Pattayaguy1999

THURSDAY , 25 NOVEMBER 2004

BANGKOK: The Thai government is offering big bounties for 74 suspected militants accused of involvement in violence in the largely Muslim south, a senior police officer said yesterday.

Major-General Thani Thavitsri said 7000 posters were being distributed in the region along the Malaysian border offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of the Muslim militants.

The biggest reward was for the capture of Jegumae Guteh, the suspected leader of the Mujahideen Islamic Pattani, who had a Bht5 million ($NZ177,680.09) price on his head, Thani said.

He said Jegumae was believed to have masterminded the raid on an army camp on January 4 which set off the unrest in a region where a low-key separatist war was fought in the 1970s and 1980s.

Nearly 500 people - government officials, police and civilians - have been killed in the violence since then and Thani said Jegumae was believed to have fomented several confrontations.

Another top suspect was Masae Useng, wanted for treason, murder, arson and robbery, with a Bht3 million reward. He is also accused of being behind the January raid on the army depot in Narathiwat in which more than 300 assault rifles were stolen.

"Their whereabouts are unclear as they have been in and out of the country," Thani told Reuters.

"Some have not been seen for a long time. We have asked the cooperation of our neighbour to track them," he said, referring to Malaysia where Thai police say some militants have taken refuge.

The rewards were meant to put pressure on the militants and reduce the scope of their operations, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters.

"The posters will at least narrow the areas of their movement, even though they still manage to avoid arrest," he said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/print/0,1478,3107660a12,00.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good luck with Malaysia turning them over to Thai authorities.

And... is Christianity any better?  “If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments…The Lord will smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish…The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart” (Deuteronomy 28:15-28).

ALL religions should be abolished... and the sooner the better for ALL mankind.

AMEN.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A little better, in that it says God alone will punish the infidel, whereas the koran clearly orders people to do the killing. Much easier for a muslim to use his holy book to excuse murder than for a christian.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Christianity certainly has a troubling history: Crusades, Inquistion, Indulgences for salvation. But, if I remember my Bible studies correctly, the New Testament replaces the Old. Christians no long quote, "An eye for an eye...." That harsh Old Testament view of the world was replaced by Jesus saying, "Turn the other cheek...." "Give them your cloak..."

The problem with the muslims is that millions of them are being told that anyone that is not a muslim deserves death; and they will administer it here and now. At least the vast majority of Christians are letting God dispense justice after the person leaves this planet. The fanatic muslims are going to be a tremendous problem for everybody else for the forseeable future.

Koh Lanta to be transformed into special tourism zone

KRABI: --  Thailand's popular southern resort island of Koh Lanta off Krabi Province is to be turned into a special zone for sustainable tourism, Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop announced yesterday.

Mr. Suwat, who travelled to Krabi to survey development work in this southern province, said that the government would accelerate the search for sustainable tourism programmes for the island and its environs.

However, he warned that nearby tourist destinations, particularly Koh Phi Phi and the Phranang Bay, still lack clear and workable wastewater management practices.

The government was, thus, providing Bt37 million for local environmental work, he said.

The deputy prime minister also said that the government would meet half the costs of a Bt600 million project to provide electricity for Koh Phi Phi, with the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) funding the remainder of the project.

The government is also funding a Bt400 million project to construct a four-lane highway linking Krabi and Phang-nga Provinces.

-- TNA 2004-11-21

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Great. Just what a beautiful part of Thailand needs. A four lane road that funnels even more tourists into an ecologically sensitive area.

Surely this just proves the old maxim,

You can fool all of the people some of the time,

and all of the people some if the time. 

By the way what is Conde Nast?

Never heard of it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A travel magazine geared to the upscale crowd.

I got collared last night (9:30pm) riding out of Soi Post Office onto Beach Road for going the wrong way down a one way Soi. 

I had travelleld all of 10 yards but the jobsworth s.o.b insisted on giving me a ticket and confiscating my bike keys until I went to the Police Station to pay the fine which has now gone up to 400 baht rather than the previous 200 baht.

I've noticed driving along Beach Road that there are a lot of police on the wrong way junctions pulling over any farang driving on to Beach Road.

Learn from my mistake - take the extra two minutes to drive up the Soi and down the next one rather than get stuck with a  400 baht fine and a one hour wait in Pattaya police station.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the warning. I think most of us get lazy and go the wrong way on sois. We see the Thais do it daily and give it go. Now I won't.

Homosexuality is legal in Thailand, as is possession of pornography for private use. The law does not discriminate between adult and child pornography.

