Thai Prime Minister admits army guns smuggled to Aceh<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nBangkok<\/p>\n
Hundreds of weapons smuggled into the war-ravaged Indonesian
\nprovince of Aceh came from a Thai army arsenal, Thailand's prime
\nminister admitted on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra refused to say if corrupt
\narmy officials were involved in smuggling the stolen arms to Aceh
\nrebels, or whether common criminals were responsible.<\/p>\n
"If you ask whether some weapons (in the hands of) Aceh rebels
\ncame from the Thai army or not, the answer is yes. These are
\nweapons smuggled out of an arsenal of the Thai army," Thaksin
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
Eight Indonesians were arrested in January and February on
\nsuspicion of moving hundreds of firearms from southern Thailand
\nto the Free Aceh Movement guerrillas, Indonesian police said on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
Thaksin said Thai officials are in Indonesia investigating the
\ndisappearance of the weapons.<\/p>\n
He declined to give specific details as to the number of arms
\nfound in Aceh, or the armory where they came from.<\/p>\n
A group of armed men allegedly stole hundreds of assault
\nrifles during a raid on Jan. 4 from an armory in the Muslim-
\ndominated southern Thai province of Narathiwat. Four soldiers
\ndied in the attack.<\/p>\n
However, Thai Rath - a Thai-language daily newspaper -
\nreported on Wednesday that the weapons disappeared from the
\narmory several weeks earlier. Quoting unidentified government
\nsources, the report said the raid was used as an excuse to cover
\nup the loss. It claimed the weapons were also smuggled to Aceh.<\/p>\n
Thaksin refused to comment on the report, saying he does not
\nwant to talk about security issues. "I know a lot, but do not
\nwant to speak now," he said.<\/p>\n
The Free Aceh Movement, which has fought for independence
\nsince 1976, has said previously most of its weapons are either
\nstolen from Indonesian troops or bought in the black market.<\/p>\n
Aceh has about 5,000 rebels, mostly equipped with automatic
\nrifles and other assault weapons.<\/p>\n
Thailand's long coastline, porous borders, modern
\ninfrastructure and corruptible officials, combined with a history
\nof gun-running since regional conflicts of the 1950s, has made it
\nan ideal location for weapons traders and buyers.<\/p>\n
But last May, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said
\nafter a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta
\nthat there was no indication of arms smuggling from Thailand to
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
Thaksin and his chief lieutenants have blamed this year's
\nstring of attacks in the restive south on Islamic separatist
\ngroups whose members are believed to be hiding out in forested
\nareas bordering Malaysia.<\/p>\n
But Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the deputy premier responsible for
\nnational security, said those responsible were bandits connected
\nto corrupt local authorities and politicians bent on protecting
\nillicit trades like smuggling.<\/p>\n
"Those troublemakers were local influential people with good
\nconnections to national politicians, and are involved in vice and
\ncrime and have tried to conquer state authority," Chavalit said.<\/p>",
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