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Blockaders snarl another road, this time in southern Phuket this afternoon

UPDATE Blockade Phuket! Second Road Caught in Giant Snarl as Locals Protest Over Curve

Sunday, April 27, 2014
UPDATING All Day, Every Day

TODAY'S blockade was ended after an hour, just a fraction of the disruption caused by the blockade earlier in the week.

Original Report

PHUKET: Another group of Phuket residents blockaded a major Phuket road this afternoon - this time over a dangerous corner in the south of the island.

The locals stopped traffic moving along Chao Fa West near the Wang Talang jewelry store south of Phuket City and insisted they wanted to talk to Governor Maitree Intrusud.

Too many people had been killed or injured on a sharp curve in the main road nearby, they said.

It was a lookalike blockade following a much larger protest during the week that caused the biggest traffic snarl in Phuket memory.

Residents further north on the island along Phuket's main road, Thepkasattri Road, staged a protest over a brutal rape, snaring thousands of residents and tourists for hours.

The protesters wanted an apology from two 17-year-old twins who admitted to raping a 25-year-old pregnant woman. But when the police postponed the reenactment of the crime, residents in Mai Khao blocked both sides of Phuket's main north-south artery, catching hundreds of tourists bound for the airport from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi.

As the blockade wore on, rumor spread that police from the Tachatchai station had beaten up three youths in the search for the perpetrators, before they apprehended the twins. That kept the blockade going for hours.

Yesterday, at a peace-making meeting called by Governor Intrusud at Phuket Provincial Hall, it emerged that two of the boys allegedly beaten up said they hadn't been touched by officers at all.

And then today came the second big blockade of a main road on Phuket within four days, once again plunging the reputation of the island into disrepute and raising again the issue of public lawlessness that harmfully affects innocent people.

It's not known yet whether the locals in the southern part of the island drew their inspiration from the blockade in the north earlier in the week.

The southern protesters said they had asked the Phuket Highways Department many times to reduce the dangers at the curve but had received no response.

It's the latest in a long list of blockades on Phuket where lawlessness is often the choice, and where tuk-tuk and taxi drivers have frequently set the example.

The tuk-tuk and taxi drivers have often resorted to blockades to get their way and in the eyes of many residents, set the example for others to follow.

Comments

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Has anyone considered the possibility that it might not be the road that's dangerous, but the road users who are on it ?

Posted by LivinLOS on April 27, 2014 13:53

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In my humble opinion, the core problem is law enforcement!
Although I am aware that some road surfaces are danger as well.

Posted by Mr. K on April 27, 2014 14:11

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Anarchy seems to rule in Phuket now the DSI have departed. If anything it is worse than before.

Posted by Logic on April 27, 2014 14:47

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All accidents are caused by road conditions , weather or equipment failure .... or are they ?

Posted by Sailor on April 27, 2014 16:14

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Too weak Government who accept this kind of blockades.
Why not use the military to make an immediately "Clean"

Many people also in big trouble when they miss their flights.

Posted by Mj on April 27, 2014 16:43

Editor Comment:

The military on Phuket is the Royal Thai Navy, and they're busy fighting the media in court, Mj.

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"Editor Comment:

The military on Phuket is the Royal Thai Navy, and they're busy fighting the media in court, Mj."

So it's all your fault then, Ed?

:)

Posted by Smithy on April 27, 2014 17:44

Editor Comment:

''Helping on'' the Rohingya, shooting the messengers, polishing brass buttons . . . Thailand's Navy has the priority of protecting its reputation. Yes, it's all my fault.

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Sorry Ed,- I forgot that.

Hope they will close that case and target some more important problems in Phuket.

I wish you Good Luck

Posted by Mj on April 27, 2014 17:56

Editor Comment:

There is no more important priority than protecting the Navy's reputation, Mj. Everything else is a ''national security'' secret.

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Logic, hate to say it, but there is not much logic in your comment, when the DSI (Don't Seriously Investigate) unit was here there effectively did nothing, so where they were here or not, the protests would still have happened. DSI achieved nothing except make a lot of useless statements, which was as many of us said would happen...but, change will happen.

Posted by Laurie Howells on April 27, 2014 18:20

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I have many friends within the Thai Navy and not one of them is familiar with this case, so I don't think the case has much importance for the Thai Navy ...else the staff would have been informed accordingly .

Posted by Sailor on April 27, 2014 20:58

Editor Comment:

Blockades don't have a lot of relevance to the Navy.

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Surprising that the protestors called for the Governor's intervention, when the Governor really doesn't have much power to achieve anything. The right words may be said, but little action will follow. Roads are the responsibility of the Highway Department and lawlessness the responsibility of the Police.

Posted by Duncan on April 27, 2014 21:57

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Its apparent blockades get the desired results, so lets get all farangs together block the main road & demand they tear down the eyesore billboards then move on to the next issue and next blockade,is this how you get things done here?

Posted by slickmeld on April 28, 2014 00:01

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@ Laurie: Sorry but you are wrong. For a very brief time there was a glimmer (only a glimmer) of hope. The tuk tuks were removed from Patong beach road. The airport taxis (& others) were brought under a semblance of control. There were a few other minor improvements, all of which have now sadly regressed to worse than before. The DSI did make minimal progress which was then totally usurped by the red/yellow confrontations in Bangkok. Until the country as a whole is settled there is no hope for Phuket as the authorities in Bangkok have much bigger fish to fry.

I know you for your educated comments in the past. Please continue to fight & support the PW team.

I leave here on Tuesday after 19 years with a very sad heart. My 2 daughters were born here but they & I may never return. The future of Phuket is murky to say the least until all the issues so graphically & correctly portrayed by the PW team are resolved.

I won't be posting again whilst I am not visiting this once lovely island. I wish you all well. Good bye.

Posted by Logic on April 28, 2014 03:18

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Logic..true there was a glimmer of hope, we all held our breathes hoping change was coming, but as many "realists" comment, it all faded away quickly, it seems the pattern we see so often. I understand why you are leaving, in fact so am I, completely disillusioned, but also have to think about, no so much my for my future, but that of my Thai family. I ask myself, at 60, what will happen to them when I go to meet my maker and the thought of them being in Thailand worries me deeply. So, in the very near future we head to Australia, where even the worse case scenario , they will always be far better off.

Posted by Laurie Howells on April 28, 2014 10:17

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@ Laurie: I wish we could have met just 1 time. I would enjoy meeting you & your family. I shall be in Korat for 2 weeks before heading off to Scotland. If you are anywhere in that vicinity, please make contact with me through my direct email jhmillercaptain@hotmail.com I am happy to met you or any good person I have read through the PW website.

Posted by Logic on April 29, 2014 02:00


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