Abhisit Urges Thai Govt To Address Terrorism Issue

[webfact]

Opposition Leader Urges Govt to Address Terrorism Issue

The opposition leader is urging the government to address the terrorism issue.

Meanwhile, a Democrat MP has criticized the government of mishandling the problem.

Opposition Democrat Party Leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has commented on the terrorism issue, pointing out that even though a suspect has been arrested, the United States has yet to lift its warning about traveling to Thailand.

Abhisit said that Thailand is a hub in many areas and has a relatively high degree of freedom, making it an ideal transit point for international terrorists.

He stated that it is the authorities' job to monitor this.

At the same time, Democrat MP Ong-art Klampaiboon, who is designated the shadow foreign minister, claimed that the government has mismanaged the issue of a foiled terror plot, causing widespread confusion among the public.

He added that not only the foreigners in Thailand are being targeted but the Thai people and their properties are also at risk.

Ong-art outlined three blunders committed by the government on the issue.

Number one was failing to integrate intelligence gathered by different agencies.

The second was that the government was slow to communicate with the countries involved with transnational terrorism in Thailand.

Lastly, they were also ineffective in disseminating accurate information to the Thai people and the international community.

-- Tan Network 2012-01-17

[chooka]

What terrorism issue? They said there is no terrorism or threat of terrorism.

[sparebox2]

How many Thai terrorist arrested during Marks watch? Hundreds, and they were all wearing Red shirts.

How many Farang terrorist arrested during Marks watch? NONE.

I might be naive, but I say Mark is not qualified to advise Yingluck on Farang terrorist.

[Kilgore Trout]

How many Thai terrorist arrested during Marks watch? Hundreds, and they were all wearing Red shirts.

How many Farang terrorist arrested during Marks watch? NONE.

I might be naive, but I say Mark is not qualified to advise Yingluck on Farang terrorist.

Enlighten me as to "farang" terrorists??

Lebanese and Arabs are certainy not considered "farang" by Thai people.

[GarryP]

"they were also ineffective in disseminating accurate information to the Thai people". Floods, deja vu???

[gl555]

How many Thai terrorist arrested during Marks watch? Hundreds, and they were all wearing Red shirts.

How many Farang terrorist arrested during Marks watch? NONE.

I might be naive, but I say Mark is not qualified to advise Yingluck on Farang terrorist.

Looking at how Yingluck and her brother's cronies mishandled this thing, I think a 10 year old child would be qualified to advice her on how to handle terrorism.

[pisico]

It matters not the colour of shirts in office. Thailand is not a proactive country.

Thailand needs acute crisis to react.

The last floods, the "unrest" in the South where more than 150 teachers have been killed (a situation that has gone for years from bad to worse), human trafficking, etc. should be good examples of that. .

When the Bali attack takes place in Thai soil, maybe, just maybe, some "crackdown" will be staged to save face.

[givenall]

Just like the flood, these government has no clue about anything other than how to bring back Thaksin

[kutjebu]

How many Thai terrorist arrested during Marks watch? Hundreds, and they were all wearing Red shirts.

How many Farang terrorist arrested during Marks watch? NONE.

I might be naive, but I say Mark is not qualified to advise Yingluck on Farang terrorist.

Enlighten me as to "farang" terrorists??

Lebanese and Arabs are certainy not considered "farang" by Thai people.

Lebanese and Arabs are certainy not considered "farang" by Thai people........they have the oil and have money.

Farangs in Thailand are going there because they cannot get a nice girl at home and the most have no money.

[gopnarak]

How many Thai terrorist arrested during Marks watch? Hundreds, and they were all wearing Red shirts.

How many Farang terrorist arrested during Marks watch? NONE.

I might be naive, but I say Mark is not qualified to advise Yingluck on Farang terrorist.

Enlighten me as to "farang" terrorists??

Lebanese and Arabs are certainy not considered "farang" by Thai people.

Lebanese and Hezbollah are certainy not considered "terrorists" by Thai people.

But there was a Swede arrested and they try to catch a man from Switzerland but no success yet.

[jonclark]

How many Thai terrorist arrested during Marks watch? Hundreds, and they were all wearing Red shirts.

How many Farang terrorist arrested during Marks watch? NONE.

I might be naive, but I say Mark is not qualified to advise Yingluck on Farang terrorist.

