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Burma embassy occupied by one of th

Subject: Burma embassy occupied by one of the burmese student group

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<font face="Times New Roman, Times">ASSOCIATED PRESS <br>
<br>
A dozen young rebels, armed with assault rifles and hand grenades,
stormed into the Burmese Embassy, seized hostages and raised the flag
used by pro-democracy forces fighting the military regime, police at the
scene said. <br>
<br>
Calling themselves the Victorious Burmese Student Warriors, the group
demanded the release of all political prisoners held in Burma. The demand
was contained in a fax sent to a local television station ITV. <br>
<br>
Chettha Thanajaro, an interior ministry adviser, said he believed the
group had seized about 30 hostages inside the embassy. Police surrounding
the area dove for cover as more than half a dozen shots rang out from
within the walled compound. <br>
<br>
The group's fax said no hostages had been harmed. <br>
<br>
General Pornsak Durongkavibul, the deputy head of Thailand's national
police force, was negotiating with the hostage-takers by telephone as
more than 100 policemen, including SWAT teams and police dogs, surrounded
the embassy compound. <br>
<br>
A Burmese government statement, received in Bangkok, said three gunmen
were holding the embassy staff as hostages. It said the ambassador, not
in the embassy at the time the building was entered, was working with
Thai authorities to secure release of the hostages. <br>
<br>
''There is no information regarding the identity of the terrorists and
the organisation they represent,'' the statement said. <br>
<br>
After the embassy was taken over, a man and a woman hauled down the
Burmese flag inside the compound and replaced it with one emblazoned with
a fighting peacock, the symbol of the anti-military movement in Burma.
They then fired pistol shots in salute. <br>
<br>
Later, a male hostage in his 30s, with an armed person behind him, was
seen going to a side entrance to the compound to lock an entry gate. The
long-haired hostage-taker was dressed in a military-style jacket and
headband. <br>
<br>
The embassy is the site of frequent protests by Burmese students and
other exiles opposed to the military regime in their country. <br>
<br>
These groups, operating along the Thai-Burmese border, recently vowed to
step up activities against the regime, which seized power in 1988 after
brutally crushing a pro-democracy uprising. <br>
<br>
But two key organisations, the All Burma Students Democratic Front and
the National Council of the Union of Burma, denied involvement. <br>
<br>
''I just heard this news. We would like to say we were not involved in
that matter and we don't know anything about it, and we never have
planned such a thing,'' said the ABSDF's chairman, Naing Aung, when
contacted by telephone. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
By David Brunnstrom <br>
<br>
BANGKOK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Two of Myanmar's main dissident groups on
Friday denied involvement in the storming of the Myanmar embassy in
Bangkok and said renegade dissidents might be responsible. <br>
<br>
A dozen heavily armed men stormed the embassy on Friday morning and took
at least 30 people hostage, including diplomats and 13 foreigners. They
later demanded a helicopter to fly them to the Thai-Myanmar border. 
<br>
<br>
A faxed statement from a group claiming responsibility and calling itself
``Vigorous Burmese Students Warriors,'' demanded Myanmar's military
government free political prisoners, enter a dialogue with the opposition
and convene a democratic parliament. <br>
<br>
Earlier, under the cover of a burst of about 10 shots fired in the air,
the attackers removed the Myanmar flag from the embassy and ran up
another carrying the symbol of the country's democracy struggle -- a
fighting peacock. <br>
<br>
The main group of Myanmar students in exile and the Karen National Union
guerrilla group, both based on the Thai-Myanmar border, said it would not
be in their interests to stage such an attack in Thailand and they did
not believe in terrorism. <br>
<br>
``It was thought it was the KNU, but it wasn't KNU at all,'' Major Nerdah
Mya, son and spokesman for KNU president Bo Mya told Reuters. ``Our
policy is totally against terrorism acts.'' <br>
<br>
``We were surprised by this. The democratic forces would never do
something like this. This is in Thailand and this is like a terrorist act
and we are not terrorists. It would undermine our activity and movement
if we did something like that.'' <br>
<br>
Asked who might be responsible, he said: ``If the attack had been carried
out by anti-government elements they would be renegades,'' he said. 
