AW: Die Schlacht hat begonnen - unbemerkt von der Masse
Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) beantragt bei der Regierung die Erklaerung des Ausnahmezustandes:
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.
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thai-Government-Asked-Implement-Em-t339439.html
da waren ja mehr Iraner letzten Mittwoch auf der Strasse in Wien ....geholfen hats freilich nix 
.= die thaiair kann nicht abfliegen
