Mai Krap

This entire situation disgusts me. One aspect that could be resolved and resolved quickly is putting a end once and for all of child beggars and babies in Bangkok. This would take about one day to round up all the kids and then you could sort out exactly who they were. I think life in prison for kidnapping any kid outside of custody disputes would be a little stronger deterrent than the current See No Evil method of justice. Anybody who maimed a kid to use as a beggar should just get the death penalty.

While the country is basically going to helll in a hand basket because of greed there is no greater issue than the health and welfare of the children. There are many things Thailand needs in this day and time but there is no more desperate of a situation than children in todays modern society being kidnapped and sold as slaves.

Every month, a few children go missing from the Muslim Community in Mae Sot district in what clearly are cases of human-trafficking.

According to local community leaders, these children are sent to Bangkok, Nakhon Sawan and even Malaysia to be beggars, workers and prostitutes.

Some children are stolen, others are lured away. Some are sold.

"Some parents sell their own children," Thongsuk Khamveera said. He is the vice-chairman of the Muslim Community's board.

"Look around Mae Sot and you see how perpetrators exploit the children. Some mothers rent out their babies for Bt20 a day. Other women want to carry the babies while begging for money because this arouses sympathy from unsuspecting people," he said.

Thongsuk was now preparing to submit a petition to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont calling for help in preventing human trafficking and other crimes in his community.

"Most perpetrators are aliens," he said.

In the community, some houses host about 10 alien families who pay the combined rent of Bt1,000 to Bt2,000 a month. Many of them reported carrying fake passports.

Thongsuk complained that his community was once a happy settlement but that changed after the influx of aliens. He said the number of aliens in his community now even exceeded the number of Thai locals, who are forced to live with the problems that relevant authorities rarely pay attention to.

"We suspect that some government officials are involved in the human trafficking," the community leader added.

He said thefts also took place on a daily basis.

Wisoot Sunthorn, a board member of Muslim Community, said the problems from alien residents had been aggravated during the past few years.

Because the town was located close to the border, people from Burma could easily sneak in and blend into the community. Even though a few hundred are deported every day, this many people are believed to slip across the border into Thailand every day.

Local resident Panee Panmini, 45, said her 11-year-old son disappeared on February 16 and she was terrified about what has happened to him.

"I don't know what has happened to him. I have been pleading with the police to help," she said.

Chaithai Raksachart, manager of World Vision Foundation of Thailand, said some alien parents suffered the same problem but were too afraid of attracting police attention to report their children's disappearance. These aliens entered Thailand illegally.

Mamijee, 50, said one of her sons went missing when he was less than six years old.

"But I am afraid of the police. I just reported to the community board. Till now, I haven't heard anything about him," she said tearfully.

According to her, several children go missing from the community every month. Ten days ago, one of her neighbour's children was among them.

Chaithai said most trafficked children from Mae Sot were forced to beg for money in Bangkok.

"In one case, a boy was forced to beg for money. If he earned less than Bt200 a day, the gangsters punished him with an electric shock," he added.

He said the foundation was trying to end the problem, but its efforts were insignificant given the sheer scale.

"There are many human-trafficking gangs. Besides, some parents very obviously are selling their children. We have been able to help some children but they ask not to be returned to their parents," he said.

An informed source said some trafficking gangs had even contacted a local centre for displaced persons to supply them with children.

"Each child is sold for between Bt4,000 and Bt5,000. These human traffickers then bribe police officers who will personally check their vehicles at the checkpoint and allow them to go undetected by other officers," the source said.

Mae Sot Police Station's deputy superintendent Lt Col Ampon Wongyai said police recently arrested a Burmese man of Arakan descent on charges of human trafficking.

SCHOOL ATTACK

NLA panel to probe shooting

Investigators to look into claims rangers attacked Islamic school

The military will allow an independent body to investigate an allegation by residents that rangers attacked an Islamic boarding school in Yala early this month, the Army said yesterday.

"A panel from the National Legislative Assembly led by General Panthep Phuwanart-nurak will visit the deep South today to begin an investigation," Army spokesman Akra Thiproj said. "We want to clear all doubts."

He said the military had realised local concerns over the attack and therefore agreed to allow an independent panel to investigate the case.

A group of gunmen fired rifles into the school in Ban Taseh on March 9, killing one student and injuring another.

