[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Bangkok Post News (22-1-99)





<bold>Rangoon accepts hotline proposal

</bold>

<bold>Bid to prevent naval clashes

</bold>

Burma has agreed to a Thai proposal on setting up a hotline for
communications at the ministerial level to prevent future naval clashes
be tween the two countries, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Kitti
Wasinond said yesterday.


	Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung expressed his consent over the direct
channel linking the Thai and Burmese Foreign Ministries in his Tuesday
letter to his counterpart Surin Pitsuwan.


	The letter followed a meeting between Deputy Permanent Secretary for
Foreign Affairs Sawanit Kongsiri and Burmese Ambassador Hla Maung on
Monday to discuss a series of clashes of Thai and Burmese vessels in
disputed waters which took place since late December and left damage and
casualties on both sides.


	Bangkok asked Rangoon to consider Thai proposal for joint patrols, the
setting up of the hotline, and the stationing of Burmese liaison
officials at the border coordination cent re in Ranong to prevent future
clashes.


	Thailand wanted to discuss the proposals at the next Regional Border
Committee, chaired by army regional commanders, to be held in March in
Phuket.


	But aside from establishing the hotline, U Win Aung did not state the
Burmese position on the two other proposals, according to the deputy
spokesman.


	Mr. Kitti quoted U Win Aung as saying in the letter establishing the
hotline at the top level between the two ministries will effectively
serve the purpose of preventing incidents in the ill-demarcated sea
boundary better than the usual diplomatic channels.


	He said that recent clashes in the seas were "undesirable," and both
sides should "exercise restraint to prevent similar incidents and
misunderstandings between the two countries."


	Meanwhile, the Burmese Foreign Minister agreed to visit Thailand at Mr
Surin's invitation, he said.


	Mr Surin made the invitation while both attended the summit of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vietnam last month.


	They would discuss border demarcation, trade and economics cooperation
and narcotics suppression during the visit tentatively set in March or
April, Mr Kitti said.


	Appointed last November to replace former foreign minister Ohn Gyaw, U
Win Aung will be the first senior Burmese official to officially visit
Thailand after Thai-Burmese relations deteriorated in recent years.

------------------------------------------------------------------



<bold>Dialogue urged

</bold>

Tokyo - Japan, one of the few world powers which still gives substantial
aid to Burma, yesterday urged the nation's military rulers to start a
dialogue with pro-democracy groups led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, a Japanese foreign ministry official said. The official told
reporters the request was made in a "frank" exchange of views between
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Brigadier-General Kyaw
Win, deputy president of the office of Strategic Studies under the

Burmese defence ministry.(Reuters)



------------------------------------------------------------------



<bold>Burma workers to shed narco-state image

</bold>

<bold>Rangoon,AFP

</bold>

Burma's official media yesterday lauded the success of the military
state's anti-drug efforts in bid to counter international allegations
that it is a "narco-state."


	The state-run New Light of Myanmar said 3,546 drug-related cases had
been "exposed" in 1998, the year a report to the US Congress said the
country produced about 90 percent of Southeast Asia's opium and half the
world's supply.


	It praised military units operating in the remote and densely forested
hills bordering Thailand, Laos and China-including the Golden Triangle
drug zone - for uncovering "chemicals and paraphernalia" from five ether
factories and 16 opium refineries during the year.


	Almost 17,800 hectares of opium fields were destroyed and more than
5,390 kilogrammes of opium were seized. Opium is the base ingredient of
heroin. A total of 4,842 people were arrested for drug-related offences,
including more than 4,000 men.


	In November the ruling military council unveiled a 15- year plan to
eradicate drug from the country.