Safe to go Phuket?


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Linkster

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what's everybody's view on travelling to thailand now? especially to phuket?

ever since the article below came out, i've been considering cancelling the trip that i'd booked for late-may..

should i go or should i stay? to cancel or not to cancel, that is the question... :dunno: :think:



APRIL 30, 2004

Thai rebels warn tourists to stay away from resort islands
Statement refers to top tourist spots Phuket and Krabi, and also calls on Muslims to take up arms


BANGKOK - Muslim separatists yesterday warned foreigners to stay away from Thailand's top tourist spots and called for a general uprising in the restive south after unprecedented violence in the region the day before.

Police examining rifles seized from militant groups in southern Thailand's largely Muslim Yala province yesterday. -- AP
'Persons who plan to visit Thailand now are warned not to travel to the Pattani Raya region..and the neighbouring provinces (Phuket, Pangnga, Krabi, Pattalung),' a statement by separatist group Bersatu said.

'Pattani people are not responsible if anything happens to you after this warning,' it said in English, without elaborating.

The warning covers the top resort islands of Phuket and Phi Phi, the popular Krabi and Phang-nga regions and the five Muslim-majority provinces near Malaysia which are popular with tourists from across the border.

It came a day after 113 people were killed when groups mounted raids on police stations and checkpoints in the southern provinces.

The statement was posted on a website run by the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), which issued a call to arms to Muslims living in the south, where an insurgency has been waged sporadically for four decades.

'We are calling all of you to rise up against the Siamese (Thais),' it said, claiming the government's treatment of the region since it was annexed a century ago amounted to 'terrorist acts'.

Government spokesman Jacrapob Penkair said the warning was being analysed to determine whether it represented a serious threat.

Lieutenant-General Jumpon Munmai, chief of the National Intelligence Agency, said the authorities had been closely monitoring sites run by outlawed groups, and vowed to take immediate action.

'They have frequently used this website in negative ways to incite unrest,' he said. Thai Internet providers appeared to have blocked access to the site.

Bersatu is an umbrella organisation which coordinates and represents separatist movements operating in the region. All have been banned by the Thai government.

Pulo was a major force in the Muslim insurgency which raged in the south until the 1980s, when a government campaign largely ended the movement.

The last major attack it claimed responsibility for was an April 2001 bombing at the main southern train station at Hat Yai, which killed one child and injured 37 others.

Some Thai authorities have denied that Wednesday's violence was mounted by separatists, but the deputy director of the National Security Command, General Panlop Pinmanee, said Pulo and another militant group were implicated.

'It is absolutely certain that they are separatists. They were trained as guerillas for separatist actions by BRN and Pulo,' he said, referring to Barisi Revolusi Nasional.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has, however, characterised the assailants as teenagers hired by gun-running gangs who were given drugs and cash to mount raids and were armed with only machetes and a few guns.

Britain and Denmark have advised their citizens not to visit the southern provinces of Thailand. Resort islands further to the north were not covered in the warnings. -- AFP

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,248495,00.html
 

If you're flying straight to/from phuket intl airport, shouldn't be that afraid.

It's the travelling on the roads on mainland thailand in the sourthern part that you should worry.
 

If you value your life/limbs and your loved ones, consider carefully about your trip, especially if it is for leisure.
 

phuket is quite safe la..the people there mostly busy earning $$,where got time for uprising..
But again,if u are afraid u might cause ur family unneccessary worries,just cancel it lor..
 

kex said:
phuket is quite safe la..the people there mostly busy earning $$,where got time for uprising..
But again,if u are afraid u might cause ur family unneccessary worries,just cancel it lor..
u said yourself, people there are mostly busy... u don't need most people to be terrorists to threaten the place...
 

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=3450

Friday, May 7, 2004

TAT moves to calm tourist fears


PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette today obtained the following advice to the travel industry from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), following the violence in the deep south of Thailand that saw 107 people killed in violent clashes on April 28.

The Tourism situation in South Thailand

1. The disturbances are over and the situation is under control by the Thai security forces.

2. As mentioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is no evidence the violence has anything to do with international terrorism or religious conflict.

3. The provinces where the violence occurred are located in the deep south of Thailand. The three provinces, Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, are located about 1,000 kilometres from Bangkok and several hundred kilometres from Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and other beach-resort provinces popular with tourists.

4. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is committed to ensuring that the root causes of the problems in the three provinces are addressed quickly and effectively in order to bring back peace and prosperity to the region.

5. Tourism in these places remains unaffected. The only impact has been on Malaysian visitor arrivals to Thailand. Overland border-crossings from neighbouring Malaysia have slowed down considerably. This is a normal reaction for the moment and [traffic] will revive once peace and stability is restored.

6. The TAT has prepared a crisis management center to track the situation. The International Public Relations Department has been given [responsibility for] liaising with the respective Thai government authorities and communicating news of the situation to the TAT overseas offices.

7. TAT overseas offices are reporting back to head office about the reactions in their respective markets. They are also keeping the local airlines and tour operators in their respective markets abreast of the situation.

8. The Royal Thai embassies have been appointed the main centres of media coordination in their respective territories and TAT overseas offices are working with them to liaise with the media and ensure that correct information is conveyed.

9. Using the Team Thailand concept, TAT offices are also coordinating with the involved government organisations that have offices abroad, such as the Ministry of Commerce and the Board of Investment, as well as Thai Airways International.

10. After the situation returns to normal, the TAT will mobilise its marketing resources to [revive] visitor flows, especially from neighbouring Malaysia. The crisis recovery plan will be similar to that which was mounted after the SARS crisis.

11. Emphasis will be placed on inviting travel agents and media to see the situation for themselves, especially the fact that life is normal in all the popular tourist spots of Thailand.

12. The TAT will also organise roadshows to the affected source-markets in order to reinstate the confidence of both the visitors and consumers.

The Gazette invites comments on this statement. Send email to: editor@phuketgazette.net . Your name and home location must be included, even if not for publication.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=3450
 

I juz came back from krabi last week..... everything was peaceful, but heard that the day after I left, the govt swept up 100 odd muslims. Dunno how accurate is the report tho and dunno which areas got swept.
 

willyfoo said:
u said yourself, people there are mostly busy... u don't need most people to be terrorists to threaten the place...

So u mean everywhere in the world is unsafe?
Can't even go to work liao lor.
 

The point is if you are afraid of doing anything because of risks that u gonna take. In life, You will never get down to doing anything. :dunno:

"What if I go swimming and get struck by lightning?"
"What if Singapore get's bombed? Should I leave the country?"
"Will Benjamin Sheare's be terrorised? Should I take PIE instead?"
"Will Esplanade explode in my face if I take pictures of it?, should i go there?"

:devil: Cheers.
 

kex said:
So u mean everywhere in the world is unsafe?
Can't even go to work liao lor.

To quote Gurmit Singh said in Phua Chu Kang, 'Use your bain, Use your bain!'.
 

kex said:
So u mean everywhere in the world is unsafe?
Can't even go to work liao lor.

To quote Gurmit Singh who said in Phua Chu Kang, 'Use your bain, Use your bain!'.
 

Gabes said:
The point is if you are afraid of doing anything because of risks that u gonna take. In life, You will never get down to doing anything. :dunno:

"What if I go swimming and get struck by lightning?"
"What if Singapore get's bombed? Should I leave the country?"
"Will Benjamin Sheare's be terrorised? Should I take PIE instead?"
"Will Esplanade explode in my face if I take pictures of it?, should i go there?"

:devil: Cheers.

touche!!!
best answer ive heard all day! good one! :bsmilie:
 

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