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Burma sends 'thank you' letter to T



Subject: Burma sends 'thank you' letter to Thai govt

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<font size=5><b>Burma sends 'thank you' letter to Thai govt<br>
</font></b><font face="arial" size=3>BURMESE leaders yesterday sent a
letter expressing their appreciation to the Thai government for
successfully resolving last week's dramatic hostage crisis at the Burmese
Embassy in Bangkok in a non-violent manner, a senior Foreign Ministry
official said yesterday. <br>
Foreign Ministry spokesman Don Pramuwinai said the Burmese Prime Minister
Gen Than Shwe thanked counterpart Chuan Leekpai for his personal
attention, saying ''the potentially dangerous situation was peacefully
resolved due to the tireless efforts of our Thai friends''. <br>
The letter was dated Oct 4 and signed by Gen Than Shwe as chairman of the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the highest decision-making
body in the military government. <br>
It asked Chuan to convey sincere appreciation to all the people involved
in the operation, particularly Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand
Paribatra ''who acted in a most courageous manner''. <br>
Don said another letter was sent to Deputy Prime Minister Bhichai
Rattakul by Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the powerful security chief of the SPDC.
<br>
That letter thanked Bhichai for demonstrating goodwill and sincerity
towards Burma and its people. <br>
Don said the letters were strong indications that the recent closure of
the Thai-Burmese permanent border checkpoints will end soon. <br>
Meanwhile, former defence attache at the Burmese Embassy Col Thein Shwe
yesterday accused Thai security agencies of being a sham for not being
able to detect the takeover of the embassy. <br>
There were a number of irregularities with regard to how the security
agencies handled the situation, he said without elaborating. <br>
The statement was made over Burmese government television and radio
stations monitored by The Nation yesterday. <br>
News reports from the state-controlled radio said the military government
in Rangoon had long-suspected the ambiguous attitude of the Thai
government towards the armed ethnic groups fighting the central
government for autonomy. <br>
Most of the groups are based along the rugged Thai-Burmese borders,
launching hit-and-run guerrilla attacks against government troops. <br>
The Nation<br>
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