Emergency Declared In Thailand

[george]

Emergency declared in Thailand

BANGKOK: -- Declaring "a time of national crisis" and appealing for unity, the Thai government took emergency action to cope with escalating violence in the mainly Muslim south after an assault by suspected insurgents on the provincial capital of Yala shocked authorities and residents alike.

The attack on Thursday night, in which two policemen were reported killed and 22 people injured, will revive critical scrutiny of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's handling of southern violence, which has claimed more than 800 lives since the start of 2004 and made Thailand a point of focus in the Muslim world.

As Thaksin and his ministers held an emergency cabinet meeting and the army commander flew south to the scene of the attack on Friday, another small bomb exploded near Yala's hospital, injuring four people, and two teachers were killed in neighboring Narathiwat Province.

"This is a time of national crisis. I would appeal to all Thai people to be united and to join hands to fight against the people who have bad intentions toward the country," Interior Minister Chidchai Wannasathit said Friday.

The government also adopted emergency powers Friday that allowed it to monitor telephones, halt distribution of newspapers or magazines considered threatening to national security and to detain suspects without charge. "The last straw that prompted us to impose this law was what happened at 7 p.m. in Yala," said Wissanu Krea-Ngam, the deputy prime minister.

In their attack Thursday, insurgents on motorcycles struck eight targets with bombs or Molotov cocktails. They started by knocking out a power station and plunging the city into darkness before using firebombs and shooting at targets, and scattering metal spikes behind them to slow security forces.

The targets included a hotel, two 7-Eleven convenience stores and locations close to a restaurant and a railway line, said the army commander in southern Thailand, Lieutenant General Kwanchart Kraham. These were usually crowded with civilians, "so we can say the troublemakers targeted innocent people," he said.

Several thousand students and residents marched through Yala on Friday in a protest reportedly organized by town authorities. Marchers carried placards condemning the violence and calling for peace.

"This is one of the worst attacks," said S.P. Harish at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore. The careful planning and coordination behind the attack showed that "whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing and what they wanted to achieve."

The same cannot be said for the government, Harish added. "It's almost as if they have no clue as to what's happening," Harish said.

Thaksin has offered political and military initiatives in response to criticism at home and abroad that the harsh tactics he favored were only worsening the problem and threatening to turn a local conflict into an international problem.

The Yala attack, however, reinforced warnings from influential public figures that not enough was being done to contain or end the violence.

"If the government cannot halt daily atrocities in the region within a short time, it will be the government's failure," said Anand Panyarachun, a former prime minister appointed by Thaksin to lead a National Reconciliation Commission charged with formulating strategies for defusing the conflict.

--International Herald Tribune 2005-07-16

[george]

Thai Thaksin Says Emergency Act Needed to End Southern Unrest

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today that new legislation giving the government extraordinary powers to handle emergency situations is required to handle the rising violence in the country's south.

The Emergency Act, approved by the Cabinet at a special meeting yesterday, will be implemented in the country's three southernmost provinces once formally endorsed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, replacing martial law in place in the area since violence flared last year, killings hundreds, Thaksin said today in his weekly radio address in Bangkok.

Thaksin said the provisions of the new emergency act will give special powers to the civilian government to restrict some individual freedoms for limited periods of time, rather than the unlimited powers given to local army commanders under martial law. He dismissed media criticism that he was seeking absolute power.

``This government is fully committed to resolving the crisis and will only use legal powers limiting individual rights as much as needed,'' Thaksin said. ``I'm sure that people can understand and accept this is needed to protect them from bombers.''

Police estimate more than 800 people have died in 18 months of violence, which has included bombings, beheadings and shootings in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Bangkok, closest to the Malaysian border. Another villager was killed by suspected militants this morning in Narathiwat province, the Thai News Agency reported today.

Thaksin today blamed the violence on ``several groups,'' including separatists seeking the independence of the Muslim- majority area. About 90 percent of Thailand's 65 million population is Buddhist.

--Bloomberg 2005-07-16

[The_Moog]

Are we gonna have to start folding paper cranes again?

[francois]

good luck Thailand ...

regrets are too late

francois

[BlackJack]

and the terrorists again play into the governments hands

[VanZam]

So much for peoples freedom....and a great excuse to bring in a law like this one.

What freedoms do Thai people have left, if the PM has control of mass media (not just his own newspapers now) and police can arrest anyone without charges.....

So long democracy....dictatorship, here we come.

[thaibebop]

Are these new rules just for the south or all of Thailand? It doesn't seem real clear. Just for the south bad enough, but all of Thailand really scary.

