¡¡¡¡BANGKOK, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Thai Foreign Minister lodged a protest to
Burma over an attack by United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers on an army patrol
which caused the cancellation of the Queen of Thailand's visit to a border
village in Chiang Mai's Wiang Haeng district, 700 kilometers north from Bangkok,
the localpress reported Friday.
¡¡¡¡According to the newspaper Nation, Myanmar ambassador Myo Myintwas summoned
to the Foreign Ministry to receive an aide memoire, in which the ministry said
the unit assigned as an advance security team for the royal visit was attacked
by the UWSA, the major source of drug production and trafficking.
¡¡¡¡Such an attack on the advance team, especially just two hours prior to a
most important royal visit, was a serious incident which constituted a grave
affront to the Thai public, the protest note said.
¡¡¡¡"The Thai government condemns in the strongest terms the attackby the
UWSA," the note said, adding that in view of the "excellent" relations between
the two countries, it expected Rangoon to "ensure that there will be no
recurrence of a similar incident in the future."
¡¡¡¡An earlier protest over the incident was sent on Tuesday via the two
countries' border committees.
¡¡¡¡However, some Thai army officers regarded the UWSA's attack on Monday,
which left one soldier dead, as an intentional and in apparent retaliation for
the death of Wa soldiers in an ambush last week in the same area.
¡¡¡¡Thirteen UWSA troops were killed and 1.6 million methamphetamine tablets
were seized when Wa smugglers clashed witha Pha Muang Task Force unit on March
22.
¡¡¡¡After the clash, part of the Thai-Myanmar border was sealed offas both
Myanmar government and Wa forces deployed more troops and weapons in the area.
¡¡¡¡Gen. Chavalit Sirikit, who heads a special force, was quoted bythe Thai
News Agency as saying that troops deployed in the northern province of Chiang
Mai, had been instructed to be on highalert after two recent clashes between
troops of Pha Muang SpecialForce and UWSA.
¡¡¡¡The Pha Muang Task Force troops were last night positioned onlyabout 300
meters from UWSA outposts opposite Ban Paek Saem, the Bangkok Post reported.
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