The school is famous among the religious schools, known locally as pondoks, in the predominantly Muslim region, but security officials regard it as a breeding ground for militants.

A school executive who declined to be named said students saw the attackers and knew they were rangers.

"To my disappointment, some of the rangers were Muslim fellows," he said.

Chamroon Den-udom, president of the Islamic Culture Foundation, said the authorities should realise that residents distrusted the rangers and such an attitude was growing.

Residents also suspect rangers attacked another religious school in Songkhla's Saba Yoi district on March 17, when three students were killed and seven others injured.

Saba Yoi residents staged a series of protests last week demanding the authorities clear up the case.

Muslims were angered when officials told the media that the school was not attacked but a bomb accidentally went off while students were practising making explosives.

Chamroom, also a former deputy commander of the Fourth Border Patrol Police Region, urged the government to delay dispatching some 20 companies of rangers to the South next month as local people felt uncomfortable with them.

"The government should spend more time to train the rangers to be well disciplined, rather than heavily equipped, before deployment," he said.

Hi,

For Instructors of IAC (international Aviation College- Nakhon Phanom University) we are looking for renting 10 houses/ apartments good standard in Nakhon Phanom (or immediate vicinity). 2 bed rooms+ Living + Kitchen... arrivals of instructors staggering from April to July.

Anybody getting any clue.. send me a PM

Thank you

Asian Frog

The wife says the only way to find a rental property in Nakhon Phanom is to drive around the streets looking for posters

There are no agents here as far as she is aware

Shaggs

I second that, dont bother looking for signs either, just drive up and any empty place start asking in Thai if they want to rent it.

The stories are still being told in the villages and I have one good source who relayed a story of a lady being attacked and her child kidnapped but I cannot confirm the story. The reality is in both America and Europe kidnapping is a daily occurrence so how on earth would anybody think it did not happen here in Thailand. If you have kids you should never let them out of your sight or at least have them with a nanny or something constantly. In the last thirty days I killed 2 snakes just out the door of my home, one which tried to bite my wife. That alone is good enough reason to keep a good eye on the kids.

Rape is a crime rarely prosecuted here and there are many serial pedophiles running around the countryside . I worry more about the kids in our family getting raped by a drunk villager than I worry about kidnappers but one cannot be to safe. It was just a couple months back when international school students hired a driver who would later rape one of the girls, I'm still bothered by that one.

Firearms are extremely off topic on this thread, this is about pepper spray and stun guns which you can buy anywhere and everywhere around Bangkok and other markets. There have been many gun threads in the past and your welcome to start a new one but firearms are no joke and getting busted in Thailand for having illegal war weapons will have you living in the monkey house for many years.

Regardless of there legality or not, assume you'll be charged with assault for using them regardless of circumstances.

Your still safer here than in most places, common sense and keeping your wits about you will keep you out of most trouble.

I agree that common sense is the best answer, avoidance, deescalation, sobriety, these are all better solutions than violence in any form. They also have little relevance when one is attacked physically. At that point survival is the game and escape is the desired option yet death may very well be the end of it. A simple hand held cheepo Chinese electronic stun gun could very well buy you the moment you need to escape and run away to either a cab or police station.

In most cases where one is attacked such as a robbery it is rare that one would face criminal charges for fighting for their life while defending against attackers, if one did I believe it would be worth it. My comments here are directed towards sober and honest people who live and work in Thailand who may become the subject of a robbery or unprovoked attack. I'm in no way suggesting tourists much less piss artists, football hooligans, or any debaucher's should be or need be running around Bangkok or Thailand with any weapon. More than likely the latter mentioned would be the very people who are most likely to cause problems in the first place and are the exact people one would need to arm themselves against, even if it is less than lethal weapons.

Harry does not put up with any bullshitt in his place. It might very well be that there was a fight when he told someone to get the helll out that was causing trouble and he has offended a few people by letting them know straight up their presence is not needed. His place is the oldest most well established bar in Udon and he is out on the ring road for a reason, so guys who have their own cars and families can stop in during the afternoon and grab something cool to drink and eat a real cheeseburger without having to deal with any bullshitt.

I believe some posting negative comments about the mans place are ones who either are jealous or have themselves been shown the door. I do find it completely laughable that one poster would suggest The Meeting Place in Nong Khai yet dis Harry's bar. The Meeting Place has had how many owners? How many fights? How many feuds? How many regular costumers and even owners that were unwelcome in any other bar in town over the years?

