"tourists Wont Be Spared"

[cojones]

THAI DEATH TRUCKS: THE AFTERMATH

Target Bangkok:

Tourism may dip on fears of sucide attacks

THEIR capital (Bangkok) will be burnt down. Their blood will be shed on the soil and flow into water.

These chilling words were put up by a squad of suicide bombers belonging the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo) on its website.

The separatist group dormant since the 1980s said yesterday its terrorists would take their fight to Bangkok to avenge the deaths of 78 Muslims in army custody in Narathiwat in Southern Thailand (see report below).

Experts say terrorist groups, including those linked to the JI could be planning similar attacks.

PACT

The Bangkok Post quoting Army intelligence reports said yesterday the groups in the three southernmost provinces have signed a pact to retaliate against the government.

Followers are urged to kill 40 people, including civilians and informants, and to sabotage government buildings.

A source told The Bangkok Post that Pulo is also recruiting men to assassinate key government figures.

All these have lead to fears that the lucrative tourism industry, which draws 10 million visitors annually and generates six per cent of the economy, might suffer as tourists stay away.

Tourism-related companies such as hotels and airlines and those dependent on strong economic growth were expected to be hit hardest by the violence.

'This is the first time that we have felt that southern violence has a real possibility of spreading to areas where it would be felt more deeply (such as major tourist destinations and Bangkok).

'This is negative for the prime minister and for the market in general in the near term,' said Mr Andrew Stotz, head of research at Macquarie Securities in Bangkok.

And if Hat Yai is an example of what is to come, Bangkok is in for a tough time.

The truck deaths took place about an hour's drive from Hat Yai which is in Songkhla province.

But the town has seen tourism dip 60 per cent, over the last year, say those in the industry.

The relentless assassinations and bombings in the Southern provinces has kept the tourists away.

Also, terror groups there have warned tourists that they would not be spared when they strike.

After the latest incident, leading hotels such as Novotel Central Sukhontha and Lee Garden hotels in Hat Yai have said they have had plenty of of cancellations, reported The Nation.

So is Bangkok in danger of facing the same situation?

Investors voted with their money.

Panic selling knocked the Stock Exchange of Thailand down 3 per cent, following Tuesday's 1.6-per-cent loss.

It closed at 626.85 points.

The Thai baht also dipped as investors put their money in other currencies in anticipation of trouble.

Mr Somchai Jitsuchon, an economist at the Thailand Development Research Institute, said if investors believe the unrest will be prolonged in the three southernmost provinces, the already slowing economy could turn for the worse.

Did they die because they were tied together?

WHAT could have happened inside the trucks that led to 78 protestors choking to death?

A photograph published in the Thai-language newspaper, Matichon, showed protesters herded like animals as they were packed into an army truck in layers.

The relative of an injured protester, now in hospital, told The Nation that soldiers tied his hands and threw him into a truck.

Two to three layers of men were then piled on top of him. Those at the bottom needed to push their foreheads against the ground to take in air.

When the truck reached the military base, the prisoners' limbs were numb. The soldiers dragged them from the truck and kicked them, he said.

The Thai military refused to reveal how many people were put into each truck.

The Bangkok Post quoting a source involved in examining the bodies of the victims, said that the deaths may have been triggered by a rope.

According to the source, the protesters put on each army truck were tied together, with their hands behind their backs.

He said that if one was too weak to hold himself up and collapsed the rest would be pulled down.

Those crushed underneath would not have been able to lift their heads to breathe.

More than 1,300 protestors were packed into trucks from the border town of Tak Bai and taken to the neighbouring province of Pattani, some 120km away.

Security officials in charge of the military operation were yesterday tight-lipped as to how the protesters were treated during transportation.

Meanwhile, The Nation claimed that it had obtained a photograph showing a soldier lying on the ground firing his rifle horizontally. This, the paper said, refuted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's claim that security forces only fired into the air and not directly at protesters.

'Soldiers fired at below knee-level, targeting protesters hiding under a car,' Mr Muhammad Ayuf Pathan, a reporter on the scene, told on-line Prachatham new agency.

