[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Reuters-Thailand, Myanmar agree to

Subject: Reuters-Thailand, Myanmar agree to discuss border issue 

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_003A_01BF361A.E89B3A80
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Thailand, Myanmar agree to discuss border issue=20
07:39 a.m. Nov 23, 1999 Eastern=20
YANGON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Thailand's Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan =
said at the end of a one-day trip to Myanmar on Tuesday that Yangon had =
agreed to hold further talks on reopening border crossings between the =
countries and suspended fishing rights.=20

Surin, who was in Myanmar to try to patch up strained bilateral ties, =
told reporters his trip had been been ``very productive, very =
constructive and very friendly.''=20

Asked if border crossings between the two countries, closed since armed =
dissidents seized the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok early last month, would =
be reopened, he replied:=20

``Township committees at four border points...will be meeting tomorrow =
morning.''=20

Asked whether fishing by Thai trawlers in Myanmar waters would be =
allowed to resume, he replied that Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, =
Myanmar's powerful chief of military intelligence, had invited a Thai =
team to discuss the issue.=20

Khin Nyunt, officially number three in the ruling military council, is =
considered its most powerful figure.=20

Thailand angered Yangon's military government when it allowed safe =
passage for five Myanmar dissidents who had taken over the Bangkok =
embassy on October 1 and 2. The five were taken to a border area after =
they freed 89 hostages unharmed.=20

Myanmar has closed its border to trade since the siege and suspended =
fishing rights, causing tens of millions of dollars of losses to Thai =
border traders and fishermen.=20

Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said before Surin's departure for =
Yangon that the foreign minister was not going there to negotiate the =
reopening of the border.=20

``Closing the border is solely an internal matter for Myanmar and it has =
nothing to do with the bilateral relations. Bilateral relations in =
general are good as usual.''=20

As well as Khin Nyunt, Surin met his counterpart Win Aung.=20

His visit to Myanmar came ahead of this week's informal summit of the =
10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila that =
both countries will attend.=20

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the =
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.=20





------=_NextPart_000_003A_01BF361A.E89B3A80
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT size=3D+1><STRONG>Thailand, =
Myanmar agree to=20
discuss border issue</STRONG></FONT> <BR>07:39 a.m. Nov 23, 1999 Eastern =

<P>YANGON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Thailand's Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan =
said at=20
the end of a one-day trip to Myanmar on Tuesday that Yangon had agreed =
to hold=20
further talks on reopening border crossings between the countries and =
suspended=20
fishing rights.=20
<P>Surin, who was in Myanmar to try to patch up strained bilateral ties, =
told=20
reporters his trip had been been ``very productive, very constructive =
and very=20
friendly.''=20
<P>Asked if border crossings between the two countries, closed since =
armed=20
dissidents seized the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok early last month, would =
be=20
reopened, he replied:=20
<P>``Township committees at four border points...will be meeting =
tomorrow=20
morning.''=20
<P>Asked whether fishing by Thai trawlers in Myanmar waters would be =
allowed to=20
resume, he replied that Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's =
powerful chief=20
of military intelligence, had invited a Thai team to discuss the issue.=20
<P>Khin Nyunt, officially number three in the ruling military council, =
is=20
considered its most powerful figure.=20
<P>Thailand angered Yangon's military government when it allowed safe =
passage=20
for five Myanmar dissidents who had taken over the Bangkok embassy on =
October 1=20
and 2. The five were taken to a border area after they freed 89 hostages =

unharmed.=20
<P>Myanmar has closed its border to trade since the siege and suspended =
fishing=20
rights, causing tens of millions of dollars of losses to Thai border =
traders and=20
fishermen.=20
<P>Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said before Surin's departure for =
Yangon=20
that the foreign minister was not going there to negotiate the reopening =
of the=20
border.=20
<P>``Closing the border is solely an internal matter for Myanmar and it =
has=20
nothing to do with the bilateral relations. Bilateral relations in =
general are=20
good as usual.''=20
<P>As well as Khin Nyunt, Surin met his counterpart Win Aung.=20
<P>His visit to Myanmar came ahead of this week's informal summit of the =

10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila that =
both=20
countries will attend.=20
<P>ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, =
the=20
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.=20
<P><BR></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_003A_01BF361A.E89B3A80--