Enlighten me as to "farang" terrorists??

Lebanese and Arabs are certainy not considered "farang" by Thai people.

Lebanese and Arabs are certainy not considered "farang" by Thai people........they have the oil and have money.

Farangs in Thailand are going there because they cannot get a nice girl at home and the most have no money.

Ahh sweeping bigotted statements based on fear and ignorance. Welcome to Thailand!!!

P.S. Don't think the Lebanese have much oil!!

[gopnarak]

Related

some sound bites by Abhisit in another news source:

The opposition Democrat Party has accused the government of misinforming the public over the terrorism threat to the country.

"The government should be more cautious over this sensitive security issue since we are being watched by the world," said opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The government had to have a clear stance and balance between the measures to provide safety in the country and relations with foreign countries.

"We need proper measures to protect our people - but for foreign countries, notably the US, we cannot allow them to guide us on any matter," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-01-17

[erobando]

I don't understand the criticism of the Thai government in this situation.

Israeli and the US have been trying to catch this guy for years... No dice.

He enters Thailand 3 weeks ago and the Thai government and not only arrested him but completely disemboweled his dastardly terror plot.

You need to look at the actions, not the PR... no deaths, no injuries, no damage. Thailand got it right.

Edited January 17, 2012 by erobando

[Jingthing]

A reasonable comment by Abhisit. Thailand should not allow the US to guide them, for sure. But the US embassy should not allow Thailand to guide how to communicate with US citizens either!

Edited January 17, 2012 by Jingthing

[Asa]

Dealing with terrorism is not easy. You cannot round them up and shoot them. Terrorists don't just pop up, they infiltrated and rooted here for some times. What the Democrat had done to curb foreign terrorism suspects while in the office.

[gopnarak]

Dealing with terrorism is not easy. You cannot round them up and shoot them. Terrorists don't just pop up, they infiltrated and rooted here for some times. What the Democrat had done to curb foreign terrorism suspects while in the office.

Who sees who as a terrorists - that definition varies.

And who is in the eyes of USA Israel a terrorists isn't necessary a terrorist in the eyes of the Thai authorities.

Thailand don't want involved in the Israel -Hezbollah conflict or any other war on terror strategies.

Thailand wants to be neutral and Thailand remains friendly and in good ties with countries that are on the axis of evil list.

That will stay the same under any gov't pro-Dems or pro-Shin.

Edited January 17, 2012 by gopnarak

[gopnarak]

A reasonable comment by Abhisit. Thailand should not allow the US to guide them, for sure. But the US embassy should not allow Thailand to guide how to communicate with US citizens either!

It Thailand, the USA doesn't own this place. and when the authorities or the Gov't and the opposition tell the US your panik alarms are uncalled for and not needed it is time to accept is because you are just guests here. Its not the time to insist that you know everything better and the Thais must be stupid when they are not listen to you.

[gl555]

A reasonable comment by Abhisit. Thailand should not allow the US to guide them, for sure. But the US embassy should not allow Thailand to guide how to communicate with US citizens either!

It Thailand, the USA doesn't own this place. and when the authorities or the Gov't and the opposition tell the US your panik alarms are uncalled for and not needed it is time to accept is because you are just guests here. Its not the time to insist that you know everything better and the Thais must be stupid when they are not listen to you.

Use your brains. The US and whatever country for that matter has every right to issue warnings to their own citizens. This Thai government HAS shown themselves to be incompentant so the US has every right to take whatever steps to protect their own citizens.

[erobando]

A reasonable comment by Abhisit. Thailand should not allow the US to guide them, for sure. But the US embassy should not allow Thailand to guide how to communicate with US citizens either!

It Thailand, the USA doesn't own this place. and when the authorities or the Gov't and the opposition tell the US your panik alarms are uncalled for and not needed it is time to accept is because you are just guests here. Its not the time to insist that you know everything better and the Thais must be stupid when they are not listen to you.

Use your brains. The US and whatever country for that matter has every right to issue warnings to their own citizens. This Thai government HAS shown themselves to be incompentant so the US has every right to take whatever steps to protect their own citizens.

The US has the right to issue a warning, sure.

Not sure why this Thai government has been shown themselves to be incompetent, tho. Please explain that one.

Also, you must remember that the police and military are separate political entities than the elected Thai government. None of those groups would want foreign terrorist attacks here.