<br>
<br>
Earlier, the vice-president of the main group of dissident Myanmar
students in exile said his group was not involved. <br>
<br>
``We don't know exactly who they are,'' Moe Thee Zun, of the All Burma
Students' Democratic Front, told Reuters. ``We are not involved in this,
we don't want to support terrorist actions.'' <br>
<br>
The statement from the hitherto unknown group claiming responsibility
said it was not connected with Myanmar dissident student organisations,
the country's opposition or international support groups. ``This action
is our own movement and our own ideas,'' it said. <br>
<br>
The Yangon government called it a ``pure act of terrorism'' but said it
was too early to say which anti-government group was responsible. ``We
are looking into this, although we are a little confused now by the whole
thing,'' a government spokesman said. <br>
<br>
Many student dissidents fled Myanmar to Thailand after the military in
their country killed thousands to crush a pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
Some, including the ABSDF, teamed up with ethnic guerrilla groups like
the KNU which have fought for decades against the Yangon government.
<br>
<br>
The foreigners held at the embassy included three Frenchmen, three
Canadians, a German, an American as well as several Malaysians,
Singaporeans and Thais. One, Antoine Marcotte, 31, from Montreal, spoke
by phone to a producer from Asiaworks Television Ltd and said all were
unharmed, despite bursts of gunfire heard from the embassy during the
day. <br>
<br>
Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the attack put
Thailand in a difficult position. <br>
<br>
``We are responsible for security of diplomatic corps in Thailand,'' he
told reporters. ``They should not use Thailand to commit this kind of act
because the conflict is between them and their government and Thailand
has nothing to do with it.'' <br>
<br>
A Thai police guard at the main embassy gate at the time of the attack
said he saw several men alight from a minibus and then walk into the
compound. One of them was carrying a guitar case. <br>
<br>
When he asked the man what he was carrying, he shouted ``guns'' and ran
into the main embassy building in the compound. They then shut the doors
at entrance to the building and the siege began, he said. The guard then
ran out of the compound. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A dozen heavily armed men stormed the Myanmar embassy
in Bangkok Friday and took at least 30 people hostage, including
diplomats and more than 12 foreigners, before demanding to be flown to
the Thai-Myanmar border. <br>
<br>
The men, armed with grenades and assault rifles, responded to attempts to
start negotiations with gunshots into the air. Earlier they opened fire
several times with automatic weapons into the ceilings, but all the
hostages were unharmed, said one Canadian hostage reached by telephone
inside the embassy. <br>
<br>
The foreigners held included three Frenchmen, three Canadians, one
German, an American as well as several Malaysians, Singaporeans and
Thais, said Antoine Marcotte, 31, from Montreal, who spoke to a producer
from local firm Asiaworks Television Ltd. <br>
<br>
A faxed statement from a group claiming responsibility for the action
demanded Myanmar's military government free political prisoners, enter a
dialogue with the opposition and convene a democratic parliament. <br>
<br>
``WE ARE READY TO DIE'' <br>
<br>
The group, calling itself the ``Vigorous Burmese Students Warriors,''
said so far it had not killed anyone and would like to talk to the Thai
authorities. But it warned in the fax: ``We are ready to die in action
unless we get our demands.'' The statement faxed to Asiaworks also asked
for food for the hostages. <br>
<br>
One of the gunmen in the embassy said Friday they were holding 30
hostages and were seeking a helicopter to fly to the Thai-Myanmar border.
