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The Nation (3-10-99) No.8

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<font size=5><b>Sanan statement may cause rift<br>
</font></b><font size=3>IN A statement that could lead to a major
diplomatic controversy, Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart yesterday
called the gunmen that seized the Burmese Embassy and captured dozens of
hostages, ''students fighting for democracy'' not international
terrorists. <br>
''We have given them safe passage to their own country. We don't consider
them to be terrorists. They are student activists who fight for
democracy,'' said Sanan, who served as one of the negotiators. ''We have
done as we promised.'' <br>
It was an intriguing remark, to say the least, given before local and
international media against the backdrop of senior police and military
officials lined up behind him in front of the Bayer building which served
as a temporary command centre for Thai authorities. <br>
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said Thailand would not hunt down the young
rebels who were flown to the Thai-Burmese border and dropped there as
part of the deal to defuse the crisis. <br>
Asked if letting the students go would hurt bilateral relations, Chuan
said: ''No. We helped them (the Burmese) solve their problems. The
students don't have any problem with Thailand. They demanded something
which didn't concern us.'' <br>
Asked if the Burmese government had thanked Thailand for helping solve
the crisis, Chuan said: ''Not yet. But solving the situation was our
duty.'' <br>
Speaking on a local radio station, the dissident group's leader, who
identified himself as Johnny, earlier said the rebels wanted to be flown
to the border area to join an unidentified ''revolutionary group''. 
<br>
Sanan said he did not know where the five were heading and warned legal
action would be taken against them if they returned. There was
speculation the rebels might seek protection from the Karen, the last
major ethnic minority group fighting the central Burmese government from
border enclaves. <br>
In a statement sent to news media, the dissidents -- calling themselves
the ''Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors'' -- demanded the release of all
political prisoners in their homeland, a meaningful dialogue between
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the military, and the
convening of an elected parliament. <br>
Burma's ruling generals, who saw the hostage drama turn into another dose
of bad publicity in the full glare of the international media, described
the dissidents as ''armed terrorists'' and said in an official statement
''the peace-loving people of the world community will not tolerate the
criminal and terrorist activities they have committed''. <br>
The gunmen had earlier chopped down the embassy flagpole from which they
had flown their ''fighting peacock'' democracy flag, apparently to make
way for a helicopter. <br>
The attackers fired several times in the embassy, but none of the
hostages, held in the ambassador's office, were harmed. <br>
The attack on the embassy put the government in an embarrassing position.
Officials said Thailand was not in a position to negotiate many of the
demands of the dissidents that involved a change of the military
government in Burma or its political system. <br>
Many Burmese students fled to Thailand after the military killed
thousands when it crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. But the
storming of the embassy marks a radical departure from years of peaceful
protests by opponents of Burmese military rule. <br>
US State Department spokesman James Rubin said Washington strongly
condemned ''this terrorist attack'', regardless of the motives and
demands of the perpetrators. <br>
While uncertainties shroud Thai-Burmese relations in the wake of the
hostage crisis, the Thai government's move has earned praise from its
usual critics -- non-government organisations. <br>
Charan Distapichai, a university lecturer-cum-activist who was once
apprehended in Burma for pro-democracy activities, hailed Sanan and
Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra. ''I am not normally a fan
of this government, but today I was impressed by the way the Burmese
heroes were treated and by Sanan's statements,'' Charan said. <br>
The Nation</font>
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