted.

    The Burmese spokesman said he was "doubtful" that an ethnic Shan farmer cited by Human Rights Watch had been forced by the army to dig trenches. If the allegation was true, the farmer could have easily reported his case to local authorities in Burma instead, he said.

    "Appropriate legal action would have been taken against those who breached the existing rules," the spokesman's statement said.

    Burma has long been assailed by the United Nations and Western countries for suppression of democracy and its human rights record, including use of unpaid civilian labor on infrastructure projects.

    Burma has said civilians contribute their labor voluntarily to promote development of the nation.

    The Human Rights Watch statement called on the junta to take immediate steps to enforce the decree and grant access to independent observers to monitor compliance.

    It said it conducted interviews in Thailand's northern Chiang Mai province in late February with many Burmese people "who had been recently subjected to forced labor."
    Burma dismisses coup rumours raised by Thai army commander

    Rangoon, March 9 (AFP)

    Burma Friday dismissed persistent rumours that the core of its ruling junta is mired in a power struggle between two leadership rivals jockeying to succeed regime leader Senior General Than Shwe.

    Thailand's Third Army commander Lieutenant-General Wattanachai Chaimeunwong, whose forces patrol the Burma border, said Thursday that a "quiet coup" may have already taken place.

    He said intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt had succeeded in toppling military strongman General Maung Aye and put his rival under house arrest.

    A senior spokesman for the Burma junta lashed out at the comments, deriding them as "irresponsible speculation and fabrication created by the Thai officials and its media."

    "The rumours are created just to mislead the Thai people into believing that the political situation in Myanmar is volatile and is about to blow up. This is part of the scheme to portray Myanmar in a negative light," he said.

    The spokesman said the speculation was designed to encourage dissident groups in their campaign to bring down the military regime.

    Rumours of a coup in Burma first began circulating in Thailand in early February, and have re-emerged periodically since.

    They were given fresh impetus after junta number-four Lieutenant-General Tin Oo died in a helicopter crash on February 19 in what the authorities said was an accident caused by bad weather and mechanical failure.

    Dissident groups have claimed that Tin Oo, a trusted aide and likely successor to Maung Aye, was deliberately killed, and claimed that the families of those aboard the helicopter have called for an inquiry into the crash.

    But the accounts of the "coup" have varied wildly, with some saying that Maung Aye has emerged victorious while others claim Khin Nyunt is the new heir apparent to Than Shwe.

    Both men however have been seen publicly in recent days going about their usual business in Rangoon, and reliable observers say there are absolutely no signs of turmoil in the military-run country.

    Thai-Burma relations have come under increasing strain in recent months, despite the recent election of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra whose administration is seen as being on relatively friendly terms with the junta.

    The two nations' armies clashed last month at the important Mae Sai-Tachilek border crossing, prompting heavy troop build-ups and a tense stand-off between the neighbours.

    Wattanachai said Thursday that the situation on the border was now "back to normal" after successful negotiations between the two sides and that there was no chance of further bloodshed.
    Burma's dissidents called for Suu Kyi talks to be unveiled

    BANGKOK, March 9 (AFP)

    Burmese dissident groups and ethnic minority leaders have called on the junta to publicly unveil the contents of its landmark talks with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

    In a joint statement, they also urged both sides on Burma's political divide to take further steps towards launching an historic official dialogue -- the first since 1994.

    "In the interest of national reconciliation, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and Aung San Suu Kyi (should) make the substance of the talks known to the people as soon as possible," it said.

    The statement was issued after a two-day conference held at a secret jungle camp along the Thai-Burma border that ended Thursday.

    The talks were attended by more than 50 senior representatives from 25 groups including pro-democracy students, ethnic minorities and exiled pro-democracy activists.

    It was the first statement by the dissident union since news broke of the talks between opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and military intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, which started in October.

    The delegates said they expected more substantial discussions to develop in the near future, and threw their support behind the Nobel peace laureate.

    "We have full confidence in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's integrity and her commitment to the establishment of a truly democratic political system in Burma," they said, using the nation's former name.

    The statement also encouraged both sides to broaden and deepen the current talks to include a time frame and general framework which would detail the future role of all participants as Burma underwent political change.

    In an olive branch to the military regime, the conference welcomed the junta's order to the official press to halt its vicious daily attacks on Aung San Suu Kyi.

