Thai PM: "Women in bikinis aren't safe, unless they're ugly"

[Big Boy]

Oh dear, surely this has to be a wind up.

Backpacker Murders: Thai Prime Minster Says Women In Bikinis Aren't Safe - Unless They Are Ugly

Now, what are they doing about the tourist slump?

Full story: The Huffington Post

[Ropes]

Oh dear, surely this has to be a wind up.

Backpacker Murders: Thai Prime Minster Says Women In Bikinis Aren't Safe - Unless They Are Ugly

Now, what are they doing about the tourist slump?

Full story: The Huffington Post

That's horrific if true but could it be that something was lost in translation?

I hope so otherwise this will have serious consequences on future visitor numbers.

[Big Boy]

I would hope there's some journalistic twisting of words. Maybe one of our clever Thai speakers will listen to the video.

[Bamboo Grove]

Unfortunately no twisting if this Thai text is from the speach. I can't find a video where I could hear him speak without the English commentry.

"ปัญหาเกี่ยวกับความปลอดภัยของนักท่องเที่ยวมีอยู่เสมอ พวกเขาคิดว่าประเทศของเราสวยงามและปลอดภัย ก็เลยทำอะไรที่อยากทำ พวกเขาใส่บิกินี่และเดินไปไหนก็ได้" พร้อมกับกล่าวเสริมอีกว่า "พวกเขาคิดว่าใส่บิกินี่แล้วจะปลอดภัยหรือ... เว้นแต่ว่าไม่สวย?"

http://news.sanook.com

[kendo]

Unfortunately no twisting if this Thai text is from the speach. I can't find a video where I could hear him speak without the English commentry.

"ปัญหาเกี่ยวกับความปลอดภัยของนักท่องเที่ยวมีอยู่เสมอ พวกเขาคิดว่าประเทศของเราสวยงามและปลอดภัย ก็เลยทำอะไรที่อยากทำ พวกเขาใส่บิกินี่และเดินไปไหนก็ได้" พร้อมกับกล่าวเสริมอีกว่า "พวกเขาคิดว่าใส่บิกินี่แล้วจะปลอดภัยหรือ... เว้นแต่ว่าไม่สวย?"

http://news.sanook.com

English translation:
ENGLISH
"The problem with the safety of tourists is always available. They think that our country beautiful and safe. I'm doing what I do. They put on a bikini and go anywhere, "and said that. "They think that wearing a bikini is safe? ... Except that I do not? "

[Bristolian]

^^ Yes, it was the Daily Mail who SUGGESTED that the PM meant that only Ugly women would be safe in Bikinis. Other newspapers picked up on it and reported it as factually what he had said

[oakdale160]

I have not seen the UK press, but I'm sure they are or will splash the story of murder and police incompetence and untouchability of some Thais, all over the Sunday editions. WIt will wIeSt

[sateeb]

^^ Yes, it was the Daily Mail who SUGGESTED that the PM meant that only Ugly women would be safe in Bikinis. Other newspapers picked up on it and reported it as factually what he had said

Very unlike The Daily Mail to twist a story for a good headline........

[richard]

When I'm on the bog and I've run out of loo rolls I always pick up The Sun, The Daily Mail or the Daily Express. That's where they rightfully belong. Down the crapper

[STEVE G]

"They think that wearing a bikini is safe? ... Except that I do not? "

He doesn't wear a bikini, or he doesn't think it's safe for others to wear one?

[Ropes]

Another outrageous own goal!
So ladies if your planning a trip to Thailand please be aware it is unsafe to wear a bikini.

[Bamboo Grove]

เว้นแต่ว่าไม่สวย

=
Except if you are not beautiful.

[Nereus]

As usual in this country there are conflicting reports:
.............................................................................................

UK 'raises concern' over bikini remarks by Thai junta chief

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world ... nta-chief/

Bangkok (AFP) - Britain on Thursday raised concerns after Thailand's junta leader suggested tourists in bikinis could be more vulnerable to attack, as DNA tests failed to yield a breakthrough in the hunt for the killers of two British holidaymakers.

The battered bodies of David Miller, 24 and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found on the southern resort island of Koh Tao on Monday.

Distraught relatives of Witheridge broke down in tears and hugged each other ahead of a police briefing in Bangkok on Thursday, as the investigation continued to draw a blank.

Thailand's military ruler Prayut Chan-O-Cha on Wednesday drew condemnation after questioning the safety of female tourists in the kingdom.

"They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want, they can wear bikinis and walk everywhere," Prayut -- who is also prime minister -- told government officials.

But "can they be safe in bikinis... unless they are not beautiful?"

The British embassy in Bangkok said it had contacted the Thai foreign ministry raising its "concerns" over his remarks and to ask "for clarification", according to an embassy statement.

Prayut's off-the-cuff comments echoed others made to reporters on Tuesday questioning the behaviour of the murdered Britons as well as the perpetrators.

- No DNA matches -

Thailand's image as a tourist haven, already tarnished by months of political protests that ended in May's army coup, has been further damaged by the murder of the Britons.

On Thursday, police continued to hunt for clues on the small, normally laid-back diving island of Koh Tao as post-mortem examinations of the victims' bodies in Bangkok did not find any DNA links to 12 people they have questioned so far.

Those include two of Miller's British friends who were asked to stay in Bangkok pending the forensic results -- and several Myanmar migrant workers.

The British men were now "free to return home," regional police commander Panya Maman told AFP.

Experts tested traces of semen and a hair found at the crime scene but could not find a match.

With no arrests and an apparent lack of new leads, it is unclear where the police investigation can turn after nearly four days scouring sparsely populated Koh Tao.

Thailand's key high season for tourists is just two months away and the kingdom is desperate to reassure visitors after a year which saw takings slump because of political turmoil.

The governor of Surat Thani province -- which covers Koh Tao -- said the island would no longer host spin-off parties of the "full moon" beach raves which draw backpacking hordes to neighbouring Koh Phangan.

"We don't want any more crimes," governor Chatpong Chatraphuti told AFP, adding hotels and resorts would have to install new security cameras and lighting.

The junta has vowed to restore Thailand's reputation as the "Land of Smiles", embarking on a clean-up of resorts after a series of complaints about scams, assaults and even police extortion.

The army imposed martial law in the days before the coup and then a nationwide curfew afterwards -- which it quickly lifted from the kingdom's main tourists areas.

[Spitfire]

The bikini comments are a spectacular own goal by any stretch of the imagination.

[europtimiste]

This idiot must have a muslim background or it was a joke. We all know that Thais are not afraid to be ridiculous, because ith in their nature.