NEWS - 'Bangkok Solution' best way

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Subject: NEWS - 'Bangkok Solution' best way to handle siege -- diplomats

THE NATION - October 6, 1999

'Bangkok Solution' best way to handle siege -- diplomats

FOREIGN diplomats based in Bangkok yesterday praised the Thai
government's
handling of the Burmese embassy siege last week which saw 38 hostages
freed
unharmed by heavily-armed Burmese student dissidents.

One Western diplomat said while the ''Bangkok Solution'', which allowed
safe
passage to the Burmese border for the five hostage-takers, could set a
precedent for similar acts in the future, it was more important that the
crisis ended quickly and the hostages released.

But he added: ''Thailand sent a strong message to the Burmese government
that it remains committed to freedom and liberty even though there maybe
a
price to pay for that.''

An Asian diplomat who has served in Thailand for many years said: ''A
lot of
people in Bangkok are sympathetic to the aspirations of the exiled
Burmese
student movement.

''And I think the fact that the Thai authorities knew the nature and the
mentality of those students helped ward off violence.''

''If this happened in another country, then things could have been
different. This was a very Asian way of dealing with a crisis,'' he
said.

The diplomats were attending the farewell party for the out-going
Japanese
Ambassador to Thailand, Hiroshi Ota, at a Bangkok hotel on Monday
evening.

Ota had been in Thailand for three years.

He said he had followed the siege closely and was relieved that it ended
the
way it did, even though it was unexpected.

He said it was one of the most exciting moments he would remember during
his
time in Bangkok. One Japanese national was among the hostages.

''It's very fortunate that the crisis ended very quickly and with no
loss of
life.'' The siege, he said, reminded him how similar situations can end
in
loss of life, like the hostage crisis at the Japanese Embassy in Lima,
Peru
two years ago which ended in bloodshed.

This was the second time this year that security at embassies in Bangkok
has
been breached.

On March 13, a Bangkok-based North Korean diplomat and his family were
abducted by 13 people including embassy staff and North Korean
government
agents sent from Pyongyang.

The month-long crisis ended without any criminal charges being laid. The
North Korean diplomats return to Pyongyang after the incident.

But the North Korean incident allowed much more time for negotiations as
it
was conducted exclusively through diplomatic channels.

Another incident in 1971 had a similar ending to last week's embassy
siege.

It involved the late Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan, who was then
deputy foreign minister.

Chatichai offered himself as hostage to fly a group of Arab terrorists
out
of Thailand after the group agreed to release hostages they were
holding.

Those at Ota's farewell party could not help but notice the increase in
security obviously inspired by the Burmese embassy siege.

There was a metal detector in the corridor leading to the function room
at
the hotel and a throng of security men.

''I have never seen this much security at a diplomatic function in
Bangkok.'' said one guest.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of police had been dispatched to provide
security when the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration arranged a a trial
ride on the new skytrain for Bangkok-based diplomats.

''It was a good and comfortable ride except when the train ran passed
the
Burmese Embassy on Sathorn Rd,'' said one Western diplomat.

''There was a bit of a commotion as everyone turned their attention to
the
embassy and started to chat about the incident.''