    But delegates also called for the lifting of restrictions on the democracy leader, who has been confined to her home and out of contact with the media and diplomats since September 22.

    The talks would have greater meaning and impact if they were held when both sides had their liberty, said National Council of the Union of Burma secretary Maung Maung Aye.

    The dissidents also expressed their thanks to the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and the United States for their efforts to break the political deadlock in Burma.

    "In the interest of keeping the dialogue process alive, we urge the international community to maintain their current positions until substantive political agreements are reached," it added.
    Changes at top in Rangoon,Maung Aye may be under arrest

    Source : Bangkok Post

    Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, chief of Burmese military intelligence, may have replaced Gen Maung Aye as Burma's military strongman. Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong said he believed Gen Maung Aye was the victim of a power struggle in the Burmese military, and may be under house arrest somewhere in Burma.

    Rumours of changes in the military line-up have taken hold since the death last month of Lt-Gen Tin Oo, former army chief-of-staff who was regarded as the fourth most powerful member of the Rangoon junta.

    Lt-Gen Tin Oo, who died in a helicopter crash, was widely regarded as the most trusted aide and likely successor of Gen Maung Aye.

    Lt-Gen Wattanachai said if the report was genuine it would be good for border relations since Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt was more practical than Gen Maung Aye.

    Lt-Gen Wattanachai's information could not be verified.

    An informed source inside Burma said Gen Maung Aye and Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt were spotted yesterday performing religious rites in Rangoon. He claimed that the event was later broadcast on Burmese television.

    "It sounds unlikely that Maung Aye is now under house arrest," said the source.

    Lt-Gen Wattanachai said the Mae Sai-Tachilek border would re-open on Monday. Trading would still be banned until border ties improved.
    Pro-democracy and ethnic groups Call for tripartite peace talks

    Source : Bangkok Post

    Pro-democracy and ethnic groups in Burma have called for peace talks involving the Rangoon government, the opposition National League for Democracy, and ethnic minority rebels.

    The call was made yesterday at a two-day meeting attended by some 50 representatives of 20 Burmese pro-democracy and ethnic groups.

    The meeting, held in a border area opposite Tak, was organised by the National Council of the Union of Burma and the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), chaired by Gen Bo Mya, the Karen National Union military leader. In a statement, the meeting called for tri-partite talks to involve the Rangoon junta, the opposition NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and pro-democracy and ethnic groups.

    They also urged all concerned to stop Rangoon's crackdowns on ethnic minorities and human rights violations in Burma.

    Dr Thaung Htun, the NCGUB representative for United Nations affairs, said it was agreed the best way to bring peace to Burma would be through negotiation.

    However, Rangoon would have to free political prisoners and stop cracking down on minority groups first.

    He said UN representatives would visit Burma soon after their meetings with officials of European and Asean countries, as well as the US, China, India and Japan, all of which had voiced support for peace talks in Burma. Meanwhile, Rimon Htoo, the general secretary of the Karenni National Progressive party which has long fought for independence from Rangoon, said his movement had decided to join forces with Burmese pro-democracy groups to push for democracy negotiations in Burma.

    Also, the Karen National Union general secretary, Mahn Shar Lapan, said the KNU was trying to negotiate with Rangoon for a ceasefire and tripartite peace talks. However, there had been little progress so far, he said.

    Two armed Burmese soldiers were arrested by Thai security forces yesterday.

    They claimed to have defected from their unit and crossed into Thai territory at Ban Wang Takhian, tambon Tha Sai Laud, Mae Sot district.
    Chavalit to seek Rangoon role on border

    Source : Bangkok Post

    Burmese co-operation will be sought to destroy drug production plants along the border, Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh told the Defence Council yesterday.

    Gen Chavalit, who is also defence minister, said he will raise the matter with Burmese military leaders during his planned visit to Rangoon.

    Gen Chavalit also said he will seek approval from the prime minister to seal off the border in six northern provinces, to more effectively stop the flow of drugs from Burma.

    Security measures in areas 10-20km from the frontier will be revamped and the military put in charge of drug suppression operations.

    The anti-narcotics law of 1976 will also be amended to make the defence minister a member of the national drug suppression committee.

    Military personnel would be given authority to participate in drug suppression operations and to search places suspected of being used for the trade and production of drugs.