Westerners can and are arrested for possesion of child porn in their countries. Not so here. I knew a guy in Pattaya that was found with photos of Cambodian children in his condo. He 'won' his case as it is not illegal to have such photos, only to distribute them for a profit. After a week in the Pattaya jail, several hundred thousand baht spent in attorney fees and court costs, he was deported. This is after he was judged innocent by the court. He left the country and was allowed to return with no prejudice. An expense ordeal even when you 'win'.

A while ago, we had a major problem with children selling flowers in this town. Was getting to the stage where it was almost impossible to have a quiet beer or a conversation without being interrupted every few minutes.

Eventually, an English lady who'd been on holiday here, wrote to The Queen saying how much she'd enjoyed her time here, except for the children selling flowers.

Almost immediately, the police announced that any child under the age of 12 seen selling flowers after 9pm without an adult in attendence, would be taken to the police station and kept there until their parents claimed them. Any non-Thais, mainly Burmese, were repatriated. Thai parents who didn't come forward would find that their children had been sent to a "special" school.

Sure took care of the situation - for about 2 weeks. The Queen then went back to BKK. The little unfortunates were back on the streets again the next night.

I just don't see what can be done about cases like these, unless the authorities make a long term, concerted effort to target the people running the kids. One-off crackdowns don't solve anything.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is why the LOS can be so frustrating. The police can do their job effectively during crackdowns, but not day after day, year after year. I am not hopeful the situation will change any time soon.

More Bombs Hit Thai Muslim South, One Dead

Sat Nov 13, 2004 06:56 AM ET

By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK (Reuters) - More bombs hit Thailand's largely Muslim south on Saturday, killing a shopper in a mainly Buddhist town and wounding 14 as Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to resolve the crisis.

"We really wished to solve the problems by peaceful means. But some people have still used violent ways, so we have to use both ways," Thaksin said in his weekly radio address.

Provincial governors in the south would consult community heads, including Muslim leaders, on what to do, he said.

At least 28 people, almost all of them Buddhists, have been killed since Oct. 25 when security forces shot dead seven Muslim demonstrators in the town of Tak Bai in Narathiwat province and a further 78 died after being detained, most from suffocation in overcrowded army trucks.

The Tak Bai deaths prompted warnings from Muslim clerics and analysts of possible reprisal attacks.

Buddhists appeared to be the targets of Saturday's bombings.

An elderly Buddhist man died when a bomb exploded in a bustling market in the largely Buddhist town of Tan Toh in the predominantly Muslim province of Yala, police said.

"The bomb exploded about 7 a.m. and killed one Buddhist man. Eight people have now been injured," said an officer at Tan Toh police station, close to the scene.

He said the bomb was detonated by mobile phone.

The violence was not contained just within Yala. In nearby Pattani province, a police sergeant was shot twice while driving home on Saturday and a bomb exploded in Narathiwat province, where another was defused, police said.

The Narathiwat bomb exploded near a bridge being built to link the province to Malaysia and wounded six people, including two soldiers and two policemen, they said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am afraid that if this crisis is suppressed with extreme measures by Thai authorities, it will spill out of the South and start effecting tourism in Phuket, Pattaya, etc. Then Thailand will have a financial crisis as well if tourists quit coming here for their holiday.

I didn't see any mention of Farangs, which is good.

It does help quash the argument that we are responsible for all these evils!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Simply because there were no farangs mentioned does not mean the Thai authorities will not find a way to blame 'evil foreigners'. The Thais are not very good at accepting blame or fault for any problem that becomes public.

Yes, ok, that explains the first wave of women that snagged a farang to better her circumstances, but it doesn't explain how her daughters are then looking to enter the market. Where exactly has shel pulled herself up? A credit card is not exactly a lasting model of development, especially when it's in someone else's name.

I think it comes down to choices. I am not talking about the forced brothels, but the freelancers that move from their towns to BKK, Pattaya, etc. As long as the Thai wage system is so much less than a lady can make in the bar scene or hooking, then a certain number will choose prostitution. That is just the way the world works. A daughter of a former bar girl will still look at her choices on earning a living and may choose the sex industry. As long the girl is over 18, then it is her right to choose what profession to enter.

Staid at Jeps Bungalows there earlier this year (just the coldest air conditioning!) really enjoyed this little paradise...hope it remains a kept secret from other Farang!...."Mr. Suwat expressed confidence that with careful planning, Koh Samet could be turned into a world-class tourism destination"...oh dear! Nooooo!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It will go the way of Phuket and Samui if they want a 'world class tourist destination'. They will rip out most of the low end bungalows and put up real hotels with much higher room prices. The backpack set will have to go elsewhere.

This only goes to show that religion is the root to all evil, if I had a choice I would become a Budhist, it's more a way of life than the Christian-Muslim- Jewish way of thinking.