[fred110]

A reasonable comment by Abhisit. Thailand should not allow the US to guide them, for sure. But the US embassy should not allow Thailand to guide how to communicate with US citizens either!

It Thailand, the USA doesn't own this place. and when the authorities or the Gov't and the opposition tell the US your panik alarms are uncalled for and not needed it is time to accept is because you are just guests here. Its not the time to insist that you know everything better and the Thais must be stupid when they are not listen to you.

Use your brains. The US and whatever country for that matter has every right to issue warnings to their own citizens. This Thai government HAS shown themselves to be incompentant so the US has every right to take whatever steps to protect their own citizens.

The US has the right to issue a warning, sure.

Not sure why this Thai government has been shown themselves to be incompetent, tho. Please explain that one.

Also, you must remember that the police and military are separate political entities than the elected Thai government. None of those groups would want foreign terrorist attacks here.

Terror attack in Thailand = increased budget for army and police. And maybe more submarines for the navy!

[ttthailand]

A reasonable comment by Abhisit. Thailand should not allow the US to guide them, for sure. But the US embassy should not allow Thailand to guide how to communicate with US citizens either!

It Thailand, the USA doesn't own this place. and when the authorities or the Gov't and the opposition tell the US your panik alarms are uncalled for and not needed it is time to accept is because you are just guests here. Its not the time to insist that you know everything better and the Thais must be stupid when they are not listen to you.

Use your brains. The US and whatever country for that matter has every right to issue warnings to their own citizens. This Thai government HAS shown themselves to be incompentant so the US has every right to take whatever steps to protect their own citizens.

The US has the right to issue a warning, sure.

Not sure why this Thai government has been shown themselves to be incompetent, tho. Please explain that one.

Also, you must remember that the police and military are separate political entities than the elected Thai government. None of those groups would want foreign terrorist attacks here.

For one thing, why is there only one guy being questioned ? What happened to the other guys ???

[gopnarak]

A reasonable comment by Abhisit. Thailand should not allow the US to guide them, for sure. But the US embassy should not allow Thailand to guide how to communicate with US citizens either!

It Thailand, the USA doesn't own this place. and when the authorities or the Gov't and the opposition tell the US your panik alarms are uncalled for and not needed it is time to accept is because you are just guests here. Its not the time to insist that you know everything better and the Thais must be stupid when they are not listen to you.

Use your brains. The US and whatever country for that matter has every right to issue warnings to their own citizens. This Thai government HAS shown themselves to be incompentant so the US has every right to take whatever steps to protect their own citizens.

Yes. Thais stupid, USA much better. I know that record.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I don't understand the criticism of the Thai government in this situation.

Israeli and the US have been trying to catch this guy for years... No dice.

He enters Thailand 3 weeks ago and the Thai government and not only arrested him but completely disemboweled his dastardly terror plot.

You need to look at the actions, not the PR... no deaths, no injuries, no damage. Thailand got it right.

What you're posting above is a total crock of "fertilizer."

The Thais had no clue about this guy. He'd had his stockpile of bomb-making chemicals just outside Bangkok for more than a year, 4 tons when he was finally caught, and the Thais knew nothing.

The ONLY reason they knew anything was Israel was tracking these guys and alerted the Thais around Dec. 22 that they supposedly had entered Thailand. After that, who knows what if anything the Thais did about the guy, but from all indications, probably not much.

It was ONLY after the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok went public with its terror warning that anything serious started to happen with this case. And at first, the publicly stated Thai position -- over and over again -- was the guy in custody had broken no law and simply was going to be deported...

Then, suddenly, the guy who'd broken no law turns out to have 4 tons of bomb making materials and the Thais are still talking about simply deporting him... Before finally, just yesterday, as the story about this spreads and has gone worldwide, they suddenly pop up with well, we're charging him with weapons violations.

If the whole thing simply had been left to the Thais, the guy would be bombing Bangkok now and/or continuing with his supposed plan to export tons of bomb making materials to other countries where a lot of innocent people likely would have been killed.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thailand wants to be neutral and Thailand remains friendly and in good ties with countries that are on the axis of evil list.

That will stay the same under any gov't pro-Dems or pro-Shin.