With respect I have heard the latest owners of The Meeting Place have cleaned the place up and are doing a much better job of running it but I wouldn't know as I have not been there since George sold Geoff's pet pig to be barbecued which started one of many local pissing contests over the years.

As far as Udon you are much more likely to have problems around all the little drink bars surrounding Mr. Tongs in front of the KFC but you can find problems anywhere alcohol is served. Most of the guys I know take their wives and kids to Harry's to eat and have a drink in peace but it can turn into a party at times after 9 pm and during special events like the Superbowl. I have known Harry for almost 5 years and and have been to his place many many times, calling his place dangerous is absolute bullshitt.

Mid is spot on.

If you think that carrying illegal weapons in Thailand will help you in any way, then you are a fool!

I really shouldn't need to elaborate, but there are plenty of numbskulls around so:-

1) If you have a fight here you will lose. If you escalate it, you will still lose, but in a more violent way.

2) The police will eat you alive. Even if you were in the right, you will be crucified.

I've had experience of having big trouble in Asia (Mongolia), and one of the morons I was with pulled out a pepper spray. We got slaughtered at the time, then their more aggressive and better equiped friends arrived to further slaughter us (because of the pepper spray it got escalated), then the police arrived and it got really bad!

I am only breathing because we had some local top notch personal security guards (who had shotguns, but were clearly petrified), and I got the next flight out of the country.

Leave your ego in your home country, or Thailand will get you killed, as Mid correctly suggested (i.e. it is not for you).

Just use your brain - that is the best weapon you have here.

Jason

I suppose your a expert on these matters? Pepper spray and stun guns are best used as escape or distance gaining devices in a confrontation. Just because you got your butt kicked and chose to cut and run in Mongolia is no reflection on what goes on in Thailand. I have to doubt your eligibility to give this advice here as many who have been attacked who were unarmed have died when a good dose of pepper spray or electricity could have been a deciding factor that helped them escape or turned the tide in a life and death struggle.

I do not in anyway mean to make light of the young girls who were raped and murdered as tourists here in Thailand in the last year but I have to ask myself the question "What if they had some type of weapon? Would they still be alive?"

You wouldn't be an American, would you? We all know how you love you right to weapons...

Weapons do do not help. Your brain is the thing that's required.

As far as the Mongolia situation went, I put myself at huge personal risk to save the <deleted> who used pepper spray (an American chap, as chance would have it). Most other people would have run, and I probably should have. The pepper sprayed Mongolian who ended up in hospital turned out to be the son of a cabinet minister. Once, the nice, and brave pepper spray owning American had told the police that it was my pepper spray, do you think that I would have been better off staying?

Pepper spray and stun guns are illegal here. Why are you advocating them?

I stick by all my earlier comments.

Jason

True story or urban legend? Seems like a plot straight out of a movie, something you are using to convey your expertise on such matters. Evidently you were not smart enough to avoid conflict and confrontation and found yourself in a situation where a weapon was used successfully by some American. Regardless the original poster simply asked a question yet you and others decided to rant on how right you are about your personal choices of self defense and self denial of the dangerous environment in Thailand. Stun guns may very well be illegal but so is prostitution and I doubt that fact has bothered many of the piss artists who make themselves at home in the local whorehouses.

Mid is spot on.

If you think that carrying illegal weapons in Thailand will help you in any way, then you are a fool!

I really shouldn't need to elaborate, but there are plenty of numbskulls around so:-

1) If you have a fight here you will lose. If you escalate it, you will still lose, but in a more violent way.

2) The police will eat you alive. Even if you were in the right, you will be crucified.

I've had experience of having big trouble in Asia (Mongolia), and one of the morons I was with pulled out a pepper spray. We got slaughtered at the time, then their more aggressive and better equiped friends arrived to further slaughter us (because of the pepper spray it got escalated), then the police arrived and it got really bad!

I am only breathing because we had some local top notch personal security guards (who had shotguns, but were clearly petrified), and I got the next flight out of the country.

Leave your ego in your home country, or Thailand will get you killed, as Mid correctly suggested (i.e. it is not for you).

Just use your brain - that is the best weapon you have here.

