"How long before I can cross
into Burma?" asked the tourist. "THREE DAYS, THREE MONTHS, MAYBE
THREE YEARS!" said the policeman.
Three days after the shelling of Mae Sai by the Burmese army, the
normally bustling border town was a mixture of tension and confusion, writes
David Hardy.
There was an air of unreality on the Thai side of the little bridge
linking Mae Sai - famous for 30 day visa extensions - and Tachilek, the
dusty Burmese market town famous for fake American cigarettes and cheap
Chinese beer. Tourists, wondering where to go next, wandered between armoured
cars and fully armed soldiers as rumours began that road blocks would soon
seal off all of Mae Sai to non- residents.
"Everywhere else is closed, almost everyone has evacuated, all
the trade has stopped and there are no predictions when it might return
to normal" said guest house owner and tour operator "Kobra"
Jo. Jo's King Kobra Inn, a mere 30 metres from the border with Burma, was
the only business left open along the river border on February 14th - yet
as he spoke a middle-aged German couple checked in, hoping they might cross
to Burma the next day!
One of Mae Sai's ruined
homes (Photo: "Kobra" Jo)
Not only Thai soldiers
are watching the Burmese hills!
And the world watches,
thanks to resident TV crews
"Where now?"
The sudden closure afffected everyone
An American expat who also used to run motorycle tours into Burma,
Jo took video footage of Thai shells landing close to Burmese army gun
emplacements on February 11th, which was later shown by Thai iTV. "Everything
came to a halt for two days about a year ago, but this is far, far worse"
added Jo. "The people at the guest house next door moved out so fast
they left their dog behind - and now we're feeding it!"
Normally bustling market stalls were closed and shuttered and over 1,000
people evacuated to relatives or 4 emergency shelters at schools south
of the town. But it was 5kms south of Mae Sai in Ban Paduek where 6 people
were reported killed by a Burmese shell on the 11th in addition to 3 in
the town centre, say residents. Over 15 other Thai civilians and 9 soldiers
were injured.
Traders talking by mobile phone to contacts in Tachilek reported that
around 20 Burmese soldiers had been killed with some 30 more seriously
injured. It was also reported that at least one Burmese civilian, an old
man who had been sitting outside his shop near the central traffic island
when the shelling began, was also dead.
Unwelcome visitors
"This was not indiscriminate shooting" said another resident.
"Those people were out for revenge at their losses when the Thais
kicked them out of our army camp up on the hill. Apart from a few mistakes
with distance - which killed ordinary people - they were aiming straight
at Thai army positions."
Burmese troops briefly took the Ban Pang Noon camp by force, and after
being repelled, officially asked to use it as a strategic springboard to
attack Shan "rebels". Thai negotiators stated that no-one would
be allowed to use Thailand to attack others.
"On the 13th my street started shaking and 2 big tanks came past,
going up the hill west of the bridge" added a local trader. "We
heard that they found the Burmese flag and a Buddha image left behind -
in our army camp! There are a lot of our soldiers up there now with guns
on tripods. They are friendly and cheerful but they won't let us go anywhere
near."
"The people have been very kind, supporting us very well"
said an Army officer as a pick up truck drove slowly along a riverside
track lined with machine gun emplacements, the family on board handing
out hot coffee to the soldiers. Asked how many men were defending the border,
he smiled and answered simply "Enough!"
Farm workers in riverside fields east of the bridge - through the centre
of which freshly painted white border markers stand at 30 metre intervals
- tended their rice crop normally. They were not, as usual, accompanied
by their small children.
"Relations got to be so good here that Tachilek traders had started
to come over and set up their stalls in this main street" said "Kobra"
Jo. "Who knows if and when we'll get back to that?"
Timetable of trouble:
February 8th Burmese troops captured 19 Thai Rangers by taking Ban Pang
Noon camp - and shot down a Thai supply helicopter near Mae Ai with no
loss of life.
February 11th
All 19 Rangers escaped and Burmese mortar fire began, inflicting civilian
and military casualties in Thailand. Fire returned by the Thai forces.
Mae Sai-Tachilek border closed except for one hour to allow civilians trapped
in Burma to return.
February 15th
Talks between both sides reached no agreement. Over 100 more armoured
vehicles moved up from Chiangmai cavalry base. Both sides demanded compensation
for losses.
February 17th
Burmese soldiers opened fire on a Thai village head man, hitting him
twice as he fished in the Moei river at Mae Sot. Two friends who were uninjured
took him to hospital where he is said to be out of danger.
February 18th
"The Prime Minister's statement about Burma being the first country
he would visit was.....before the conflict occurred," said new Foreign
Minister Surakiat Sathirathai.
Dr Rom (yes, really!), director of the Software Park Thailand
project of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, has
been holding talks with software firms interested in building a "cybercity"
in Chiangmai .(...).
MISS
THIPAPORN. I am 28 years old and single. I am only 155
cms tall and weigh 45kgs. I don’t smoke or drink alcohol. (...).
20/1
Ratchamanka Road
David
Hardy
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