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Thailand says Myanmar comments just



Thailand says Myanmar comments justified 
02:35 a.m. Jul 12, 1998 Eastern 

BANGKOK, July 12 (Reuters) - Thailand said on Sunday that its expressions
of concern over rising tensions between Myanmar's ruling military junta and
the opposition did not contravene ASEAN's policy of non-interference in
other member states. 

``This is not against the ASEAN spirit,'' foreign ministry spokesman Kobsak
Chutikul said in defence of the comments, which drew criticism from
Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). 

On Wednesday, the ministry called for restraint between the military junta
and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. 

``Statements are made on a selective basis and on how issues affect
Thailand,'' Kobsak told Reuters. 

The SPDC said on Sunday that it was concerned anti-government elements
could harm Suu Kyi in a bid to destabilise the country. 

``At times of political tension, some anti-government elements might take
advantage of the situation. We are concerned about her safety and that of
prominent personalities around her,'' a government spokesman told Reuters. 

Tension between the SPDC and the NLD has been building since late May, when
Suu Kyi demanded the junta convene a parliament of elected representatives
from a May 1990 election. 

The SPDC, which lost the elections but ignored the result, rejected the
idea of a new parliament, drawing Wednesday's expression of concern from
Bangkok. 

``We are concerned about the developments (in Myanmar). We urge restraint
by all sides to avoid violent confrontation between the opposing forces,''
a Thai foreign ministry spokesman said. 

Suu Kyi was stopped last week by the military and prevented from going to
meet some elected NLD members in a northern town. After negotiations
between the two sides, the military allowed the elected party members to
visit Suu Kyi in her Yangon home. 

The military also increased surveillance of NLD MPs in townships, saying it
feared they could cause trouble ahead of a planned re-opening of
institutions of higher which were closed after student unrest in December
1996. 

Myanmar's foreign ministry responded to the Thailand comments by
criticising foreign governments for making statements on its internal
affairs. 

``Recent statements made by certain responsible ministers regarding their
concern on the presupposed situation in the Union of Myanmar are found to
be presumptuous,'' the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a
statement on Wednesday. 

It added that Thailand's comments could potentially affect relations
between the two countries and were against the spirit of the regional
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping, of which both
countries are members. 

Thailand had said any instability or unrest in Myanmar could lead to
problems along the common border between the two countries. 

It had noted that as a result of any unrest, there could be a spill-over of
refugees, border trade might be hampered and drug suppression activities at
the border areas might be affected.