Jason

I suppose your a expert on these matters? Pepper spray and stun guns are best used as escape or distance gaining devices in a confrontation. Just because you got your butt kicked and chose to cut and run in Mongolia is no reflection on what goes on in Thailand. I have to doubt your eligibility to give this advice here as many who have been attacked who were unarmed have died when a good dose of pepper spray or electricity could have been a deciding factor that helped them escape or turned the tide in a life and death struggle.

I do not in anyway mean to make light of the young girls who were raped and murdered as tourists here in Thailand in the last year but I have to ask myself the question "What if they had some type of weapon? Would they still be alive?"

At first, I was looking at Amazon and eBay. As its legality cannot be verified, I will try my luck at Pattunam and MBK. Thanks a lot wadsy and pumpuiman for your help.

Just go over to Chinatown and Indiantown and walk around, thats where all the wholesale markets are for the best selection and prices.

nice first post ..................

I not one to suggest this often but if you feel you need such items perhaps Thailand is not for you ,

Extreme adventure tourism ???

Excuse me Mid, Do you live in Thailand or have you ever even been here? Violence is a fact of life on all ground no matter what flag flies over it. While most Thais are sweet and innocent the few evil bass turds that are around are truly evil and can justify the holding of any imaginable weapon. For that matter the culture is one where swords, baseball bats, brass knuckles, automatic knives, collapsible batons, black jacks, and billy clubs are sold in every single market I have ever been to in Thailand. I don't know about you but I have not seen to many baseball diamonds nor little league games in the land of smiles.

Give IT A BREAK ......................

how in the hel_l can you work GWB in to this

In all fairness, GWB had been discussed in this thread already as an example of someone outside of Thailand that (a) is de facto aristocracy, and ( gets away with what he has largely due to the benefits and opportunities afforded him by his position.

This relates in how the girl is being treated, how the police in question are being treated, whether or not this is a situation unique to Thailand, as well as how the Thai public at large is reacting to this unfortunate situation.

Well put drummer. Some seem to be confusing the issues. The story is not about the girl at all but about society, culture, privilege, both justice and injustice. While I feel for this victim in this conflict I see many victims within many conflicts and feel for all of them. It is amazing the way some choose to paint their own devils as being cloaked in white robes and bearing velvet crosses while devils other than their own they have no problem identifying.

I'm not even in the least surprised nor shocked by any of this. As a matter of fact this kind of thing goes on all the time just well under the radar of English speaking tourist and Expat groupies. Swords, Machetes, Enep, Edep, and farm tools are used to attack people here everyday and women are no exception. In most cases Its multiple attackers on one victim and rarely does anyone instigate a attack unless they somehow feel empowered by either being a member of the police or army or at least running around with some VIPs card in their wallet. After any fight wrong or guilt is more closely associated with who has the least connections rather than who actually committed a crime.

The same thing goes on in the United States, George Bush and his mafia are doing it on a global scale. As I type this I just wonder how many girls in Iraq are missing their arms as George continues to whisper "Trust Me" into the ears of the good but globally unaware American people? Yet they like the many victims of Thailand's VIPs and Mafias are just the faceless, nameless, creatures who suffer at the hands of the unjust elite. While some may consider this last comment off sides I feel it is important to mention since some of the very people who criticize Thailand for this latest drama feel they are above it all and so right in the world.

Give IT A BREAK ......................

how in the hel_l can you work GWB in to this

I'm not even in the least surprised nor shocked by any of this. As a matter of fact this kind of thing goes on all the time just well under the radar of English speaking tourist and Expat groupies. Swords, Machetes, Enep, Edep, and farm tools are used to attack people here everyday and women are no exception. In most cases Its multiple attackers on one victim and rarely does anyone instigate a attack unless they somehow feel empowered by either being a member of the police or army or at least running around with some VIPs card in their wallet. After any fight wrong or guilt is more closely associated with who has the least connections rather than who actually committed a crime.

The same thing goes on in the United States, George Bush and his mafia are doing it on a global scale. As I type this I just wonder how many girls in Iraq are missing their arms as George continues to whisper "Trust Me" into the ears of the good but globally unaware American people? Yet they like the many victims of Thailand's VIPs and Mafias are just the faceless, nameless, creatures who suffer at the hands of the unjust elite. While some may consider this last comment off sides I feel it is important to mention since some of the very people who criticize Thailand for this latest drama feel they are above it all and so right in the world.

