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

[surangw]

more nuts with guns, will the be shooting into the sky at every event they want to celebrate ?

[beammeup]

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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.

The locals have been collateral damage for the last 9 years, maybe now the collateral damage will be the insurgents.

[beammeup]

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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.

They don't want to understand they just want to bash anything the government does. Its always the same usual suspects.

[manxninja]

They should get paid per head. 10,000 baht would help speed up the process.

[englishoak]

Edited November 3, 2014 by englishoak

[Robespiere]

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?

I can say Tak Bai and Drug War as many times as you would like me to.

Although Thaksin was, to a certain degree, complicit in both; he wasn't the one driving the bus on either occasion.

The guns just won't make it all the way south to the Malay Patani area, most will get dropped off in the Surat Thani.

The fact that the separatist movement has been drag gin on for so long, it would seem to be the Thai military that hasn't a clue about the south.

[rijit]

As i said on another thread , imo its a show of intent from the junta, next step? huge army presence in the south, cant see anything but that happening.

[ezzra]

Nice... like there isn't enough guns on the streets there already, and now... 2,700 more... nice....

[Mosha]

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.

Every day is April Fools Day.

[LennyW]

I think it would be wise to cancel any plans to travel to the southern areas - at least until they have all shot each other, might not be a long wait

[robblok]

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

Almost all the terrorist that have been caught doing the bombing were red. There were red training camps too. The reds were the ones that gunned down the kids in Trad while their leaders cheered on stage until someone smart told them this was bad PR and they had to shut up.

So far the Yellow mob has always been more peaceful as the red mob. There have been idiot guards but they have been dealt with. They were not hidden away by the government like the reds did with their terrorists.

Yellows don't need guns.. they got the army in their corner if push comes to shove.

[robblok]

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

True.. but letting them walk around without guns is not a good idea too. I mean they are an easy target. The whole south is a complicated thing. I see merits here and problems I know one thing I am happy I am not an soldier stationed there.

[Nemesis7]

This is such a wrong decision and the price for such a bad decision can be really high and it will complicate things more no doubt in it.

[pitchag]

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

Very good weapon, the bull pup design a full length barrel going back into the stock easy to use little recoil and red dot among sight, most of the western forces have upgraded to this sort of weapon

No handguns as in pistols semi automatic ones too no doubt

[MaxYakov]

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 get it. I saw a recent interview the one of the few survivors of a northern Iraq villager. One day the ISIS drove in and demanded they turn over their weapons and they would be protected. They complied. The next day they came back and began a massacre of the village. He was severely wounded and survived by pretending to be dead. His entire family was probably killed.

Does anyone here see any alternative to "self defense" in situations like this?

Edited November 4, 2014 by MaxYakov

[KhnomKhnom]

I hope each gun has a long cord on it so it can be pulled back as soon as Thai sees this is stupid move.

[SOTIRIOS]

...and this will accomplish what.....

...quell the unrest......appease the local people.....???

...how disappointing.....

...if they are citizens....why not address the socioeconomic issues.....

...7.78 billion baht....

...why not solve the problems in the region rather than throw men and weapons at it...

...what do you think the reaction will be....or is that the intention.....to escalate the unrest.....

[CantSpell]

Army distribute weapons....

First thought:

What can go wrong

[BSJ]

I think it's a very good move as long as there is sufficient training. A well armed militia can work with the army to crush the mooslum scumbags that kill innocent people at random.

Those of you who are opposed to the concept: How about you go down South and negotiate a peaceful settlement on behalf of the Thai people. I am sure they will be impressed.

[Eric Loh]

Isn't this more effective to have army outposts in every villages manned by trained soldiers than arming untrained villagers to do the job and probably die for the soldiers. Just a weak cowardly excuse by the general.

[casindonet]

Is that the best idea the army & government could think off? How about sending more train troops with armor carrier & light infantry tanks, instead of using motorcycle & pickup trucks for patrols. It's funny we only see this equipment only during parades & a coup.

[HUAHIN62]

Stupidity dont have a cure.

[Lupatria]

"Minimal restrictions made ​​it possible that by the year 2000, approximately 4 million firearms were legally purchased and registered. Experts say that actually no one really knows how many firearms, legal or illegal, are in the country."

However, one can assume that 14 years after the old statistics and the turmoil of the recent past there are a lot more weapons in the country. Especially since the numbers of newly registered weapons in the period 2000 to 2002 reached 158.983! Just estimate the increase for the last 12 years…

Now I’m waiting for the TAT to twist the news into a phrase highlighting tourist’s safety.

read more here:

http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/spotlight/country/asia_pdf/asia-thailand-2005.pdf

[webfact]

Thailand arms villagers to quell insurgency
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP |

BANGKOK: -- Thai authorities have distributed hundreds of assault rifles to village volunteers in the insurgency-battered south, in a move seemingly at odds with a pledge to find peace to a decade-long conflict within a year.

