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| Southeast Asia | |
| Thailand, Malaysia dismiss terror warnings | |
| 2003-05-16 | |
| EFL Thailand has angrily dismissed travel warnings by Australia and New Zealand, which say the country is at risk of an attack by Islamic militants. Malaysia has also hit back at its inclusion in a travel warning issued by the US on Wednesday. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that insecurity resulting from the Iraq war had made the United States "afraid of its own shadow". Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra insisted on Friday that there was "nothing to worry about" in Thailand. The bombings should begin any time now. The tourist industry is a vital part of Thailand's economy, and it has already been hit hard by the regional Sars outbreak and the effect of the attacks in neighbouring Bali. Mr Thaksin said he was confident that his country was not a terrorist target, since it was not an enemy of any particular terrorist group. If you have western tourists enjoying sex, drugs, and rock and roll, you are a enemy of islamic fundis. The prime minister said the Thai authorities had implemented stringent anti-terrorist measures. In the aftermath of Bali, Australia and several European countries issued advice warning of the dangers of travelling to the resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand. Mr Thaskin added: "I would warn Thais visiting Australia to be careful because this country is a target too." The Australian authorities also warned citizens to defer non-essential travel to the Philippines, Malaysia, East Timor, Singapore and Brunei, saying they had information that militant groups were targeting Westerners. Australia has already advised its nationals to defer non-essential travel to Indonesia.
They'll keep saying that till the last tourist leaves. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Thailand has Muslim terrorists in the southern provinces that may be sponsored by the Malaysian government. They're fighting for secession from Thailand, and have been responsible for killing members of Thailand's security forces in recent months. Given that the Malaysian government may be providing aid and comfort to these folks, I'm surprised that no serious terrorist attacks on Westerners have occurred on Thai soil. Malaysia is seriously conflicted about the war on terrorism. Before September 11, Malaysia was the Vegas of terrorist conferences. Al Qaeda members from all over the world flocked to Malaysia to discuss strategy and raise money. Malaysia does owe its current living standards to Western and Japanese investment, which is why the government will probably be somewhat cooperative, at least in the background. However, the flow of invective is unlikely to stop - they seem to think the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or maybe it's just a cathartic experience. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-05-16 09:27:46 |