If you want to cross into Laos at that checkpoint you need to get a Visa in advance in either Bangkok or Khon Kaen at the consulate. As far as I know you cannot cross into Laos with a Thai Registered vehicle at that check point at this time. However if you cross at Nong Khai then drive to Luang Prabang then drive back to the Loei checkpoint they will allow you to exit back into Thailand there.

Gary, The current situation with Tesco is no reflection on what the people of Loei want or do not want. If anything it is just a demonstration of greed by Thais and Farang. Its not like Tesco is trying to make Thailand a better place to live but I do appreciate the 10 or so items they offer that are not on sale at smaller markets. It is also nice to shop with air conditioning and isles wide enough to walk down without tripping over people and boxes. That being said, Joe Khao who may make 4,000 baht a month is not going to be standing in the check out line there no matter what they offer as someone has to pay for the space and air, 2 things he will never miss anyway.

Every time I entered one I carried my own glass breaker and was fully prepared to use it.

This sounds interesting, but where can you buy one?

Just get a small sized hammer and make sure the metal end is strongly secured to the wood or fiber handle. Anything can be used thats metal but the ones installed on the bus are plastic molded around a metal point like a small hammer. The most important thing is to be seated in the middle of the bus and be prepared to bust the window in a emergency. One of the reasons so many people die in these kinds of things is worrying about busting the glass if it is not the very last option. Another concern is that in the panic people will stack up in the exit and trap everyone inside. In my book its better to bust glass, get out, and worry about details when the fire is out and you are safe. Don't worry about what the driver thanks as in a emergency they will most likely do a runner anyway. In a past life I worked in aviation and we spent much time training about exiting a distressed plane safely.

This is truly a sad day and a horrible way to start Songkrom for these families. I will be shocked if they receive any kind of compensation or even acknowledgment of their loss.

If you dont fancy the idea of walking around with a hammer in your bag a sparkplug or precision engineers punch will shatter any re-enforced glass with a click.

For a sparkplug slightly loosen the top nipple and hit the window with it.

A precision engineers punch can be bought at most markets or tool suppliers, size of a pen, its spring loaded, put the tip to the glass and press to activate the spring, ping, bye bye window.

In a few days or less this will be just another story for the authorities to forget about, how many times have u seen overturned buses and trucks? I used to drive from Petchabun to BKK maybe twice a week, and Petchabun to Samui maybe every other month, the mentality on the roads is just beyond belief, bus drivers are the worst, they build up their speed and once at 120kpm+ they'll do anything to keep this speed, including high beam flash lights full on about 1inch from the rear of your car, even when if I was to move over theres still 10 cars and trucks in front that he can't get past.

I blame it on the authorities, the driving test to obtain a license is a joke, even though its as simple as watching a video and driving around a carpark most fail and pay the centres to get the license. No mention of actual road driving to pass the test....just another fcuked up Thai system that'll never be sorted.

End of gripe.

I'm seriously questioning my stay here these days, if Unseen, Unforgettable, Unsafe Thailand is really worth risking my own life on a daily basis when stupids stunts are performed around you every time you're on the road, never takes more than 5 minutes to witness the first one of a series of totally careless and selfish driving stunts. There are more and more cars on the roads, more inexperienced drivers every day learning from what they witness as the "Me, me, me" law. I have almost killed and been killed how many times by now ... And no, it's not my driving.

Incompetence and stupidity from the authorities, there's just no excuse.

Life is dangerous but in Thailand it is also cheep! I couldn't even begin to tell all the horrible road accident stories I have experienced and so many of them just totally avoidable with a little care. There is no such thing as defensive driving on Thai roads and the death holiday is soon to arrive. I will be making my annual retreat to my compound for the 7 days of Songkram as I cannot bear to see the results of another deadly mix of alcohol, ignorance, and death, no insult to the real Songkram but the modern interpretation is just more than I can handle anymore.