'They were killed and thrown onto army trucks. There were at least 14 dead bodies, that I could count,' he added.

AFTERSHOCKS

# Thai shares nose-dive 3.32 per cent yesterday

# Foreign investors sell 2.6 billion baht worth of securities, out of total sale order of 7.9 billion baht

# Fearing backlash, government hikes insurance cover for employees in south

# Bangkok Bank branches in south cut operating hours by one hour to help minimise potential danger for staff.

[guran]

In fact it appears that there will only be military/police targets along with some public buildings.

See Pulo's latest statement quoted at

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...ic=19324&st=295

[Nam Kao]

PULO:

After the massacre in Tak Bai, Narathiwat, Thai policemen and military officers are the main and only targets of the peole attacks. Please double check that you are not standing or sitting near them nor visiting their offices. Leave the suspected places immediately.

Hat Yai Railway Station has been bombed at least 3 times before. If you are planning to travel to Malaysia from Bangkok, be wise and do not use the rout. The city of Hat Yai is the most dangerous place in Thailand.

Be informed that the coming operations are targetting for Thai policemen and soldiers only. The operations will be performed by Patani liberation movements that are not under our control. Therefore, we are not responsible for the damages or lost after this warning.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is just a warning to other Thai-Muslims, not tourists

[guran]

quote from CNN.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Two bombs have rocked markets in southern Thailand hours before Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to address the nation on the deaths of 85 protesters.

The bombs, which hit the Muslim-dominated province of Yala on Friday, wounded 20 people, among them 12 police.

One of the bombs went off as police were cleaning up the remnants of the first blast, which struck 40 minutes earlier.

[Nam Kao]

Islam, so Pieceful

Arms, Legs, heads

[guran]

Islam, so Pieceful

  Arms, Legs, heads

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yes, i would be inclined to agree with you.

the number of innocent people killed by muslims is nothing compared to the 100,000 civilians killed by christians in iraq.

[Nam Kao]

This is a battle of good vs evil

I think my side will win

[guran]

This is a battle of good vs evil

  I think my side will win

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, it is unfortunate that in the case of Iraq it appears that evil will win.

I pity the american masses who have been blinded by the present administrations propaganda.

The majority of americans actually beleive that Iraq was responsible for 911 !

[DavidUK21]

Islam definitely had a hand in 911. an evil religion.

[guran]

Islam definitely had a hand in 911.  an evil religion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So who is Islam ?

algeria ? morocco ? libya ? egypt ? jordan ? lebanon ? iran ? iraq ? afghanistan?

sudan ? turkey ? syria ? malaysia ? pakistan ? indonesia ? nigera ?

Should bush attack them all because of the actions of a few individuals from Saudi Arabia ?

BTW

CIA reports now state that there is no evidence linking Iraq with Al Queda .

beleive the CIA or not ?

[stroll]

This is a battle of good vs evil

  I think my side will win

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Muslims be careful!

Modern day Christian crusaders regard you as evil and will stop at nothing!

[DavidUK21]

have you just watched moore's film or something?. The coalition did not attack Iraq because of 911 the coalition attacked Iraq because it's leader was Saddam Hussein. His track record does not need repeating. I think what he hoped to achieve had to be stopped.

[guran]

have you just watched moore's film or something?.  The coalition did not attack Iraq because of 911 the coalition attacked Iraq because it's leader was Saddam Hussein.  His track record does not need repeating.  I think what he hoped to achieve had to be stopped.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So why was he supported by the CIA and the US government whilst he was killing Kurds & Iranians ?

Why did they arm him , he was no better at that time when it came to respecting human rights.

What exactly did he hope to achieve ?

He had no weapons of mass destruction he was constantly being monitored by the UN inspectors.

[DavidUK21]

I think, without a doubt, he hoped to destabilise the middle east.

[guran]

I think, without a doubt, he hoped to destabilise the middle east.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and it is much more stable now ?

Bush's efforts have ensured that the middle east will not be stable for many years.

Many radical fundamental islamists will result due to the Iraq war.

CIA in fact estimates that Al Queda has increased it's numbers tenfold as a result of the war.