[george]

Update:

PM expects public acceptance of new law in deep South

New law gives Mr. Thaksin absolute power

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is optimistic that the

public will accept a new executive decree for Thailand's deep South although it partially affects people’s rights.

The cabinet approved the executive decree at its emergency meeting here on Friday after some 60 militants launched a series of attacks in the municipal area of Yala Province Thursday night.

The decree gives Mr. Thaksin absolute power to handle states of emergency.

It allows him to declare a state of emergency in any troubled southern border area, order detention of suspected insurgents without charges, censor news and intercept telephone conversations.

Speaking during his weekly radio address Saturday morning, Mr. Thaksin said the governmment had realized that there was a need to issue the decree following the series of insurgent attacks in Yala Province.

"Without the new decree, government officials will be in a difficult situation to handle with these kinds of unrest although they know before hand that a violence will take place", he noted.

"The govenrment has to take away some certain rights from the people for the sake of their own safety and national peace", he explained.

After the decree is published in the Royal Gazette, the government will declare state of emergency in certain areas where troubles exist and will lift the martial law which empowers military to deal with any unrest.

The decree would be submitted to the House of Representatives when it reconvenes for special sessions next month so that it would become law, said the prime minister.

The government is also considering to annul some obsolete laws which deprive rights of the Thai people, according to the Thai leader.

--TNA 2005-07-16

[sneef]

Wow Thaksin is from chinese background... chinese are communist... is he really trying to start communist Thailand.

[Boon Mee]

The decree gives Mr. Thaksin absolute power to handle states of emergency.

It allows him to declare a state of emergency in any troubled southern border area, order detention of suspected insurgents without charges, censor news and intercept telephone conversations.

"The govenrment has to take away some certain rights from the people for the sake of their own safety and national peace", he explained.

The government is also considering to annul some obsolete laws which deprive rights of the Thai people, according to the Thai leader.

--TNA 2005-07-16

And Girly Men thought the Patriot Act was tough!

[thaibebop]

Mao Tse-Thaksin is for the poeple!

[thaibebop]

The decree gives Mr. Thaksin absolute power to handle states of emergency.

It allows him to declare a state of emergency in any troubled southern border area, order detention of suspected insurgents without charges, censor news and intercept telephone conversations.

"The govenrment has to take away some certain rights from the people for the sake of their own safety and national peace", he explained.

The government is also considering to annul some obsolete laws which deprive rights of the Thai people, according to the Thai leader.

--TNA 2005-07-16

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And Girly Men thought the Patriot Act was tough!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I hope Bush isn't watching Thai TV.

[VanZam]

I really fail to understand what sort of impact this law will have on the troubled south...after all, the police hardly have a reputation for respecting peoples rights down there as it is.

If the PM in all his wisdom has not been able to come to any agreements in the last 4 years, how is this "breach on civil rights" going to change anything.

Is this the PM's power grab? I recall last time the government declaired a state of emergancy, students were being shot in the streets.

I feel sorry for Thailand, that they vote (get paid) blindly, and then are forced to put up with a corrupt PM as a result.

[thaibebop]

I really fail to understand what sort of impact this law will have on the troubled south...after all, the police hardly have a reputation for respecting peoples rights down there as it is.

If the PM in all his wisdom has not been able to come to any agreements in the last 4 years, how is this "breach on civil rights" going to change anything.

Is this the PM's power grab? I recall last time the government declaired a state of emergancy, students were being shot in the streets.

I feel sorry for Thailand, that they vote (get paid) blindly, and then are forced to put up with a corrupt PM as a result.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, like the report said it seems the gov doesn't know whats going on. Maybe he is just doing something "to do something" so the people don't think he is just sitting on his arse.

Edited July 16, 2005 by thaibebop

[jaapfries]

"Thai Thaksin Says Emergency Act Needed to End Southern Unrest"

=====================================================

Reminds me: You can fool some of the People some of the time, but you can not fool ALL of the People ALL of the time . . . . . .

Perhaps this is a GOOD development, because if the general populace of Thailand (Isan & all the rest of the country-side dwellers inclu.) still can not figure out that thier P.M. is the BIGGEST threat to this otherwise wonderful country, then they deserve what they're about to receive . . . . . . .

Mao-Tse-Thaksin, hey ? ? ? Somehow's this has got the ring of truth to it, I reckon !

'C'mon people, WAKE UP and smell the roses ! ! !

When you see evil, have the guts to call it by it's real name: EVIL

[mcfester]

Thousands will die in the coming weeks and all news will be censored.

