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9 September 2011
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rucking on the rock
hundreds injured, possible deaths at cha am reggae festival
hua hin, THAILAND The third annual ‘Reggae On The Rock’ festival in Cha Am last weekend erupted into violence as gangs of teenagers attacked each other with various types of weapons including knives, machetes, and firearms. Reports have suggested that at least two hundred people were injured, while some posters on internet forums have claimed that up to five people were killed. Videos became quickly available of some of the fighting, which was shown on Thai television channels, but the events have gone largely unreported in the English language publications such as The Nation and Bangkok Post. The story appears to have been broken by the Thai Asian News network (TAN) a 24 hour news channel broadcast in English. The five hundred police and security volunteers struggled to deal with the outbreak of violence initially, but did eventually make arrests and remove many of the culprits. This sort of trouble is not unusual at the event, and mirrors the trouble that occurred at the Honda Summer Fest earlier this year in Khao Takiab, where shots were fired and again there were unconfirmed reports of some deaths. Both the ‘Reggae On The Rock’ and Honda Summer Fest attract thousands of mostly young Thais, with estimates of crowds in excess of 100,000; no doubt the vast majority of them have nothing to do with the senseless fighting, but it could mean that these events are not permitted in the future. If they do continue, a more thorough security operation is needed so that weapons can be detected and confiscated, and potential troublemakers prevented from attending, although the beach settings make this a difficult task. These events will also strengthen the hand of the anti-alcohol lobby, which will be a worry for bar businesses.
soi selakam
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