More fresh perspective from American Jackass Zachary Abuza. Is it just me or is this the same type of paranoid escalation rhetoric that was used by the neocons to f up Iraq? Does this man have any clues about what he is even talking about or did he simply read the Bangkok Post for the last twelve months and is now commenting for the nation? Many of the readers and posters on this forum are much more knowledgeable on these matters than this man yet he is a so called expert. He is correct on one thing and that is we are at a breaking point, The thing is we can all see that clearly. His suggestion of doubling the troops or dire consequence is the same mentality that got Thailand into this crises. Sending pissed off and pissed on Military into a police zone is far from the correct answer, Sonthi is correct in his action on this matter. Highly trained and level headed police would be another matter but there are no such forces as this in reserve within Thailand. Some how and some way the government and the locals must find a way to deescalate but I'm at a loss as to how to force this to happen with both sides believing they are correct in their actions.

Southern crisis reaching point of no return

There were high expectations that the coup leaders would do a better job in tackling the deep South than the Thaksin administration.

General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont announced a two-pronged strategy for dealing with the insurgency: a plan to win back the support of moderates and to improve the capacity and inter-agency relations of the security service. The former included a public apology by Surayud for the Thaksin administration's policies; the dropping of charges against 58 Tak Bai protesters; a renewed pledge to solve the disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaichit, now labelled a "murder"; the abolition of blacklists, ending the culture of impunity; and promises to adopt Malayu as a working language. The latter included reinstating the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SPBAC), having more consistency in personnel and policies, and improving coordination with Malaysia.

Yet, in six months, little of those promised initiatives have been implemented. Malayu is still not a working language. While pledging to punish abuses of power in the future, there is still immunity for security forces and none have been punished for the excesses of Krue Se and Tak Bai. The SBPAC remains under-staffed and under-resourced and managers from every security service have related that inter-agency competition and the hoarding of intelligence remains as bad as ever. Public trust towards the government is non-existent.

Sonthi and Surayud must do three things immediately: First, double the number of troops. There are under 25,000 troops in the area, not enough to be on constant patrols or setting up effective checkpoints, let alone go on the offensive. The recent decision by General Sonthi to not dispatch two infantry battalions to the South because they were needed for the "security of Bangkok", shows how divorced from reality he is. The people need to be given a sense of security and assurances of their and their family's safety if they are to provide critically needed intelligence.

Second, they must demand greater coordination of intelligence agencies. Agencies do not trust one another, and there is not a central repository of information. There are nearly a dozen agencies in the South. It is not just competition between the Army, police, Interior Ministry, Special Investigations Department and the National Intelligence Agency - any given agency, such as the police and military, has competing actors. The Australian government is funding a bomb-database, under the police force; will the Army contribute to it in terms of data collection or manpower? They must be given joint ownership or else the information will not be shared.

Third, they must begin reforms to the police force. To date, there have only been two successful convictions of insurgents. Very simply, the courts are throwing cases out and freeing suspected militants because of shoddy investigations and a lack of forensic evidence. This has enraged the military, which has stopped turning over many suspects. The military is not putting suspected militants on trial, holding them indefinitely, and thus further aggravating the sense of injustice felt by the broader Muslim community.

Barring these changes, the situation in the South, already grim, is going to get much worse this year. Based on trends from the first 10 weeks, we can expect several things in 2007:

First, there will not only be an increased number of attacks, but there will be a much higher death toll. In 2006 the average size of improvised explosive devices was under 5 kilograms; today 15 kg bombs are used regularly.

Second, expect the attacks to be far more provocative, such as the attack on the minivan last week. In 2007, there have already been three attacks on members of royal entourages. There have been four beheadings - one tenth of the total number - in 2007, alone.

Third, teachers and schools, those vulnerable agents of secularisation and assimilation, will be targeted in larger numbers.

Fourth, there will be more sectarian violence and ethnic cleansing. There have been stepped up threats and more leaflets left by insurgents to intimidate the local Buddhist population.

Fifth, there will be more concerted attacks on economic targets: we have already seen this in attacks this year on the ethnic Chinese community on the Lunar New Year, on banks and on automotive dealerships. Attacks on rubber factories and murders of rubber tappers have led to a 15-per-cent decline in rubber production, the driving force of the economy. The attack on the minivan threatens to hamper all travel and commerce, of an already economically fragile region.

Sixth, there will be a large increase in the number of civil disobedience cases generally involving women and children. In the past they would march on police stations demanding the release of suspects. Authorities tended to acquiesce for fear of a violent confrontation. Insurgents will use these encounters to provoke a violent response that will further discredit the security forces.

