THAI IS HAPPY FOR GIVE AND TAKE POLICY WITH THE REGIME

Thai security forces raided the homes of three top Karen National Union leaders and the office of one Burmese student group on Tuesday in Mae Sot. The purpose of the early morning raid was not clear.
Thai soldiers and police, arriving in four vehicles, entered the homes of KNU leaders Padoh Myat Maung, an administrator; Lt-Col Paw Doh; and KNU Commander in Chief Mu Tu.
They also raided the office of the Karen University Student Group on the outskirts of Mae Sot, a center of exiled Burmese opposition groups since 1988. None of the leaders or officers of the student group were arrested.
Gen Mu Tu is believed to be on a hit list, following the assassination of Mahn Sha, the general secretary of the KNU, who was shot in his office in Mae Sot by unknown gunmen in February.
Following the raid, security forces took away more than 20 people who had no refugee documentation. They were released a short while later after negotiations with the authorities.
Rumors spread through Mae Sot following the raid, causing many KNU leaders and others to speculate if there was a connection between the raid and the recent visit of Thai government leaders with junta Snr-Gen Than Shwe in Naypyidaw, the Burmese capital.
Burmese analyst Aung Naing Oo, who is based in Chiang Mai, said the raid was “suspicious” and could be linked to recent actions by exiled groups opposing the upcoming referendum on the Burmese constitution.
Many exiled groups and community organizations in Mae Sot began closing their offices for security reasons. Rumors circulated that there would be more raids.
Opposition group leaders in Mae Sot had predicted that security conditions would deteriorate prior to the referendum.
“The condition of the Burmese people in Mae Sot is getting more unstable now,” said one leader.
The raid occurred about two weeks after Thai premier Samak Sundaravej and a high ranking delegation made a “goodwill” visit to Burma which appeared to renew a cooperative policy that had been pursued by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
After the visit, Thai Foreign Minister Nappadon Pattama offered to assist the regime in the May constitutional referendum process, if asked.
Later, Noppadon told a forum of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Quietly though slowly, we aim to turn this burden of proximity [with Burma] into a pragmatic opportunity for the sake of the people of Myanmar, our next door neighbor.”