Sounds like a dictarorship.

Maybe Thaksin is the new Saddam.

[thaibebop]

"Thai Thaksin Says Emergency Act Needed to End Southern Unrest"

=====================================================

Reminds me: You can fool some of the People some of the time, but you can not fool ALL of the People ALL of the time . . . . . .

Perhaps this is a GOOD development, because if the general populace of Thailand (Isan & all the rest of the country-side dwellers inclu.) still can not figure out that thier P.M. is the BIGGEST threat to this otherwise wonderful country, then they deserve what they're about to receive . . . . . . .

Mao-Tse-Thaksin, hey ? ? ? Somehow's this has got the ring of truth to it, I reckon !

'C'mon people, WAKE UP and smell the roses ! ! !

When you see evil, have the guts to call it by it's real name: EVIL 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's what happens when BIG BUSSINESS gets a gov job. Sadly it seems to be a trend world wide, most likely one we Americans started. Your Welcome.

[thaibebop]

Thousands will die in the coming weeks and all news will be censored.

Sounds like a dictarorship.

Maybe Thaksin is the new Saddam.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tell that to Bush. He'll have troops all over Thailand ready to free the people.

America the world police.

[Steve2UK]

From the FCO (UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office) website:

There have been reports of a series of explosions in Yala in the far South of Thailand on 14 July.

There is a high threat from terrorism throughout Thailand, particularly in the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla. We recommend against all but essential travel to these four provinces where, since January 2004, there have been regular attacks including bombings and shootings. On 3 April 2005, three bombs exploded in Songkhla Province, one at Hat Yai International Airport, one at a hotel and one in a shopping centre. Further attacks against places frequented by foreigners could occur at any time.

[Pattaya_Fox]

There are many things which I think Thaksin and his government have done which I believe to be stupid....but on this occasion when the country is fighting terrorists then extraordinary and unusual powers will always be necessary for the government to try to control the situation and root out the terrorists.

The Uk government are planning to bring in new laws to do just that as a result of the London bombings.

The world is changing rapidly, and terrorists are attacking their own countrymen, brainwashed by a warped sense of justice and honour delivered to them through the media of teachings given by fanatics who wish to create chaos and feel that the whole world belongs to them.

No-one likes to have their liberty restricted, but if stopping the insurgents and these continued attacks and thus protecting ordinary law abiding people is the reason for the new laws then so be it.

[newworks]

alright. so exactly what do you guys think should be done about the pak tai situation?

i read this thread and all i see is "waah waah waah". just like everyone in the states whining and bitching about the patriot act and any number of other things that bush and the homeland security dept. have done in the last few years.

it`s really easy to criticize and complain. it`s a lot harder and infinitely more important to offer constructive suggestions.

so?

what do you do about the "terrorists", "insurgents", or whatever you decide to call them? what do they want? is it something that, if you were in thaksin`s position, you would be willing (and able) to give them? if not, then what? i think that if you guys start asking yourselves these questions, you might see why things down there have come to this...

[PoochEDM]

I hope they use whatever means necessary to crush those bastards that kill innocent people. I'd like to visit Thailand again.

[VanZam]

We could always build a wall.....

And as for good solutions....well, the PM hasnt had any in the last 4 years, and sadly his lack of ideas hasnt been limited to south Thailand!

[thai_italy_trade]

Are these new rules just for the south or all of Thailand? It doesn't seem real clear. Just for the south bad enough, but all of Thailand really scary.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The police here simply do not have the infrastructure to monitor EVERY phone and conversation in the country. Not possible. Fuugetaboutit.

Maybe its time Taksin mobilised his drug cops. They did some damage the last time they went out.

Edited July 16, 2005 by thai_italy_trade

[thaibebop]

alright. so exactly what do you guys think should be done about the pak tai situation?

i read this thread and all i see is "waah waah waah". just like everyone in the states whining and bitching about the patriot act and any number of other things that bush and the homeland security dept. have done in the last few years.

it`s really easy to criticize and complain. it`s a lot harder and infinitely more important to offer constructive suggestions.

so?

what do you do about the "terrorists", "insurgents", or whatever you decide to call them? what do they want? is it something that, if you were in thaksin`s position, you would be willing (and able) to give them? if not, then what? i think that if you guys start asking yourselves these questions, you might see why things down there have come to this...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Many of us have talked about just that before and a lot of us agree that there is not much else one can do but get tougher. However, while most of us are willing to work with the govs we still need to be mindful that when this crap is over some laws need to be discarded. It's scary, who do you trust more and for how long? People need protection but what happens when the bodyguards won't go away?

