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THE NATION - November 15, 1999



THE NATION - November 15, 1999

Headlines

Burma ties may heal soon, says Surin

KRABI -- Thailand is optimistic that conflicts with Burma will be resolved
before the Asean leaders' meeting in the Philippines later this month,
Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said yesterday.

However, in dealing with the problems Thailand will keep in mind the
national interest and will involve all relevant government agencies in a
concerted effort so that the solutions reached will be long-term, the
minister said.

''I am quite optimistic that present conflicts with Burma will be solved in
the near future. Hopefully they will be settled before the Asean summit
meeting in Manila later this month so that leaders of both countries can
discuss other issues,'' Surin said.

Leaders of 10 Asean countries are scheduled to hold an informal meeting in
Manila between Nov 24 and 28.

Burma sealed its borders following a siege of its embassy in Bangkok on Oct
1 by five Burmese students, whom Thailand flew to the border and released in
exchange for the freedom of about 40 hostages.

Rangoon, angered by the handling of the attack on its embassy, called for
the arrest and prosecution of the five in a Thai court.

As well as dislocating cross-border movement for provisions and work,
Rangoon has excluded Thai fishing boats from Burmese waters and ordered that
a group of gamblers who regularly crossed the border be fined for illegal
entry.

Thailand, in the meantime, stepped up mass deportations of Burmese workers
who have entered the country illegally to seek jobs. Thai authorities have
said the timing of the crackdown was a coincidence, but observers saw it as
a retaliatory measure.

Surin did not elaborate how the Foreign Ministry, authorised by a recent
Cabinet resolution to deal with the current problems with Burma, would go
about its task of ending the impasse. He said only that the ministry has
been talking with Burma.

Surin also had a chance to speak to Burmese counterpart U Win Aung, who made
a transit halt here on his way from New York early this month. U Win Aung
understood Thailand's position, Surin said.

The minister said that Thai diplomacy is changing from ''personal
diplomacy'' to ''collective diplomacy'' in which all government agencies
would move in the same direction towards the same goal, with awareness of
all the parties' interests.

''In the past, many authorities were involved in solving bilateral issues
using personal contacts, and not in accordance with diplomatic, legal
practice or any bilateral agreement,'' Surin said.

When conflict with a country took place in the past, a mission would be sent
to negotiate.

''Solutions to many problems that were settled by a personalised approach
and contact are likely to be fragile, and the problem could easily reoccur.
Now, we will deal with them using a new approach,'' he said.

A source close to the minister said that although the Cabinet assigned the
Foreign Ministry to send a team to Rangoon to negotiate with Burma on the
problems, the ministry would not do so in the near future.

''The real intention of the Cabinet resolution is to give authorisation to
the Foreign Ministry to conduct the negotiations; to inform other agencies
that from now on only the Foreign Ministry would deal with the issue in
cooperation with other agencies,'' the source said.

The source added that Thailand is still firm that the current conflict with
Burma will be dealt with keeping in mind bilateral interests and dignity.

''Under border agreements, any closure of checkpoints would be notified in
advance. Burma closed all the borders without advance notice, violating all
agreements,'' the source pointed out.

Surin said he has plans to visit Rangoon, but on the condition that all
current problems are settled first.

He called the newly-introduced approach a ''sea change in diplomacy'' which
would be applied to any problem Thailand has with other countries, including
Burma.

This newly-introduced approach is endorsed by Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai,
who is also Defence Minister, Surin said.

BY MARISA CHIMPRABHA

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THE NATION - November 15, 1999

Headlines

Red Cross sees 800 prisoners in Burma jails

MORE than 800 Burmese political prisoners in 12 jails in Burma have been
interviewed in private and registered by the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC), said Leon de Riedmatten, head of the committee's
delegation to Burma.

De Riedmatten said the committee saw about 20,000 common and political
prisoners in different jails, including the Tharrawaddy jail which is widely
known for detaining many political prisoners.

Speaking in Bangkok, de Riedmatten said the Red Cross is slowly gaining
Burma's confidence and will soon visit the government's so-called
guesthouses where some members of parliament are being held to undergo what
the government describes as educational reform.

The Red Cross hopes to step up visits to prisons and will begin to visit
labour camps in Burma next year.

''With more international translators, the ICRC will have three teams to
visit and revisit the prisons more often,'' he said.

De Riedmatten said the Red Cross decides when and how often its delegation
will visit a particular prison.

The committee's current activities in Burma are seen as a breakthrough after
more than three decades of unsuccessful negotiations to win access to
political detainees.

Its first discussion with the Burmese authorities in 1964, two years after
military dictator Ne Win took power, reached a dead end as the government
denied detaining any political prisoners.

However, the ICRC decided to move into Burma for the first time in 1985,
mainly in activities relating to providing artificial limbs for war victims.

The Red Cross continued to seek discussions with the Burmese authorities on
access to political prisoners. Approaches made to the junta following the
uprising in 1988 and the 1990 elections failed.

In 1995, after handing over four healthcare workshops to concerned Burmese
ministries, the Red Cross announced it would withdraw from Burma because
there were no more activities left in the orthopaedic field. The statement
annoyed Burmese authorities who immediately went to Geneva with the message
that the government was thinking of renewing negotiations.

De Riedmatten said several discussions between the Red Cross and the Burmese
government took place in Geneva and Rangoon.

''One ICRC official in fact visited First Secretary [of the State Peace and
Development Council] Khin Nyunt 47 times, but without any success,'' he
said.

However, last year the ICRC got the green light from Burma to undertake
three missions in Shan, Kayar and Kachin states.

The Red Cross decided to set up an office in Rangoon to help provide
logistical support to its small healthcare project in Shan state.

In January, de Riedmatten arrived in Burma. He tried to speak to authorities
about access to political detainees but was told to be patient.

''The first message I got was because the ICRC back in 1995 had withdrawn
and made the press statement, it will take some time,'' he said.

However, weeks later Burma agreed to make concessions and the ICRC began
discussion on the four conditions of its mandate: to see all prisoners; to
be able to register anyone it wants to register; to speak with any of them
in private; and to repeat the visits.

The Red Cross went to Insein jail on May 6 and encountered many
difficulties, including not being able to talk to inmates in private. The
visits were stopped after two days and were on the verge of collapse.

However, de Riedmatten proposed that the committee start with a smaller jail
to demonstrate how its procedures would work.

The Burmese then allowed the Red Cross to visit Pungde jail, which had no
political prisoners. It later allowed the delegates to visit other jails
with political detainees. At the end of June the ICRC repeated its visit to
Insein jail.

''It was a very good achievement,'' he said.

De Riedmatten said the Red Cross is helping families of prisoners in
different ways, such as paying for the transportation of those with
financial constraints so they can visit their incarcerated family members
once a month.

The committee also got permission from Burmese authorities for prisoners to
exchange written messages with their families by ''open letter''.

The Red Cross has undertaken return visits to three jails so far.

De Riedmatten said he is satisfied that Burmese authorities are heeding the
recommendations made by the Red Cross.

The organisation is providing educational material and medical relief.

BY RITA PATIYASEVI

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