Army arms civil volunteers in South with 2,700 service pistols



BANGKOK: -- The Army agreed to arm civil volunteers in the three trouble-plagued in Deep South with 2,700 service pistols.

Spokesman of the Internal security Operation Command Col Banphot Poonpien said the agreement was revealed at the meeting of the Committee to Drive for Problem Solving in the South.

He said the Army will supply 2,700 service pistols to the Ministry of Interior to distribute to civil volunteers in the South for security defence against southern insurgency.

Besides the meeting was also told of the need to recruit 2,000 police personnel in the southern provinces.
It was agreed that half of the personnel will be recruited from local people in 14 southern provinces while the rest from other outside provinces

The recruitment was assured to be completed in June next year,the spokesman said.

An action plan involving 7.78 billion baht will first be spent in the first quarter in order to achieve the security plans, he said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/army-arms-civil-volunteers-south-2700-service-pistols/


-- Thai PBS 2014-11-03

I hope they were all vetted against having any criminal backgrounds too?

Arming civilians is never a good idea it turns them into vigilantes and anyone with a personal agenda can say I was just doing my duty

Shotguns would be better, needs less training, and more accurate.

Thailand promises peace 'within a year' in insurgency-hit south

BY AMY SAWITTA LEFEVRE

(Reuters) - Thailand's military government vowed on Monday to bring peace to the Muslim-dominated south within a year, despite stalled peace talks aimed at ending an insurgency that has cost thousands of lives in the past decade.

Well, now we know their plan to bring about peace. What an elegant solution. Next, they will tackle WORLD peace by supplying nuclear weapons.

We promise peace in the south within a year...... We will add 2,700 more guns to the situation.

Well done. You just produced 2,700 valid targets in the eyes of the insurgents.

The law of unforeseen consequences will certainly come into play.

They gave 2700 people guns........what a good idea!!

This kind of guns ?

To replace some of its current inventory of M16A1 rifles, The Royal Thai army purchased three batches of TAR-21 rifles for USD27.77 million (THB 946.99 million) and approved delivery of a fourth batch on 15 September 2009, bringing the total to more than 58,000 TAR-21 rifles. ( WiKi )

Made in Israel

This may end up like the recurring free winter blanket program up North.

This kind of guns ?

To replace some of its current inventory of M16A1 rifles, The Royal Thai army purchased three batches of TAR-21 rifles for USD27.77 million (THB 946.99 million) and approved delivery of a fourth batch on 15 September 2009, bringing the total to more than 58,000 TAR-21 rifles. ( WiKi )

Made in Israel

No handguns as in pistols semi automatic ones too no doubt

What could possibly go wrong

And when you think it can't get any dafter here!

I can't believe what I just read in the OP. This can't be for real. Please, tell me it's Thai April fools day.

Masterstroke ! Just what Thailand needs, 2,700 more guns, half of which will be sold off to any creep that has a couple of thousand Baht. Words fail me.

more weapons in circulation

No, been thinking hard on this one for a while. Still have no idea how this works!??!

In Papua new Guinea some guards have shotguns handcuffed to them to motivate them to use them. The guns are more of a target then the cash registers as they can commit more crimes with them. So the guards will shoot rather than have their hand chopped off as most people there carry large bush knives. Point is they've created more targets and possibly put more guns in the wrong hands especially if these people aren't commited to use them

If these volunteers are in fact, the infamous and despised Rangers (also volunteer) or perceived to be, it's going to get bloody down there.

A lot of the locals are already armed with AKs and M16s and take it in turn to guard the villages at night, and believe me, they have to! The army is merely supplying more arms to increase security. If you guys lived in a 'red zone', you'd understand.

I would be happier if they armed them with rifles which are harder to conceal if they get in the wrong hands,.

I would be happier if they armed them with rifles which are harder to conceal if they get in the wrong hands,.

They do, maybe the pistols are for people in transit.

2,700 pistols being sent south.

I'm guessing the next yellow mob is going to be much better armed than the PDRC was, and that's really saying something.

The yellows must also be running low on grenades after 204 days of Suthep and co blowing BKK up.

Expect a few hundred launchers to be added to the list

Please, could we farangs be similarly equipped to defend ourselves from...hmmm...Burmese, I guess,...when we go to the beach?

2,700 pistols being sent south.

I'm guessing the next yellow mob is going to be much better armed than the PDRC was, and that's really saying something.

The yellows must also be running low on grenades after 204 days of Suthep and co blowing BKK up.

Expect a few hundred launchers to be added to the list

"The Yellow Mob?" Can you say "Tak Bai" three times in a row without choking on your tongue... You haven't a clue about the South do you?

Al Queada was trained by the US then armed by them.

You can guess what happened next.

......and in Phuket the police chief want more gun controls....after latest road rage incident.....hmm a 7 hour bus ride to stock up...

2,700 pistols being sent south.

I'm guessing the next yellow mob is going to be much better armed than the PDRC was, and that's really saying something.

The yellows must also be running low on grenades after 204 days of Suthep and co blowing BKK up.

Expect a few hundred launchers to be added to the list

Sorry, April 1 is still about 5 months away.

Al Queada was trained by the US then armed by them.

You can guess what happened next.

Hardly a comparable situation.

We promise peace in the south within a year...... We will add 2,700 more guns to the situation.

Well done. You just produced 2,700 valid targets in the eyes of the insurgents.

I can only presume that you and the 'likers' of your post have never lived in a 'red zone'. Believe me, you'd want armed locals protecting your village at night.

Is this going to result in amateur villagers with pistols getting into firefights with better-armed and -trained militants? Because it sure isn't going to deter anyone. Or is the preferred scenario one where three crazies with guns ride through a village or show up at a school shooting and 20 people with pistols run out of their huts and begin blazing away in every direction?

What we are talking about here is arming for what is basically urban warfare, and that is nasty and dangerous business, often with major "collateral damage." In most military and police units this type of conflict requires special training. The article left a lot to the imagination. Mine seems to have run a little wild.