The situation in the South is at a critical juncture. If the government does not quickly dedicate the necessary resources there will be an increase in Buddhist vigilante justice, creating an irreversible cycle of violence. At the same time, a larger percentage of people will begin to support the insurgents, for no other reason than the government is unable to remedy the pervasive sense of insecurity. And yet, the government is not likely to do so, remaining complacent that the violence remains contained in the four southern provinces, far away from the petty political squabbles in Bangkok.

Zachary Abuza

Special to The Nation

Boston

Zachary Abuza is a professor of political science at Simmons College, Boston. He is the author of the forthcoming book on the insurgency, "Conspiracy of Silence".

HRW: Investigate disappearances

The military-installed government has failed to stop the use of "forced disappearances" as a tool against suspected Muslim militants in the deep South, a New York-based human rights group said yesterday.

In a 69-page report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) detailed 22 cases of unresolved disappearances in which evidence strongly indicated that government security officials were responsible.

Most of the suspected killings took place during the reign of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, it said.

The report is based on interviews with dozens of witnesses, families of victims and Thai officials since February 2005.

"While most of the 'disappearances' took place during Thaksin's rule, many of the senior military and police officials who carried out this policy remain on active duty," said Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW.

"Thaksin acknowledged these abuses in 2005, yet nothing has been done to stop or punish those responsible."

Abductions by armed forces go back to the early days of Thaksin's rule. A tough policy to tackle violence began in January 2004 when a militants' camp in Narathiwat was stormed. Five days later, Sata Labo disappeared.

His sister told HRW that police searched her house on January 8, looking for weapons stolen from a Narathiwat army base. Nothing illegal was found during the search. The following day, just before his disappearance, Sata called his sister via his mobile phone to say he had been stopped by a group of police.

"Around noon, I received a phone call from my brother. He told me that he had been stopped by policemen. Those policemen searched his car and told him to go to Narathiwat police station. That was the last time I heard from him. Sata never came back home," his sister was quoted as saying in the report.

After the coup last September, the interim government noted that problems in the southern border provinces were rooted primarily in a lack of justice. New Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont vowed to introduce a more conciliatory approach than the heavy-handed policies of his predecessor Thaksin.

But the new regime has been unable to translate these promises into action, HRW said. State agencies - particularly the police, the Justice Ministry's De-

partment of Special Investigations, the National Human Rights Commission and the newly reinstated Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre - have also failed to carry out full and impartial investigations. The police and the Army have taken no steps to prosecute personnel responsible for "forced disappearances" and other rights violations.

Most of the 22 families that Human Rights Watch interviewed in the report said they had received Bt100,000 in financial assistance from the government. All of them, however, told the organisation that they did not believe the compensation was a substitute for serious investigations to determine the whereabouts of their fathers, husbands or sons, or for appropriate prosecution of those responsible for the abuses.

"Offering money and apologies to victims' families does not absolve the Thai authorities from their responsibility to prosecute those responsible for these crimes," said Adams.

"General Surayud vowed to make justice a priority, but his government still fails to hold officials accountable for these crimes."

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

I just got back from picking up all the bodies and taking them all to Sirirat Hospital.

There are exactly 29 dead and about 30 injured. Most died from fire causes.

The bodies will be worked on tonight and tomorrow and so names should be available from tomorrow. Most families have called in and have listed names of family or friends so it shouldn't be long to wait.

My condolences to all involved and their families/friends.

You can call information at Sirirat on 024197000

But dont expect them to speak English (Im really not sure sorry)

Marko Cunningham

Marko, do you know or does anyone know if there were any westerners among the dead or injured? If you were there helping good for you, it is not a enviable job a very important one on this sad night.

Every time I entered one I carried my own glass breaker and was fully prepared to use it.

This sounds interesting, but where can you buy one?

Just get a small sized hammer and make sure the metal end is strongly secured to the wood or fiber handle. Anything can be used thats metal but the ones installed on the bus are plastic molded around a metal point like a small hammer. The most important thing is to be seated in the middle of the bus and be prepared to bust the window in a emergency. One of the reasons so many people die in these kinds of things is worrying about busting the glass if it is not the very last option. Another concern is that in the panic people will stack up in the exit and trap everyone inside. In my book its better to bust glass, get out, and worry about details when the fire is out and you are safe. Don't worry about what the driver thanks as in a emergency they will most likely do a runner anyway. In a past life I worked in aviation and we spent much time training about exiting a distressed plane safely.

