Burma rejects Thai complaint

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

Attn: Burma Newsreaders
Re: Burma Rejects Thai Complaint over alleged intrusion      
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BANGKOK, April 7 (Reuter) - Burma has rejected a recent Thai complaint over
an alleged violent incursion into Thailand by Burmese army troops, Burma's
state-run media reported. 

    The rejection, in a protest letter this week, is the latest in a series
of complaints and accusations exchanged between the two countries and comes
on the eve of a trip to Rangoon by Thai Foreign Minister Krasae Chanavongse. 

    Burma's state television, in a news broadcast monitored in Bangkok late
on Thursday, said Thailand's ambassador to Burma Poksak Nilubol was summoned
to the Burmese Foreign Ministry and handed a letter rejecting a March 20 Thai
complaint over an alleged raid into Thailand by Burmese troops. 

    ``The protest letter presented by the Myanmar (Burmese) Foreign Ministry
states that (Burmese) soldiers were in no way involved in that incident,''
the television said. 

    The incident was connected to a split in Burma's Karen National Union
(KNU) guerrilla group, the television said. 

    Accusations that Burmese government troops were involved in such
incidents could create unnecessary misunderstandings between the two
countries, the broadcast added. 

    Normally cordial relations beween the two neighbours have been strained
since the beginning of the year when a Burmese army offensive against the KNU
sent thousands of refugees into Thailand. 

    Hundreds of Burmese army shells landed on the Thai side of the border in
attacks on KNU bases on Burma's side, forcing hundreds of Thai villagers to
flee their homes. 

    Local Burmese army commanders accused Thai forces in February of
assisting the autonomy-seeking guerrillas who operate out of areas of Burma
on the border with Thailand. Thai commanders rejected the accusations. 

    Thailand has lodged several complaints about Burmese soldiers and members
of a Karen guerrilla splinter faction which recently joined Burmese
government forces crossing the border to harass and attack refugees and
Thais. 

    In another incident, Burmese media, citing an official from the ruling
military body, last month deplored Thailand's refusal to hand over a group of
Shan guerrillas who had fled to Thailand after a raid on a northeast Burmese
border town. 

    Krasae flew to Rangoon early on Friday and was set to meet Burmese
counterpart Ohn Gyaw during the day and the military government's
intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, on Saturday, a Thai
Foreign Ministry official said. 

    Thailand has long been a leading proponent of southeast Asia's policy of
constructive engagement with the Rangoon military government. 

    Burma attended a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) for the first time last year as a guest of host country Thailand. 

    Some Thai government officials have suggested in recent months that
Thailand might have to reassess its policy towards Burma if border incursions
continued. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-04-07 04:05:19 EDT
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