On Feb 17, 8:22*am, the Black LEARN GA kock of the ****ing
Boudha wrote:
why *riots ?

Thaksin *is *loosing *his *assets *?

or *Thaksin *getting a *Cambodian *passport *?

n Feb 16, 9:28*am, none wrote:



Government asked to implement emergency decree to head off rioting
By Suchat Sritama

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Thai Chamber of Commerce yesterday asked the
government to consider declaring a state of emergency as a first step
in controlling possible outbreaks of intense rioting.

It said an emergency decree would allow the government to prevent the
situation from spiralling out of control. The private sector does not
want to see a repeat of the violence that rocked Pattaya and Bangkok
last April.

Already, the ongoing Map Ta Phut controversy and this past weekend's
C4 incident at the Supreme Court and grenade explosion near Government
House have damaged the confidence of foreign investors and tourists
alike.

TCC vice chairman Phongsak Assakul said the private sector wanted the
government to implement riot-control measures ahead of the scheduled
February 26 court verdict in the assets-seizure case of ousted prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"If intense rioting like last April happens again, it will be very
hard to restore foreigners' confidence in Thailand," said Phongsak,
who supports an emergency decree from the government.

But he admitted it was up to the government to assess the situation.
"If the government believes the situation will not be serious, then it
would not be advisable to launch such a decree, because that could
result in panic," Phongsak added.

Meanwhile, tourism associations yesterday warned the meetings,
incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry would suffer
if the government did declare a state of emergency.

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), the Trade Exhibition
Association (TEA) and event organisers all believe MICE business will
plunge if the government issues a state of emergency or implements
other measures to prevent violence.

The tourism industry - indeed, the overall business sector - is
already fearful of a return to domestic political violence.

People fear another outbreak of chaos in the wake of the court ruling
in the Thaksin case.

ATTA president Surapol Sritrakul said tourism operators were
especially worried.

"Even though we've not yet seen any cancellations of meetings or
exhibitions from outside, foreign businessmen are already looking
ahead to our political situation, while tourists are being warned
against coming to Thailand," said Surapol.

He said renewed political turmoil would cause tourists to go to other
countries instead.

"Bad politics will not hurt only tourism businesses, but rather all
businesses," said Surapol.

TEA president Patrapee Chinachoti said all international exhibitions
planned for Thailand this month and next remained scheduled. However,
he warned if the political situation experienced a sudden downturn, it
would hurt the MICE industry.

"The TEA remains confident the MICE sector will grow 20 percent this
year," she said, adding that July-August and November-December were
the peak periods for events and exhibitions.

A representative from CM Organiser, the Kingdom's leading event
organiser, said some big projects developed or owned by the government
had been put on hold, due to the instability.

However, private operators are maintaining their schedules and product
launches despite the prospects of the political situation turning
sour.

PK Exhibition Management yesterday confirmed it would hold the 18th
Discovery Thailand & Discovery World 2010 event, at the Queen Sirikit
National Convention Centre in Bangkok from March 11-14.

More than 1,200 hotels, airlines, travel agencies, spas, golf courses,
cruise outfits and entertainment and related businesses will be on
hand to offer 50-per-cent discounts on products and services.

The company expects 300,000 visitors to spend more than Bt400 million
at the event.

In addition, the Amazing Isaan Fair 2010 will run between Thursday and
Sunday. The Tourism Authority of Thailand will lead hotels, resorts,
travel agents and golf courses to offer packages exploring the
Northeast and Indochina.

Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president for marketing at
Central Pattana, said Thailand's tourism industry was picking up,
reflected in the 90-per-cent occupancy rate of hotels around
CentralWorld. He also believes the political turbulence will end soon.

Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwankhiri yesterday urged everyone to
remain peaceful, because news of bombs being planted could scare away
foreign tourists.

"Whether these bombs are part of the political protests, I don't know.
I just hope they're not. It could be a third party or even a prank.
It's a matter for the police," he said

These riots could well be planned by a Vietnamese spy called Komin the
Cambodian turd.