Where do you live that you do not have a choice? Not too many countries left that do not allow religious freedom. Choose Buddhism if that resonates with you. Your family and friends will respect your choice if it is from the heart.

Crackdowns are certainly big in thailand.

good riddance unless in controlled areas i say.

I mean really the waterpipe thing in pattaya is a good example,I personaly dont mind getting water tipped on me by thai people enjoying their day,but fat ,balding ,tatooed,and pissed 50 year old falangs standing on the end of soi13 all day shooting water at motorcyclists on the busy n02 road really want a good slapping and locking up

I agree with you on this ordeal of Songkran in Pattaya. The rest of the country gets it over with in a few days, Pattaya drags it out for a week. I also will except getting drenched on the proper day of Songkran, but what gets old fast is the idiot farangs who insist on shooting water everyday for entire week. I wish the Thai police would impound their water guns when appropriate.

Let's face it, the Thai gov't just cannot get it together, at least by Western standards. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Each year in the U.S. 13,000 people are treated in emergency rooms because of severe injuries from malfunction or careless use of fireworks.

What western standards do you refer to ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Switzerland. I was referring to the original post. Thai authorities announcing a ban after all the stores have stocked up on fireworks. Reminds me of the ban on water pipes in Pattaya before Songkran. Heaps of supplies for sale before the holiday, then make half an effort to stop revelers from using them during Songkran.

I have a sleeping partner in my business.

Does this mean I risk getting cancer??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not if all you do is sleep.

Bangkok police round up child-smuggling gang 

BANGKOK: --Seventy five people were arrested last night after police from the Child and Youth Welfare division and local district officials conducted a comprehensive trawl of the capital’s streets in a bid to crack down on child smuggling.

Fanning out among six points in the capital, the police arrested 38 Thai nationals and 37 foreigners, the majority of whom were Cambodian. 

Of these, 21 were children who had been smuggled in from Cambodia by gang leaders.

One of the men arrested last night was Mr. Sura Phuikhampha, aged 25, is known for purchasing children as young as five years old from the Cambodian border town of Poi Pet, with each child costing between Bt1,000 and Bt1,500.

Police are now hunting for Mr. Sura’s Cambodian wife, claimed to be the head of the smuggling operation.

Police said that the children, who were forced to beg on the streets of the capital, would now be repatriated to Cambodia.

--TNA 2004-11-10

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a problem that will not be solved anytime soon. The border with Cambodia is too porous to stop the flood of illegals that enter monthly. The penalty must be severe enough to deter the smugglers from repeated attempts. That may slow down the exploitation of children, but I don't think we will see beggar free streets by next year.

BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) -- Motorcycle-borne gunmen have shot and killed a martial arts teacher in Thailand's restive Muslim south, the latest Buddhist killed in apparent revenge for the deaths of 85 Muslims, police said.

Hiran Kongcharoen, a 45-year-old kick-boxing teacher at a school in Yala province, was shot in the head and knee on Friday as he was returning home from a funeral in the neighboring province of Pattani and died in hospital, they said.

"I've asked his wife and she insisted that he did not have any conflict with anyone," an investigator told Reuters.

"We now suspect the killing was motivated by the recent violence."

He was referring to the seven people shot dead by security forces during a rally at Tak Bai police station in the nearby province of Narathiwat and 78 protesters who died after being detained, most from suffocation in crammed army trucks.

At least 27 people, almost all of them Buddhists and two of them beheaded, have been killed since the Oct. 25 Tak Bai deaths, which prompted warnings from Muslim clerics and analysts that the "massacre" could trigger reprisal attacks.

Almost 500 people have died in the south since violence in the Malay-speaking region erupted on Jan. 4, when gunmen killed four soldiers in a raid on an army camp and made off with more than 300 M-16 assault rifles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Thai gov't will have to find a delicate balance in dealing with the rebellion down south. Too harsh and you create martyrs and aid recruiting of more terrorists. Too little effort and you will never have control of the muslim areas. We will see if they are up to the task.

Once again they arrange the crackdown at a time when all the retailers have stocked up on fireworks for the holiday period. The perfect time to do most harm to those at the end of the chain.

Why oh why can't they get it into their heads to think ahead and plan these things. Don't want fireworks at Loi Kratong, publicise the fact from Songkhran onwards.

Decent words fail me and I don't want to set a bad example, so I will stop here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Let's face it, the Thai gov't just cannot get it together, at least by Western standards. I would be thrilled if they banned fireworks from all individuals. I almost lost an eye during Chinese New Year several years ago. Some fool Thai threw a large firecracker right into a group on Walking St. Now I stay in on holidays where fireworks are common.

