Southern Thailand celebrates Songkran under heavy security
Also yesterday on the first day of Songkran, violence in the South of Thailand claimed a victim. In Pattani, a teenager was shot dead and her mother was injured on their way from Yala to their home region in Sai Buri.
The festivities in the South were mainly characterized by a large and visible presence of police, soldiers and bomb experts. Helicopters circled above the revelers in Pattani, where celebrations were held at the provincial government building in Muang, and in Yala, XNUMX officers searched cars entering the city.
In the district of Yarang (Pattani), about eighty mostly Buddhist residents limited themselves to a simple one merit making ceremony at Wat Sujawadee, the spiritual heart of the community. Outside the temple, on the street, no water was thrown, which residents attributed to safety concerns.
According to one resident, many Buddhist families have moved to the big city because of the ongoing violence, and people living elsewhere are afraid to travel to the area. The head of a special task unit called the gloomy Songkran mood "depressing."
But in the provincial capitals of the South, Songkran fun was in full swing. A large crowd marched through the streets of Pattani city center and was sprayed with water at the town hall. In Betong (Yala), according to an adviser from the local Chamber of Commerce, there were more tourists than expected. And at Wat Pracha Pirom in Narathiwhat, a road was closed for the first time, so that celebrations could be held undisturbed – despite the rain that occasionally provided extra water.
The death toll after two days of the so-called 'seven dangerous days' now stands at 101 and the number of victims at 838. During checks on the sale of alcohol in the Central Plains, the South and the North, 145 shops were checked on Thursday and Friday, of which 57 turned out to be wrong.
They advertised alcohol, sold alcohol to persons under the age of 20, and sold alcohol during prohibited hours and in prohibited places. The sale of alcohol in prohibited places carries a penalty of up to six months and/or a fine of 10.000 baht; advertising a prison sentence of 1 year.
(Source: bangkok mail, April 14, 2013)