SURA Drug Trafficking Insurgents Attack Myanmar Army Posts Thai Military Forces Give Heavy Artillery Support to Insurgents

[ 20-5-2002 ]

   
Col. San Pwint extends greeting at the regular press conference with local and foreign journalists.

A regular press conference was held at Tatmadaw Guest House on Inya Road here at 3 pm today.

It was attended by Minister for Labour U Tin Win, Vice-Chief of Military Intelligence Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Khin Maung Win, Deputy Minister for Information Brig-Gen Aung Thein, Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Brig-Gen Thura Myint Maung, high-ranking military officers, departmental heads, information officials, U Sein Win of Kyodo News Agency, Patron U Hla Htwe, President U Sao Kai Hpa and member correspondents of Myanmar Foreign Correspondents Club and guests.

As explained by Col. San Pwint at the meeting, The Myanmar Armed Forces have army outposts at Pan Mong Song (approximate map ref: Y-420874), Nyaungbin Kon (approximate map ref: Y-418870), Pan Kant Kaw ( approximate map ref: Y-430874) and at Yan Pan Song ( approximate map ref: Y-434887) on the Myanmar-Thai Border. There is a Thai military outpost on Thai territory opposite the Pan Kant Kaw Camp about 400 yards distant from it, and another Thai military outpost opposite the Nyaungbin Kon Myanmar camp about 200 yards away on the Thai side of the boundary.

     
Minister for Foreign Affairs U Khin Maung Win replies to queries raised by local and
foreign journalists at the regular press conference.

At 0406 hours on 20 May 2002, the Thai military posts opposite Pan Kant Kaw and Nyaungbin Kon began to fire on the  Myanmar  outposts with heavy artillery. Almost simultaneously members of the SURA insurgent group entered Myanmar from Thai territory and attacked the Myanmar military posts of Pan Mong Song, Nyaungbin Kon, Pant Kant Kaw and Yan Pan Song.

When Myanmar soldiers from the forward post of Yan Pan Song came to join the force at Nyaungbin Kon, theSURA insurgents were said to have raised the Thai national flag on the hillock of Yan Pan Song at 0700 hours. Then at 0710 hours, Thai artillery tanks arrived at the Thai camps opposite the Myanmar camps of Pan Kant Kaw and Nyaungbin Kon and at 0730 hours the tanks shelled the Myanmar camps with their guns. At 0830 hours the tank artillery fire stopped but the attack continued with heavy weapons fire from the Thai post.
 

     
Vice-Chief of Military Intelligence Maj-Gen Kyaw Win replies to queries raised by
local and foreign journalists at the regular press conference.

At the time that the Pan Mong Song camp was being attacked, the SURA launched a similar attack on the Lwe Htwe Camp (approximate map ref: LY-6898), Kyu Hsan Kat Camp (approximate map ref: LY-5393), Tat Phar Leing Camp (approximate map ref: LY-0989) and the Tantyang Camp (approximate map ref: LY-0985) in Special Region 2 of Shan State (North). In this attack also the Thai military posts gave the SURA insurgents supporting fire with heavy artillery. At 0011 hours the firing ceased but at 1400 hours the Thai military troops resumed their heavy weapons fire and the SURA insurgents continued their attacks on the camps.

With regard to these events the Myanmar Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs U Khin Maung Win summoned the Thai Ambassador to Myanmar to hand over a letter of protest. Likewise, the Ministry of Defence also summoned the Thai Defence Attache to inform him of these developments. The Joint Border Committee has also lodged an official protest.

A scrutiny of these developments shows clearly that the Thai Army is intent on disrupting the friendly relations that exist between the two nations. However, Myanmar on her part, taking into consideration the existing friendly bilateral relations between Myanmar and Thailand, is making every endeavour to resolve the problems through peaceful means.

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Khin Maung Win and Maj-Gen Kyaw Win replied to the queries raised by local and foreign journalists. The press conference concluded at 3.30 pm.

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