I don't know why I'm even bothering to respond to a post as dumb as filippos, but here goes.

You do not see Thai johns with Thai prostitutes for a couple reasons:

1)  You have probably never been anywhere in Thailand outside the Patpong-Nana-Cowboy-Patong-Pattaya circuit.  It's a big, big country out there;

2)  Thai men have parents, wives, colleagues, children, and do not parade around the streets with obvious whores on their arms like tourists do!  They are a bit more discreet than that...their shenanigans take place behind the closed doors of windowless massage parlors, short-time hotels, back alley "tea houses" and "cafes", and hidden corners of places like Sanam Luang and Chinatown.  More sophisticated Thai Johns make contact with student prostitutes through the internet and phone services, all away from prying eyes.

There was a study a while ago that showed that the vast, vast majority of Thai boys lost their virginity to prostitutes -- many on the introduction of their fathers.  It is so deeply ingrained in Thai society, from centuries before the first round eye even stepped foot in this country, that only a small "blip" on the scale would be registered if sex tourism stopped completely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The number of prostitues would hardly change if sex tourism stopped tomorrow. But the number of tourists arriving would certainly drop along with the amount of foreign exchange they bring. Thailand seems determined to halt sex tourism and replace it with 'normal' tourism. It is a worthy goal, I am not sure they can make it fly.

Shouldn't that say Preserve, not conserve?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Preserve certainly makes more sense than conserve. Perhaps the writer and/or editor were having a bad day.

Beautiful, although, they look a little "stiff"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The winner is certainly beautiful; go to page 3 of the photos and compare 'her' to the other 7 ladies in the photo. No contest. As I have often observed, the best looking lady on Walking St. is a guy.

All is well.  The Thai police have decided it was natural causes.  Massive failure of vital organs.

We'll disregard the broken neck and the elobw so badly broken it was at right angles to the arm.  We'll disregard the smashed furniture and that the metal frame of the bed was bent.

Bur how can we disregard the missing money, credit cards, mobile phone, etc.  ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is getting increasingly hard to ignore how many farangs are dying under what can be charitably called 'curious circumstances'. We have a bit of fun with these posts, but if it was one of our relatives or mates, I don't think we would be so cavalier towards another death.

Maybe it is fortunate that the rebels do  not seem so extreme, just one bomb in a tourist area such as Phuket or Pattaya would decimate Thailands tourist industry on a scale of Bali proportions, and also attract worlwide attention to their cause.

I hate to say this, but it could well come to that. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We can only hope that the extremists in the south will continue to battle security forces rather than bomb tourist locations. Dr. John is right, several easily concealed backpack bombs in discos or hotels would devaste tourist numbers in Pattaya and Phuket. Thailand is in for a very difficult struggle with muslims in the south. I am hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

[

Oh, come on!  You can't possibly believe that foreigners created, or even support the majority of, Thai prostitution!  There are brothels in every village, town, and city in this country...and they sure as heck aren't serving farangs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do actually believe that foreigners playthe bigger part of it. Of course there are locals who look for prostitution as in every country in the world, but trully...

When you walk in BKK or Pataya do U see prostitutes with Thai's or foreigners?

And how much money would a Thai give to his prostitute and how much will a foreigner give? Of course Thailand is a sex- tourism getaway, and of course the foreigners with their western overload of money support it; and most of the times they even go further with fake promises just to get freebies... And this will never change... Unfortunatelly...

What can change is help those young boys and girls to study and offer them better working conditions, and support the agriculture or give them alternative working options.

It's basic economics: the less the demand- the less the production...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dumb beyond belief..........

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dumb beyond belief and uninformed as well. Prostitution was established and thriving before the war in Vietnam brought hoards of GIs on R&R to Thailand. I will concede that the price has gone up due to sex tourists with too much baht in their pockets. Thai men will not pay what farangs generally do, they don't have to. Sex is a commodity and supply/demand will dictate price. That is why many of the ladies and ladyboys as well lower their price during rainy season. The problem will not go away, driven out of sight perhaps, but never eliminated. I will agree that the current government seems determined to ruin the entertainment industry. Early closings, drug checks in the discos and now driving the ladies out of sight will certainly reduce the number of punters visiting the LOS. If that is the goal, then Thaksin may get his wish.

They eat bull by the spoonfull, but how different is that from USA? Junior was just re-elected wasn't he ....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I fail to see what a democracy electing it's leader has to do with a court letting a double muder suspect out on bail. Many people may not be happy about George W. being reelected, but Americans vote for their leader, not the citizens from other countries. I may not be happy with the direction Putin is taking Russia, but that is for the Russians to sort out, not me. That is how democracy works madsere. At least make a valid analogy.