[thai_italy_trade]

"Thai Thaksin Says Emergency Act Needed to End Southern Unrest"

=====================================================

Reminds me: You can fool some of the People some of the time, but you can not fool ALL of the People ALL of the time . . . . . .

Perhaps this is a GOOD development, because if the general populace of Thailand (Isan & all the rest of the country-side dwellers inclu.) still can not figure out that thier P.M. is the BIGGEST threat to this otherwise wonderful country, then they deserve what they're about to receive . . . . . . .

Mao-Tse-Thaksin, hey ? ? ? Somehow's this has got the ring of truth to it, I reckon !

'C'mon people, WAKE UP and smell the roses ! ! !

And I suppose you have a better candidate to run the country? By all means suggest one. Frankly, Thailand needs a kick in the arse from a tough leader who doesnt pander to petty politics. I am so sick of hearing you whiners go on about the "dictator". He is making progress in a country that tends to be half asleep most of the time and falling continuously behind the "first world industrialised nations". This country needs a STRONG leader willing to make unpopular decisions. In all the years I have been here I have seen with my own eyes, successive governments come and go without tackling the big problems AT ALL.

Let me ask you this, what does Taksin hope to gain by being a Dictator? Power? He already has power by way of his money. Money IS power. Why go out into public life, risk your own money and reputation and possibly end up exciled as a nasty dictator? It makes no sense, so those of you who suggest he is after more money and power are completely ignorant. Sorry, but think about it a bit more. It MAKES NO SENSE.

I say, go for it Taksin, turn this country into a respected Asian and international country. Kill that image of lazy corrupt people. Kill that image Thailand has around the world as the "Sex Capital". Make it into a respectable country that can compete on a one to one basis with any other first world nation.

As for the terrorists, its time to kick some arse. They only understand one thing and that is violence. Wipe the bas*ards out. I for one, would be more than happy to stomp on a terrorists face.

Edited July 16, 2005 by thai_italy_trade

[Bilko]

This Southern problem will eventually come to Bangkok, I really hope it don't, but Im not optomistic.

Edited July 16, 2005 by Bilko

[Pattaya_Fox]

alright. so exactly what do you guys think should be done about the pak tai situation?

i read this thread and all i see is "waah waah waah". just like everyone in the states whining and bitching about the patriot act and any number of other things that bush and the homeland security dept. have done in the last few years.

it`s really easy to criticize and complain. it`s a lot harder and infinitely more important to offer constructive suggestions.

so?

what do you do about the "terrorists", "insurgents", or whatever you decide to call them? what do they want? is it something that, if you were in thaksin`s position, you would be willing (and able) to give them? if not, then what? i think that if you guys start asking yourselves these questions, you might see why things down there have come to this...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Many of us have talked about just that before and a lot of us agree that there is not much else one can do but get tougher. However, while most of us are willing to work with the govs we still need to be mindful that when this crap is over some laws need to be discarded. It's scary, who do you trust more and for how long? People need protection but what happens when the bodyguards won't go away?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

States of emergency and emergency laws by their definition are for that purpose i.e. an emergency which there now is in Thailand.

[thaibebop]

This Southern problem will eventually come to Bangkok, I really hope it don't, but Im not optomistic.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's what worries me the most. That is where my in-laws are.

[newworks]

alright. so exactly what do you guys think should be done about the pak tai situation?

i read this thread and all i see is "waah waah waah". just like everyone in the states whining and bitching about the patriot act and any number of other things that bush and the homeland security dept. have done in the last few years.

it`s really easy to criticize and complain. it`s a lot harder and infinitely more important to offer constructive suggestions.

so?

what do you do about the "terrorists", "insurgents", or whatever you decide to call them? what do they want? is it something that, if you were in thaksin`s position, you would be willing (and able) to give them? if not, then what? i think that if you guys start asking yourselves these questions, you might see why things down there have come to this...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Many of us have talked about just that before and a lot of us agree that there is not much else one can do but get tougher. However, while most of us are willing to work with the govs we still need to be mindful that when this crap is over some laws need to be discarded. It's scary, who do you trust more and for how long? People need protection but what happens when the bodyguards won't go away?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i agree that it`s scary but i think that, no matter what we think of thaksin, we have no choice at this point but to hope that these measures are short-lived and effective and that some sort of progress will be made soon.

i will be watching very closely how and if things are implemented nationwide and what carrots and sticks are in play down there in yala and narathiwat. i am sure that all of you will too...