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Anti-terrorist panel will discuss m

Subject: Anti-terrorist panel will discuss measures to prevent attack

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<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>Anti-terrorist panel will
discuss measures to prevent attack<br>
<br>
</font><font size=2>CHAIYAKORN BAI-NGERN<br>
</b>The Nation<br>
<br>
</font><font size=3>IN response to the attack on the Burmese Embassy, the
Committee for the Prevention and Suppression of International Terrorist
Acts would convene on Wednesday, Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart
said yesterday.<br>
He said the meeting would discuss measures to prevent similar incidents
and determine the mistakes and weak points of present measures, adding
that the embassy siege would be taken as a study case.<br>
The 25-hour tension-packed drama at the embassy, instigated by five
Burmese radical dissidents armed with assault rifles and hand grenades,
served as a sharp reminder for the authorities.<br>
Sanan said Thailand would get tough with Burmese dissident exiles. ?We
have not been vigilant or strict with them so far. What happened on Oct
1-2 was a big price to pay and the most valuable lesson we could learn
from being kind to these people,? he said.<br>
?After this incident, we will be much more careful,? Sanan said.<br>
The captors escaped to safety on the Thai-Burmese border by helicopter,
in a deal with the authorities for the hostages? releases. Thailand has
been a refuge for several groups of exiled Burmese dissidents for some
time and saw a huge influx of radical students in the wake of Burma?s
pro-democracy uprising in 1988.<br>
There is an official shelter for Burmese students under the aegis of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at Maneeloy Centre in
Ratchaburi.<br>
Some of the hostage-takers reportedly were residents of the 
shelter.<br>
Sanan said yesterday the authorities would be stricter with the
activities of the shelter?s residents, particularly their travels to and
from the compound. He added that in the past, safety measures had been
lax there.<br>
In response to a call for the shelter to be shut down, he said such a
move might attract criticism from non-governmental organisations.<br>
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Pol Maj-Gen Chakthip Kunchorn
said police would meet the Burmese ambassador today to investigate the
siege.<br>
Police Lt Col Somchai Jusanit, deputy superintendent of investigation at
the Yan Nawa police station, said some evidence had been collected from
inside the embassy yesterday morning.<br>
This incluyded a large number of spent bullets.<br>
As the case involved international politics, police would follow
government policies in dealing with the matter.<br>
Meanwhile, New Aspiration Party deputy leader Veera Musigapong praised
the government for ensuring a peaceful end to the hostage drama, with all
the captives being released unharmed.<br>
But he criticised the authorities for their failure to detect the
smuggling of weapons into the heart of Bangkok.<br>
The opposition politician also called on tougher security measures for
embassies here.<br>
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</font><font size=5><b><div align="center">
Sukhumbhand draws praise<br>
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The Nation<br>
<br>
A MAJORITY of people were satisfied with Deputy Foreign Minister
Sukhumbhand Paribatra?s efforts in helping to solve the hostage crisis,
but gave the government overall credit for ending the drama, according to
the results of a Dusit Poll.<br>
The poll conducted between Friday and Sunday showed the majority of
respondents viewed the siege in a negative way and blamed a lapse in Thai
security for allowing it to happen in the first place.<br>
The poll involved interviews with 1,370 people. A total of 41.43 per cent
of respondents said the use of violence by the students was inappropriate
and said other means could have been used to get their message
across.<br>
A total of 21.44 per cent were satisfied with Sukhumbhand?s move to be
taken at gunpoint by the armed students, and flown to the Thai-Burmese
border in return for the release of the hostages.<br>
The poll said 42.10 per cent of respondents were happy with the way the
government handled the situation.<br>
According to the poll, 34.13 per cent of those interviewed said Thai
authorities should impose more stringent measures on immigration control
and in assisting Burmese refugees.<br>
A lapse in security was the major cause of the incident, according to
40.26 per cent of the respondents.<br>
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