After his mistake about Thai Airways (read here), the Finances Minister, again, lost a good opportunity to shut his mouth.
Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij on Wednesday expressed concerns over Thailand’s ranking in Maplecroft’s Terrorism Risk Index (TRI), where the country slipped into the extreme risk category for the first time.
While Iraq is ranked as the country most at risk from terrorist attacks for the second year running, ranked 11th last year Thailand has now dropped two places in the ranking and into the extreme risk category.
Terrorism incidents in Thailand’s restive Muslim south – such as the October 2009 bomb attacks in Sungai Kolok – largely account for the country’s rating.
Korn said he was upset with the ranking, as the country has shown development in many areas in the past year. However, terrorism is still holding the country down. (Nation)
Just the day before :
In Narathiwat, two soldiers were killed and beheaded and one injured in an ambush yesterday afternoon in Koke Sator in Rueso district.
Sgt Nakrop Sommunna and Pvt Suriya Kongsui were killed when their patrol of seven soldiers was attacked by about 10 insurgents hiding in a rubber plantation.
The two decapitated bodies were found after the 15-minute firefight. Their M16 rifles were stolen by the attackers. (Bangkok Post)
We know very well what bothers Korn. Terrorism is bad for business. Terrorism is bad for the image… For public relations. And because this government is only about image and illusions, then Korn would like to ban the word “terrorism”.
No more “terrorism”. Then no more “index”, then no more concerns. Then business as usual.
It’s the classic wishful thinking of many thai officials.
Like childen, they are upset when the reality refuses to match their fantasies.
What is happening in the South is indeed a source of real concern for any investors with at least 2 neurons connected.
Even if it displeases the alleged Finances Minister.
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