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Hijacker not among embassy raiders



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<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5><b>Hijacker not among embassy
raiders<br>
</font></b><font size=3>EMERGING security reports and witness accounts
yesterday confirmed two of the five men who raided Rangoon's embassy last
week were Burmese students at Maneeloy holding centre in Ratchaburi, and
not the hijacker of a Burmese domestic flight which was forced to land in
Thailand in 1989. <br>
Government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart dismissed reports that one of the
students was involved in the hijacking. He said the hijacker was older
than any of the gunmen who occupied the embassy last Friday. <br>
Among the armed group, which called itself the Vigorous Burmese Student
Warriors, were Kyaw Ni or ''Johnny'' and ''Preeda''. Earlier information
indicated San Naign, one of the two radical students involved in the 1989
hijacking, was among the group. <br>
But the identity of the other three remained shrouded in mystery and the
Interior Ministry's report on the 25-hour siege submitted to Prime
Minister Chuan Leekpai yesterday added to the confusion. <br>
The report said the other three activists could be Burmese students under
the protection of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). <br>
In the report, Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart said two of them
were Aung Gyi and Win Aung while the third man's name was still not
known. <br>
''The three were not students from the Maneeloy holding centre so they
were possibly granted UNHCR protection,'' the report said. <br>
The UNHCR has been taking care of Burmese students who escaped
suppression in their country. Thailand has participated in helping the
students by setting up the Maneeloy holding centre and UNHCR has urged
students to stay there. <br>
Conflicting information have been circulating regarding the five who took
over the embassy and escaped to the border in a helicopter last Saturday.
<br>
A report from one security agency claimed that three were Karen. <br>
Sanan's report also identified Kyaw Ni (''Johnny'') and Myint Thien
(''Preeda''). Preeda was also identified in earlier reports as San Naign,
the hijacker. <br>
In his report, Sanan blamed the media for airing the movement of police
and soldiers assigned to the scene, which enabled the captors to keep
track of security measures during the siege. <br>
The minister added that an 800-strong team had been deployed to
investigate the siege, comprising police, army officers, officials from
foreign and interior ministries, the National Security Council and the
National Intelligence Agency. <br>
Akapol said charges against the five could possibly include unlawful
detention, possession of war weapons and robbery. <br>
He denied an allegation by an opposition party that the government gave a
large sum of money to the gunmen before releasing them at the border,
when a negotiator was seen handing over a briefcase. <br>
Akapol claimed that the students asked for the briefcase which belonged
to a Burmese national arrested outside the embassy while the raid was in
progress. The gang told negotiators they wanted a list of telephone
numbers inside the briefcase. <br>
Before handing it over, officials checked the case and found the list and
some clothes, the spokesman said. <br>
Meanwhile, Chaiyapreuk Sawaengcharoen, the former chief of the Maneeloy
holding centre who was summoned as a negotiator for the siege, said he
knew only two of five militants: ''Johnny and Preeda''. <br>
He asked Johnny why he had led the group to seize the embassy and said he
believed his answer. <br>
''Johnny said he was fed up with passive resistance and wanted the world
to pay attention to the problems in Burma. He did not demand money. He
just asked for a helicopter to go back,'' he said. <br>
He said he had good relationship with both Johnny and Preeda since the
two lived at the Maneeloy centre, otherwise he would not have accepted
the request to act as a negotiator and flown in the helicopter as a
hostage along with Deputy Finance Minister M R Sukhumbhand Paribatra.
<br>
''I admit that I was also afraid because I did not know the other three
men,'' he said. <br>
He denied that he handed a bag of dollars to the militants. <br>
Chaiyapreuk was summoned to help relieve the tension one day after he
left his post at Maneeloy centre, where he had worked since 1992. <br>
He has already accepted a new post at the Correction Department and
reported himself to the Interior Ministry. <br>
Chaiyapreuk said he believed the seven Asian and Western hostages who
were seen waving and shouting support for the activists did so because
they sympathised with the gunmen and understood the motive behind their
act. <br>
The seven hostages had earlier been suspected of ''collaborating'' with
the Burmese gunmen by the ruling junta in Rangoon. <br>
Meanwhile Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan down-played criticism by
Rangoon that Thailand glorified the gunmen by letting them walk away scot
free and labelling them as pro-democracy activists. <br>
''Yes, there is some negative feeling emanating from Rangoon as the
incident is still fresh, but that feeling will eventually evaporate,''
Surin said. <br>
''The long-standing and close relations between our two countries will
not be affected by the incident and all aspects of cooperation will
continue as usual,'' he said. <br>
''Maintaining confidence is the top priority for the time being,'' Surin
said, adding that Thailand had increased the number of security personnel
at the Burmese embassy since the attack. </font>
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