Thai Army says "be alert " !

Thai army says be alert for saboteurs, offers tips
23 Dec 2004 03:01:48 GMT
Source: Reuters

BANGKOK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Bangkok residents should be on the lookout
for suspicious packages and saboteurs disguised as camera-clicking
tourists, the Thai army says in a new anti-terror handbook.

The seven-page booklet, entitled "Joint Thai Cooperation in
Maintaining Public Security", is being handed out amid fears that the
capital may be targeted by militants blamed for months of violence in
Thailand's mainly Muslim south.

"Entertainment places should be on the lookout for abandoned
motorcycles, check trash bins, and tourists who prefer to stay in the
shadows without ordering a drink," the handbook says.

It says department stores packed with holiday shoppers and foreign
tourists should check vehicles entering parking lots. Shops selling
chemicals should keep records of foreign customers.

The booklet urges people to watch out for saboteurs posing as tourists
snapping photos or videotaping potential targets in the sprawling city
of 10 million people.

"They may study places for sabotage by counting the number of steps
they need to walk, and when confronted, would pretend that they are
lost. They would be interested in finding nooks and crannies where
they can stash explosives.

"Their eyes are constantly surveying areas and they like to whisper to
their companions. They would avoid using credit cards to complicate
any attempts to trace them, and when asked about their nationality,
would look uncomfortable," the handbook says.

Thailand is facing its biggest security challenge in decades in the
predominately Muslim far south where more than 500 people have been
killed in unrest that has fuelled fears of a revived separatist
Islamic militancy.

Security has been tightened in the south, where a separatist
insurgency was fought in the 1970s and 1980s, and in Bangkok ahead of
the anniversary of the Jan. 4 raid on an army camp that started the
unrest this year.

"I don't expect any actual sabotage attempt in Bangkok, but my belief
is they may choose to act if given the opportunity," Lieutenant
General Paisal Katanyu, commander of the First Army responsible for
Bangkok and the central region, told Reuters.

If we don't give them the opportunity, it will be hard for them to
act," he said in explaining the reasoning behind the handbook.

"Entertainment places should be on the lookout for abandoned
motorcycles, check trash bins, and tourists who prefer to stay in the
shadows without ordering a drink," the handbook says.

"Their eyes are constantly surveying areas and they like to whisper to
their companions. They would avoid using credit cards to complicate
any attempts to trace them, and when asked about their nationality,
would look uncomfortable," the handbook says.

That means that tourists from Holland or Scotland are going to have a bad
time...

"Entertainment places should be on the lookout for abandoned
motorcycles, check trash bins, and tourists who prefer to stay in the
shadows without ordering a drink," the handbook says.

"Their eyes are constantly surveying areas and they like to whisper to
their companions. They would avoid using credit cards to complicate
any attempts to trace them, and when asked about their nationality,
would look uncomfortable," the handbook says.

That means that tourists from Holland or Scotland are going to have a bad
time...

On 23 Dec 2004 11:11:20 -0800, (six-toes)
wrote:


The booklet urges people to watch out for saboteurs posing as tourists
"Their eyes are constantly surveying areas and they like to whisper to
their companions. They would avoid using credit cards to complicate
any attempts to trace them, and when asked about their nationality,
would look uncomfortable," the handbook says.

Fits those singaporians to a t.....except they talk VERY loud in their
sing-song voices, instead of whispering.......