Copyright 2001 The Age Company Limited
The Age (Melbourne) February 20, 2001 Tuesday
SECTION: News; International News; Pg.11
LENGTH: 449 words
HEADLINE: Helicopter Crash Kills Burmese Ministers, Army General
BYLINE: By Craig Skehan,South-East Asia Correspondent With Agencies
BODY: BANGKOK -- A senior figure in Burma's ruling military regime who was killed in a helicopter crash was a hardliner who opposed concessions to democracy activists, an official of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy said. Lieutenant-General Tin Oo, Secretary Two of the ruling State Peace and Development Council and army chief of staff, was reported by Burmese radio and television to have been in a military helicopter that crashed yesterday near the Thai border. General Tin Oo, who was regarded as the fourth-most-powerful member of Burma's military government, and one other passenger died. Reports said another 13 of the 29 passengers had been rescued while 14 were missing. Several military commanders were reportedly on the helicopter. Earlier, an official said two cabinet ministers were also killed - Brigadier-General Lun Maung, Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, and Colonel Thein Nyunt, Minister for the Development of Border Areas. No further details were available. Sources said the crash was due to mechanical failure. The NLD's justice spokesman, Thein Oo, noted that in 1997 General Tin Oo's eldest daughter was killed by a parcel bomb sent from Japan. The government blamed the attack on Myanmar dissidents based in Japan. However, opposition groups denied responsibility and said it was linked to a power struggle among Myanmar's ruling generals. There were later reports that the most likely motivation was a bitter business dispute involving the daughter. "A lot of people believe it was an argument over business, but nobody was ever arrested," Mr Thein Oo said yesterday. "It is still very controversial and nobody knows for sure." In another apparent attempt on General Tin Oo's life, two bombs exploded at a Buddhist Shrine in the capital, Rangoon, in December, 1996, after he visited. The blasts killed five people and wounded 17. There were suggestions that internal military opponents were trying to kill or intimidate him, but no hard evidence emerged publicly to support the theory. Mr Thein Oo said yesterday that General Tin Oo was "very close" to hardline army chief and SPDC vice-chairman Maung Aye. Some foreign diplomats have cited rumors of tensions between Maung Aye and intelligence chief Khin Nyunt, who has entered into a political dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi on scope to re-establish democratic rule. The Maung Aye faction, to which General Tin Oo was linked, reportedly was concerned that there should not be too many concessions granted to the regime's critics. Officials said the helicopter crashed near the town of Moulmein, 160 kilometres south-east of Rangoon, near the Salwin River.
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