Thailand Security Alert

[+ Lucky]

PM puts resorts on full security alert

Published on October 04, 2005

 

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday he had put Thailand’s major tourist destinations on full alert following the suicide bombings on the tourist island of Bali that killed 22 people and injured over a hundred.

 

Thaksin said the number of plainclothes police and security officials has been beefed up in major tourist areas, including Phuket, Pattaya and Phang Nga. “We are on full alert,” Thaksin said. “We have some information that has caused us to be very cautious.”

 

When asked to elaborate on what kind of intelligence information had prompted the government’s reaction, Thaksin replied: “It’s not very clear but we have the situation under control.”

 

The alert came after suicide bombs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali last Saturday killed 22 people.

 

“Geographically it may seem that the locations are far apart, but Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are actually connected along sea routes. These people [the terrorists] have been travelling between and circulating around the region via the sea for generations,” he said.

 

Thaksin said the terrorists have close links across the borders due to relatives and friends in the areas.

 

Though Thailand has been battling its own Muslim insurgents in the South, Thaksin has so far insisted that the violence in the deep South is an internal affair and has no connection with international terrorism. Yesterday’s statement was the closest Thaksin has come to linking the ongoing violence in the south to a broader network of radical elements outside the country.

 

While the PM insisted that everything was under control in the tourist spots, authorities have documented almost 1,900 attacks in the three southernmost provinces since the violence erupted 21 months ago.

 

Fourth Army commander and director of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-Building Command, Lt-General Kwanchart Klaharn, said authorities have documented 1,884 cases of arson, shootings, bombings and other violence linked to the unrest which began in January 2004.

 

In a rare public report on the violence in the three Muslim-majority provinces, Kwanchart said Narathiwat had seen most of the violence.

 

“Narathiwat province has the most cases, at 912. Yala and Pattani come after with 511 and 461 cases respectively,” he said.

 

Most of the violence has taken the form of drive-by shootings, arson attacks and small bombings, which have claimed more than 1,000 lives.

 

(The Nation)

[buckguy]

The Thaksin government has taken a get tough approach with the Islamic groups and its mostly made things worse. This may be more precuationary than anything else and a way to deflect attention from the government's general incompetence in dealing with the South. Thaksin's style is like Bush's, except he's a bit smarter, but like Bush nothing has gone his way lately despite a landslide Parliamentary election.

 

I just returned from Thailand and I read the Thai papers daily when I'm here. Offhand, I wouldn't change my plans because of this although I'd probably skip Phuket, etc. anyway because they're overdeveloped tourist traps. I'd go to the Similians or some other less spoiled place. Sadly, one of the nicest parts of Thailand is Tarautao National Park, which is a bit too close to all of the action.

[Guest icon513]

Well, the Similans are a national park with no place to stay except park cabins. No food to speak of, no nightlife definitely. Beautiful, yes.

 

Tarutao is similar. I wouldn't worry about terrorist attacks there, though. It's part of Satun province, which has seen no "action", and there isn't really anything on the island except coconut trees.