<br>
<br>
The man, who identified himself only as ``Johnny,'' told a Thai radio
station that his group, which numbered about 12, did not intend to harm
any of the hostages. <br>
<br>
``All the hostages are safe,'' he said in halting Thai. ``We don't intend
to harm anyone. I would like to ask for a helicopter that can carry 20
people and that can fly to the border.'' <br>
<br>
The gunmen released two more Thai hostages late Friday afternoon having
earlier freed a Thai policeman who was part of the embassy security
detail. <br>
<br>
Earlier, under cover of a burst of about 10 shots, the attackers removed
the Myanmar flag from the embassy and ran up another carrying the symbol
of the country's democracy struggle -- a fighting peacock. <br>
<br>
The policeman released from the siege said the attackers told him they
were student dissident exiles, who use the fighting peacock as a symbol
of their struggle against military rule. <br>
<br>
``They say they have eight AK-47 rifles and 20 handgrenades. They say
they are holding 20 people,'' he told reporters. <br>
<br>
POLICE ORDERED TO HOLD THEIR FIRE <br>
<br>
About 300 heavily armed police including members of an elite
anti-terrorist squad rushed to the embassy in downtown Bangkok but were
ordered by Bangkok police chief Major-General Jongrak Juchanon to hold
their fire to allow for negotiations. Police brought in a Myanmar
dissident from a holding center south of Bangkok who stood on a fire
truck and used a loudhailer to call to the gunmen in the Myanmar language
to start talks. <br>
<br>
The response from within the embassy was three more gunshots. <br>
<br>
Police sharpshooters were perched on top of a tall building next to the
embassy and nearby roads were cordoned off by police. <br>
<br>
A Danish man, who declined to give his name, told reporters his Malaysian
wife, who was with him near the embassy when the gunmen charged in, was
dragged into the compound. He was interviewed by police who also detained
a man outside the embassy, handcuffed him and questioned him. <br>
<br>
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said he was following the situation closely
and Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart directed security operations
from the scene. <br>
<br>
Myanmar dissidents in exile said they were not connected to the attack.
``We don't know exactly who they are,'' Moe Thee Zun, of the All Burma
Students' Democratic Front, told Reuters. ``We are not involved in this,
we don't want to support terrorist actions... we don't want to make any
political activity inside Thailand.'' <br>
<br>
The Karen National Union, an ethnic guerrilla group allied with ABSDF
also denied responsibility. ``It would undermine our activity and
movement if we did something like that in Thailand,'' said Nerdah Mya,
son and spokesman for KNU president Bo Mya. <br>
<br>
The statement from the group claiming responsibility said it was not
connected with Myanmar dissident student organizations, the country's
opposition or international support groups. ``This action is our own
movement and our own ideas,'' it said. <br>
<br>
However, the statement expressed support for a committee established last
year by Myanmar's main opposition party, the National League for
Democracy (NLD), to represent a parliament elected in 1990 but never
allowed to convene by the military. <br>
<br>
The NLD, led by 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won Myanmar's
last election by a landslide but the military ignored the result. The NLD
advocates non-violent change. <br>
<br>
Many student dissidents fled to Thailand after the military killed
thousands in crushing a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. <br>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<br>
By Sutin Wannabovorn <br>
<br>
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A dozen armed men stormed the Myanmar embassy
compound in the Thai capital Friday and took at least 20 diplomats and
family members hostage, police and a diplomat at the embassy said. <br>
<br>
Several bursts of automatic gunfire were heard from within the compound
but it was unclear if anyone had been wounded. <br>
<br>
To a burst of about 10 shots, the attackers removed the Myanmar flag from
the compound flagpole and ran up another carrying the symbol of Myanmar's
struggle for democracy -- a fighting peacock. <br>
<br>
A Thai policeman released from the siege said the attackers told him they
were student dissident exiles, who use the fighting peacock as a symbol
of their struggle against military rule in neighboring Myanmar. <br>
<br>
MOTIVE A MYSTERY <br>
<br>
``They say they have eight AK-47 rifles and 20 handgrenades. They say
they are holding 20 people. But have not said what their demands are,''
the policeman, who was part of the embassy security detail, told
reporters. <br>
<br>
About 300 heavily armed police including members of an elite
anti-terrorist squad rushed to the embassy in downtown Bangkok but were
ordered to hold their fire to allow for negotiations. <br>
<br>
Police established an operations center in a next door building and
Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart arrived to direct operations.
<br>
<br>
About a dozen police sharpshooters were perched on top of a tall building
neighboring the embassy. Nearby roads were cordoned off by police. <br>
<br>
Bangkok police chief Major-General Jongrak Juchanon said he had ordered
his men to hold their fire to allow talks to end the siege. ``We are
trying to contact them to find out what they want and negotiate with
them,'' he said. <br>
<br>
A Danish man, who declined to give his name, told reporters <br>
<br>
his Malaysian wife, who was with him near the embassy when the gunmen
charged in, was dragged into the compound. <br>
<br>
He was being interviewed by police who also detained a man outside the
embassy, handcuffed him and questioned him. No details were available.
<br>
<br>
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said he was following the situation closely.