Is this the kind of politics which lead to stability inthe region and the rest of the world ?

[Nam Kao]

Mohammed was a rapist, pedophile and murderer

And the founder of Islam

What a nice Prophet

[DavidUK21]

It is obviously debatable, but I think it is better than what would have happened.

[guran]

It is obviously debatable, but I think it is better than what would have happened.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sadam was not in any position at all to destabliize the middle east.

The ease which the US bombed Iraq proves that.What could he have hoped to achieve with practically no airforce at all ?

No , you have been deluded by the Bush rhetoric.

[guran]

Mohammed was a rapist, pedophile and murderer

  And the founder of Islam

  What a nice Prophet

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nam Kao .

You have made it obvious where you stand.

Such a pity that fundamentalism is on the rise within both christianity and Islam.

Both are equally abhorrent.

I can understand why an uneducated person in a third world or developing country may be deluded but I don't understand how someone from the developed world could also be equally affected.

[DavidUK21]

He invaded Kuwait without an airforce and was obviously hoping to go further.

Israel is obviously easily provoked.

Wouldnt take Einstein, would it?

[guran]

He invaded Kuwait without an airforce and was obviously hoping to go further.

Israel is obviously easily provoked.

Wouldnt take Einstein, would it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Without an airforce he could not have attacked any country at all.

All the relevant neighbouring countries had either their own airforce or airpower cover from the USA.

[Nam Kao]

I read the Quran, its evil

[DavidUK21]

bit naive arent you quran.

I'll tell the next bandwagon i see to park right outside your house.

get real

[guran]

I read the Quran, its evil

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the Quran ? or selected excerpts ? you can find many examples of bad moral judgement in the bible as well.

Any of those two books can be interpreted in the wrong way.That is exactly what is beong done by fundamentalists of both religions.

[haha]

I think all the support being given to many dictators in the past was due to the old communists back in the past. I'm not sure about all the details since I didn't experience it first hand.

in the last century, communism was a big thing. nations were killing their own to promote it.

did you know that the "old" communists killed over 120 million people in their quest for power back in the last century?

the usa was scared and worked to stop the bloodshed, and the communist movement back then.

that is why they acted the way they did supporting dictators here and there. in the hopes of stopping the spread of communism, and the bloodshed that came with it.

I'm just glad that the present day communists are not the same as those guys in the past. those guys in the past were truly evil.

http://www.mmtcnet.com/bmiller/vietnam/stats.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/ga/wkb/abombtimeline.html

http://personal.ashland.edu/~jlewis8/Terror%20Chronology.htm

http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/terrorism/terrisrael.html

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/atrox.htm

http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/20TH.HTM

http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/terrorism/101/timeline.html

http://museums.cnd.org/njmassacre/

sorry if too much information to absorb. I just think that knowledge is power. people need to know what happened, and why to make good decisions.

[guran]

did you know that the "old" communists killed over 120 million people in their quest for power back in the last century?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

where did you get the figure 120 million from ?

do you have the detailed figures ?

Are you including the 20-25 million russians killed fighting the nazis ?

[DavidUK21]

Questions, questions and more questions.

All get answered.

funny how you can't any questions put to you. isn't it?

[guran]

Questions, questions and more questions.

All get answered.

funny how you can't any questions put to you.  isn't it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Looking back in this thread you will not see any non-rhetorical questions put to me.

Correct me if I am mistaken.

[DavidUK21]

.....have you just watched moore's film or something?.

.....Wouldnt take Einstein, would it?

.....funny how you can't answer any questions put to you. isn't it?

[guran]

.....have you just watched moore's film or something?.

.....Wouldnt take Einstein, would it?

.....funny how you can't answer any questions put to you. isn't it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The first two I regarded as rhetorical questions ,but will answer them anyway.

No , I have not seen that film.

I doubt very much that Israel would have been interested in starting a conflict with Iraq since then this would no doubt have resulted in a major escalation with all the arab nations on the penisula rallying to iraq's defence.

I did not have the energy to argue this point with you at the time, but regarding that matter you are definately wrong.

The last question I did answer in my previous posting.