So you want Thailand to be a friendly happy country that hosts terrorists and would-be bomb-makers who come here to gather their wares and then use them to kill innocent people around the world??? Good for you...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

For one thing, why is there only one guy being questioned ? What happened to the other guys ???

The "crack" Thai law enforcement types never caught any of the other supposed folks involved.

According to local media reports, Thai police "raided" some location near Khao San Road where they knew or thought these guys were staying, but supposedly they'd already gone by the time the police arrived.

Then they later arrested the one guy at Suvarnabhumi Airport as he was trying to fly out of the country.

[geriatrickid]

Ong-art outlined three blunders committed by the government on the issue.

Number one was failing to integrate intelligence gathered by different agencies.

The second was that the government was slow to communicate with the countries involved with transnational terrorism in Thailand.

Lastly, they were also ineffective in disseminating accurate information to the Thai people and the international community.

Sound familiar? Almost the same criticisms were raised following the 1st World Trade Center car bomb and the Millenium incident when the arab terrorist was caught in Washington state. The US authorities still hadn't responded appropriately until well after 9-11. It took 9-11 to force US police and intelligence agencies to work together and even then the Homeland security apparatus took several years to build.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It Thailand, the USA doesn't own this place. and when the authorities or the Gov't and the opposition tell the US your panik alarms are uncalled for and not needed it is time to accept is because you are just guests here. Its not the time to insist that you know everything better and the Thais must be stupid when they are not listen to you.

Still spouting your fountains of silly rubbish, huh?

The U.S. Embassy in Thailand has every right to say whatever they want, and provide whatever guidance they want to their citizens...

Just the same as the Thai Embassy in the U.S. has every right to say whatever they want, and to provide whatever guidance they want to their citizens living in the U.S.

If the roles were reversed, the Thai Embassy in the U.S. could be telling Thais in the U.S. to run for the hills or dig the deepest hole and dive in.... and the U.S. would have no business or right to interfere.

The Thai government can disagree with the advice given by the U.S. Just the same as the Thai government is going to make its own policies, and the U.S. is free to like or not like them.

[OZEMADE]

Abhisit stating exactly what Yingluck stated. The threat is over why havent they lifted their Terrorist Warnings. Obviously they have been talking.

The Aussies havent lifted their warning and this is current.

Australian travel Advice forThailand

HomeTravel AdviceThailand

Thailand overall

• Exercise normal safety precautions
  
• Exercise a high degree of caution
  
• Reconsider your need to travel
  
• Do not travel
  

Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla

• Exercise normal safety precautions
  
• Exercise a high degree of caution
  
• Reconsider your need to travel
  
• Do not travel
  

Latest update

This Advice was last issued on Friday, 13 January 2012. This advice has been reviewed and reissued. It contains new information in the Summary and under Safety and Security: Terrorism (US warning of possible terrorist attacks in tourist areas in Bangkok). The overall level of the advice has not changed.

On 13 January 2012, the US Government warned its citizens in Thailand that foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I think there's a legitimate question of whether the "threat" to Bangkok is over or not...

Yes, the Thais have one guy in custody.... But these terrorists usually work in cells of several people each, and the Thais apparently have no clue what's happened to the other supposed two guys who were companions to the suspect guy...

Likewise, the Thais now have 4 tons of bomb-making materials off the market, and that's good... But no one knows what else may be out there, and what arrangements the other suspects may have made or be making...

If the U.S. Embassy isn't lifting its original terror threat warning, then presumably there's a reason they are not -- even though the one suspect apparently remains in Thai custody.

Stay tuned, and let's hope nothing goes "BOOM."

Edited January 18, 2012 by Scott
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[gopnarak]

Thailand wants to be neutral and Thailand remains friendly and in good ties with countries that are on the axis of evil list.

That will stay the same under any gov't pro-Dems or pro-Shin.

So you want Thailand to be a friendly happy country that hosts terrorists and would-be bomb-makers who come here to gather their wares and then use them to kill innocent people around the world??? Good for you...

Well i have no problem with the stance of the Thai authorities, the Gov't or what Abhisit have said.

I choose Thailand as a place to live but i am not in the position to tell them how they should handle certain things and that they are stupid and anti A if they dont follow the stance of some country from another continent.

I don't want to argue here who is it who kills innocent people around the world on a mass scale. I admit, i like Lebanon, Beirut is an amazing place you should go for a visit.

God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you! (as they say in Asia)