Job Discussion Forums

[Nomad Dan]

Hi. I was listening to Radio Bangkok on the internet and there seemed to be some concern coming from the Australian embassy about the possibility of violence spreading from the south of Thailand to other parts of SE Asia.

Anyone and ground zero have any comments on that ?

Cheers,

Burma Dan

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi Nomad Dan:


The situation in the southern tip of Thailand is a tricky one

since it involves both 1) a territorial dispute between

ethnic Malays and Thais living together in that region,

as well as 2) a religious dispute between

Thais, who are Buddhist, and Malays, who are Muslim.

The result is a growing armed insurgency, similar to what

we've seen happen in both Chechnya & in the Philippines.

So far, the attacks have been limited to the southern tip of Thailand

near the Malaysian border, but there is some concern that the conflict

could spread north, perhaps all the way to Bangkok.

So far, that hasn't happened.

However, as a precaution, several international BKK hotels have

implemented increased security checks and hired armed guards,

and as you've already heard, western embassies are urging their

citizens to avoid all non-essential travel in or through the following

4 provinces: Narathiwat, Songkla, Yala and Pattani.


For further information & updates, here are some links & a decent province map:


http://thailand.sawadee.com/index.html (the conflict areas are #69 ~ #72)


THAILAND & WORLD NEWS


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/ (The Nation)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/ (Bangkok Post)

http://etna.mcot.net/ (MCOT : TNA English News)

http://www.bangkoknews.net/ (Bangkok News)

http://www.thaivisa.com/radio_bangkok.0.html (Radio Bangkok)

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/newsfeed/?name=Thailand (NewsNow)

http://thailand.prd.go.th/home.php (Thailand Public Relations Department)

http://www.tatnews.org/ (TAT News Room / Tourist Authority of Thailand)

http://thainews.prd.go.th/ (National News Bureau / in Thai & English)

http://www.iht.com/pages/index.php (International Herald Tribune)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/default.stm (BBC World News)

http://edition.cnn.com/ (CNN International Edition)

http://news.google.com/ (Google World News)



TRAVEL & HEALTH ADVISORIES


www.fco.gov.uk/ (United Kingdom / Foreign & Commonwealth Office)

http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/services/traveladvice/ (Ireland / Dept. of Foreign Affairs)

http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Thailand (Australia / Dept. of Foreign Affairs)

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1040.html (U.S. State Department / Travel Advisories)

http://www.mfat.govt.nz/travel/countries/thailand.html (New Zealand / Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/asia/country/thailand-en.asp (Canada / Dept. of Foreign Affairs)

http://www.dfa.gov.za/foreign/bilateral/thailand.html (South Africa / Dept. of Foreign Affairs)


~ reposted from The Master Index + TEFL FAQ Thailand

[Nomad Dan]

Thanks for all of the great information and the links. I figured as much, but it was good to have someone give a brief synopsis of the situation.

Cheers,

Nomad Dan