Violence in Thailand's Muslim-majority south has left thousands dead -- the majority civilians -- since 2004 across the southernmost provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, which were annexed more than a century ago by Thailand.

In response to a recent slew of shootings and bomb attacks on civilian "soft" targets, Thailand has vowed to protect locals while it seeks a firm date for a fresh round of peace talks with the publicity-shy but ruthless rebels.

Some 2,700 Heckler & Koch HK33 assault rifles have been distributed over the past two months to volunteers in the region, according to a spokesman for the Internal Operations Security Command (ISOC).

"They need weapons for self-defence... they can't fight with just wooden sticks," ISOC spokesman Colonel Banphot Phunphien told AFP.

"They are for security volunteers... who are stationed at provincial halls, district offices. They will also protect governors and district chiefs," he said, adding the majority of the weapons have gone to local Muslim villagers.

Authorities have doled out weapons before to Buddhist and Muslim villagers to protect remote hamlets from near-daily shootings.

But rights groups have expressed fears that arming local volunteers promotes vigilantism in a region already scored by violence, suspicion and impunity for civilian deaths.

Several rounds of peace talks with some rebel groups came unstuck during the wider political crisis in Bangkok, which resulted in a May coup.

The ruling junta has since loudly trailed its efforts to reboot the talks, which will be facilitated by neighbouring Malaysia, where many of the rebel leaders are believed to be holed-up.

General Prawit Wongsuwan, defence minister and deputy prime minister, told reporters on Monday that Thailand is targeting peace within a year.

But a source close to the peace talks told AFP that the timeline is unrealistic, with rebels still irked by Thailand's failure to respond to five demands they laid out in the last round of discussions -- including for a level of political and cultural autonomy as well as an amnesty.

While several rebel leaders are ready to re-engage with Thailand "this time around they might go at a slower pace".

"Besides the current Thai government is temporary therefore nothing can be achieved in one year," the source added, requesting anonymity.

Antipathy to the Thai state runs deep in the culturally distinct deep south, with rights groups and activists accusing Thai security forces of severe rights abuses -- including killings of civilians since May's coup.

Locals also accuse Thailand of railroading their culture and in so doing galvanising support for the rebellion.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-11-04

[pinkpanther99]

Just what this conflict needs - even more weapons.

Well done.

Edited November 4, 2014 by pinkpanther99

[Artisi]

"Minimal restrictions made ​​it possible that by the year 2000, approximately 4 million firearms were legally purchased and registered. Experts say that actually no one really knows how many firearms, legal or illegal, are in the country."

However, one can assume that 14 years after the old statistics and the turmoil of the recent past there are a lot more weapons in the country. Especially since the numbers of newly registered weapons in the period 2000 to 2002 reached 158.983! Just estimate the increase for the last 12 years…

Now I’m waiting for the TAT to twist the news into a phrase highlighting tourist’s safety.

read more here:

http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/spotlight/country/asia_pdf/asia-thailand-2005.pdf

Our tourist attraction, visit Thailand's fully functional OK corral, lots of excitement and real life replays.

[Fat Haggis]

A handgun is only effective in the hands of experienced shooters, anything over 25ms away forget it!!

Unless these volunteers are going to be on the ranges firing thousands of rounds weekly, they are never going to be effective shooters.

Even doing close protection in such areas unless your on the ranges regularly then skill fade creeps in, then throw in the obvious that the bad guys have been doing this longer, and are better armed with assault rifles that are effective up to 450-600M then you have a problem !!!

Arming civilians volunteers isn't the answer, the answer is quite blatantly simple, get the Army to start doing the job THEY are trained and paid for !!

[Thaddeus]

Thailand arms villagers to quell insurgency

Bangkok, Thailand | AFP |

Yet again the thought "what if" never made it to the surface.

[Thaddeus]

Is that the best idea the army & government could think off? How about sending more train troops with armor carrier & light infantry tanks, instead of using motorcycle & pickup trucks for patrols. It's funny we only see this equipment only during parades & a coup.

Think of the difference in fuel costs, not to mention cleaning.

[chotthee]

99.99% of the attacks are made by Muslims people on the Thai people.

Arming the Muslim will just see more weapon being pass to the Muslim people.

So only Thai people needed to be provided with free armed, not the Muslims.

If these Muslims people are not happy to live in Thailand under the care of the nation's father, they are free to return to their Muslim country just south of the border.