This is truly a sad day and a horrible way to start Songkrom for these families. I will be shocked if they receive any kind of compensation or even acknowledgment of their loss.

What a horrible thing, The only surprise though is that it does not happen more often yet we hear about these horrible accidents more than enough. Rarely will you ever find a glass breaker mounted inside a bus to aid in escape. The entire design concept for safety on large windowed is the easy escape by breaking the glass in a emergency. In most cases the rear exit is also riveted shut, and sealed to keep the cool air in, just go over to Mo Chit and check it out. Another problem is the rearranging of the seats to add more seating again making the original design unsafe by the original safety standards and I wont even bother with the plastic seats in the isles. Is their anybody in government interested in these issues. I see the police ticketing motorcyclist for not wearing fake helmets yet those drivers are solely responsible for themselves. How is it there are no enforced safety standards for any public transportation?

I remember after the last Koh Samui boat accident that killed people with no life preservers. There was uproar in the news and then action taken which I viewed at Koh Chang where they displayed life jackets for every seat on the ferry and took pictures. This was followed by the removal of most of the life preservers onto another ferry so it too could have photographs taken to prove it was in compliance with the rules. It would only be a few months later when a ferry destined for Koh Kood overloaded with building supplies would sink killing 8 if I remember correctly, No uproar that time, It was if it never happened.

I rode the buses for a couple years on a regular basis, Every time I entered one I carried my own glass breaker and was fully prepared to use it. Thankfully I never experienced a bus accident first hand but I have seen to many to count and so many are just preventable by simple maintenance and basic safety standards. May God or gods have mercy on these poor unfortunate souls who burned alive today in this tragedy and may someone please lay down the law once and for all concerning the safety standards of public transportation in Thailand which are possibly the worst in the world by volume.

This report can give a great insight into the shift in policy in the south and the implications which are being danced around by Thailand's media about the true nature of things in our own backyard since the story is about the Phillippines, or is it?

<snipped for brevity>

Interesting article Mai Krap... but how can you relate it to Thailand?

Well the executions of Somchai and a few hundred other Muslims by the Police and Military in the south would be good for starters. If 2500 extra judicial killings happened during the drug war how many extra judicial killings have taken place in the south, we know its happening and I hear many stories and reports of it. In the Muslim community in the south most believe there are still 200 missing dead from the Tak Bai incident alone which included young women. Anyone who is familiar with the incident and was a witness to the first reports and then later watched the videos which if you remember were made completely illeagle and just having them could land you in prison know the official version is Krap. As I said there are some of the videos currently on Youtube but youtube was blocked last week by the government. I believe we will be seeing more videos coming out soon concerning theses things.

The current situation in the south is one where the life of a Muslim is worth less than the life of a dog in Thailand. If a Muslim dies for any reason at the hands of the Army or Police it cannot even be investigated or they charged with a crime even if it is the murder of unarmed civilians, this according to the law in the south but it works the same way in Bangkok. Now on the other hand if a dog or even chicken is somehow killed the owner can ask for compensation. Who is fooling who here? We have seen the 2000 dead number thrown around all over the news but who were these people? Were not the majority of them Muslims? Has the insinuation not been Muslims kill Muslims to this point? If you go to the south or just call on the phone and ask some people they will tell you about non Muslims dressed as Muslims murdering Muslims. The funny thing is most of the time when Muslims bomb places and shoot it out with the police and things they are usually wearing regular street type clothes not turbans nor Osama wear. Just the opposite is true when Muslims are murdered in tea shops in broad daylight, its the turban wearing mystery men, Maybe we should call them MIT for men in Turbans, funny how they always miss the call to prayer unlike real Jihadist who see prayer as one of the five pillars of Islam and even pray right on the battlefield during war.

On many levels things said in that article could easily be transfered to the situation here. Not the least of which is extra judicial killings and corruption by self serving government officials. If you want you could just rewrite it and replace NPA, New Peoples Army with Muslims and give it the geographical location and government of your choice for a exercise. I don't see the story being out of place at all, just the opposite, news blackouts, extra judicial killings, secret police, peasants seeking land reform, ruthless politicians, Poor people branded as devils for political and financial gain, flag waving heroes who can do no wrong, I guess its the story of Southeast Asia played all over again. Now all we are missing is the Napalm we have plenty of white people sitting behind desks who don't know shitt already.