``We are still assessing the situation. I was informed that the group has
not made any demands yet.'' <br>
<br>
The vice president of the main group of Myanmar students in exile said
his group had no connection with the attack. <br>
<br>
``We don't know exactly who they are,'' Moe Thee Zun, of the All Burma
Students' Democratic Front, told Reuters. ``We are not involved in this,
we don't want to support terrorist actions... we don't want to make any
political activity inside Thailand.'' <br>
<br>
TIGHT REIN ON DISSENT <br>
<br>
Many student dissidents fled Myanmar to Thailand after the military in
their country killed thousands to crush a pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
<br>
<br>
The military has since kept a tight reign on dissent and ignored the
result of the country's last election in 1990 when the opposition
National League for Democracy, led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, won by a landslide. <br>
<br>
The policeman freed from the embassy said the attackers had told him
about 12 of them had stormed the compound: ``They let me out because they
don't want to have trouble with the Thai authorities,'' he said. <br>
<br>
A distressed attache, Hla Hla Kyi, told Reuters earlier by telephone from
a building inside the compound that the attackers were keeping embassy
staff in another building. <br>
<br>
``They are keeping the staff members in the office,'' she said. ``So far
I am okay. But we've had no contact with the people in the office --
they've cut the phones.'' <br>
<br>
Police in the area outside the embassy compound used loudhailers to try
to make contact with the intruders. <br>
<br>
A Myanmar government spokesman from Yangon told Reuters that the Myanmar
ambassador to Thailand, Hla Maung, was not in the embassy when the gunmen
stormed it at 10:50 a.m. <br>
<br>
``We don't know yet which organization or group they are representing. We
have talked to the Thai authorities and they are taking action,'' he
said. <br>
<br>
The attack on the embassy coincided with a visit to Bangkok by Defense
Secretary William Cohen who later flew on to Singapore on the next leg of
a tour of Southeast Asia which has focused on the crisis in East Timor.
<br>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------&nbsp;
<br>
<br>
05:31 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern <br>
<br>
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Gunmen holed up in the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok
Friday demanded Yangon's military government free all political
prisoners, enter into a dialogue with the opposition and convene a
democratic parliament. <br>
<br>
In a faxed statement to Asiaworks Television Ltd in Bangkok, the group
warned that if the Myanmar military government did not accede to the
demands it would be fully responsible ``for all consequences of this
action.'' The group, calling itself the ''Vigorous Burmese Students
Warriors,'' said so far it had not killed anyone and would like to talk
to the Thai authorities. <br>
<br>
``We are ready to die in action unless we ... get our demands,'' it said
in the fax to the television production company. ``Right now we didn't
kill anyone and we didn't oppress anyone,'' it added, ``also we need food
for the hostages.'' <br>
<br>
The statement said the group was not connected with Myanmar dissident
student organizations, the country's opposition or international support
groups. ``This action is our own movement and our own ideas,'' it said.
<br>
<br>
The statement expressed support for a committee established last year by
Myanmar's main opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD)
to represent a parliament elected in 1990 but never allowed to convene by
the military. <br>
<br>
The NLD, led by 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won the
country's last election by a landslide but the ruling military ignored
the result. The NLD advocates non-violent political change in
Myanmar.<br>
-------------------------------------------------------- <br>
03:27 a.m. Oct 01, 1999 Eastern <br>
<br>
Bangkok police chief, Major-General Jongrak Juchanon, told reporters a
negotiator was being brought in from a dissidents holding centre in
western Ratchaburi to talk to the attackers, believed to be Myanmar
student dissidents, <br>
<br>
The vice president of the main group of Myanmar students in exile said
his group had no connection with the attack. ``We don't know exactly who
they are,'' Moe Thee Zun, of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front
told Reuters. ``We are not involved in this, we don't want to support
terrorist actions.'' <br>
<br>
The attackers were holding about 20 diplomats and family members in the
embassy which was ringed by about 200 Thai policemen, according to Thai
police and a diplomat in another building in the embassy compound. <br>
<br>
A local radio station said about one dozen police sharpshooters were
perched on top of a tall building near the embassy in a busy downtown
Bangkok street. Roads nearby were cordoned off by police. <br>
<br>
Jongrak said he had ordered his men to hold their fire. <br>
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