Displaced [Thai] villagers return home

February 13, 2011
By THE NATION ON SUNDAY
Si Sa Ket

Many villagers evacuated last week because of clashes on the border with Cambodia returned home yesterday after assurances from the local army commander, who was "90-per-cent confident" more strife was unlikely to erupt in the short-term.

Many of the 15,000 residents of Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district forced to flee their homes due to the fighting started to pack and return home before Second Army Area commander Lt-General Thawatchai Samutsakorn and Si Sa Ket Governor Somsak Suwannasujarit saw them off.

Thawatchai, who is in charge of security in northeast Thailand, said he was 90-per-cent confident no fighting would erupt for now and that he had followed the situation closely.

He said he talked with Cambodian senior officials, including Fourth Army Area chief General Tea Mon and General Chea Dara, over the phone, and felt there was no point for neighbours to make war.

Some residents of Phum Srol village arrived home early yesterday to check if belongings were stolen in the week they were away. But many villagers preferred to stay at the temporary evacuation centres, as they were unsure if fighting would recur. They urged concerned authorities to resolve the dispute as soon as possible so they can enjoy normal lives again.

Miss Thailand 2010 Kritchaporn Homboonyasak and her runner-up Worarat Niyomdech also visited the villagers at Kantharalak district office yesterday morning to give them breakfast and see many of them off back to their homes.

Villager Manoon Yodsing, 52, said he had been at the temporary shelter for eight days and was happy to return home although he wasn't sure about their safety yet. He urged officials to build a bunker for his village, which has 52 families or 290 residents.

Si Sa Ket Governor Somsak said the province would survey villages along border to see if they had sufficient bunkers and would build 200-300 more bunkers to boost residents' confidence and security.

In related news, Kongkrit Hiranyakit, chairman of the Tourism Industry Federation of Thailand, expressed concern that the border clashes and dispute over Preah Vihear would negatively affect Thailand's bid to be the Asean tourist hub.