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<DIV>---- Original Message ----- <BR>From: "Travel Impact Newswire" <<A
href="">imtiaz@travel-impact-newswire.com</A>><BR>To: "Travel Impact
Newswire" <<A href="">imtiaz@loxinfo.co.th</A>><BR>Sent: Thursday, July
14, 2005 6:57 AM<BR>Subject: TRAVEL ADVISORY DOUBLE STANDARDS
EXPOSED<BR><BR>786/110<BR><BR>TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE -- Edition 39 -- Thursday,
14 July 2005<BR><BR>25 Years of Distinction in Travel Journalism. Winner, PATA
Gold Award for<BR>Travel Journalism, 2005.<BR><BR>Circulation has now crossed
25,000 worldwide, 80% in the Asia-Pacific and<BR>Middle East. Quality, not
quantity, in terms of both readership and content.<BR><BR>- From Imtiaz Muqbil,
Executive Editor, in Bangkok<BR><BR>In this dispatch :<BR><BR>1. TRAVEL ADVISORY
DOUBLE STANDARDS EXPOSED:<BR>Three websites of the US, UK and Australian
governments which issue travel<BR>advisories were monitored after the July 7
blasts.<BR>As of July 13, neither the US nor the Australian websites were
warning <BR>against travel to the UK. Instead, they and the UK website had
detailed advisories<BR>warning against travel to "parts of" Indonesia, Malaysia
and Thailand, and<BR>numerous other countries in the Asia-Pacific, Africa,
Middle East and Latin <BR>America.<BR>The double standards are so blatant that
the travel industries of the <BR>developing countries should seriously consider
joining forces in protest - <BR>if they and some of the international travel
organisations of which they are dues-paying members can muster the
guts.<BR><BR>===================<BR><BR>1. TRAVEL ADVISORY DOUBLE STANDARDS
EXPOSED<BR><BR>When the bombs went off in London on July 7, 2005, the first
thing this<BR>editor did was to start monitoring the websites listing travel
advisories.<BR>My objective was simple: To seek proof to back up long-standing
complaints<BR>by the developing countries that travel advisories are one-sided,
unfair,<BR>hypocritical and biased. Three advisory issuing websites were
monitored: the<BR>US, UK and Australia. The bias was so blatant that the travel
industries of<BR>the developing countries should seriously consider joining
forces in<BR>protest - if they and some of the international travel
organisations of<BR>which they are dues-paying members can muster the
guts.<BR><BR>As of July 13, neither the Australian nor the U.S. websites
were<BR>discouraging travel to the UK. However, both these as well as the
UK<BR>websites were continuing to feature advice discouraging their citizens
from<BR>travelling to "parts of" Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, based on
alleged<BR>'credible threats' of terrorist attacks. And Tony Blair told the
House of<BR>Commons on 11 July 2005: "I know of no intelligence specific enough
to have<BR>allowed (the UK police and intelligence services) to prevent last
Thursday's<BR>attacks. By their very nature, people callous enough to kill
completely<BR>innocent civilians in this way, are hard to stop."<BR><BR>Which
raises the question: If the UK government doesn't have enough
quality<BR>intelligence to protect its citizens at home, what is the quality
of<BR>intelligence that justifies issuing travel advisories supposedly to
protect<BR>them from terrorism abroad?<BR><BR>Inspite of the various statements
by senior UK police authorities that more<BR>attacks were likely, neither the US
State Department nor the Australian<BR>Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
contained even the slightest<BR>reflection of those warnings on their websites
featuring information about<BR>the London bombings.<BR><BR>A public announcement
by the State Department</DIV>
<DIV>[http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_uk.html] did not
discourage<BR>Americans from travelling to London. Another
website<BR>[http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html] contained
a list<BR>of countries that "the State Department recommends that Americans
avoid".<BR>The UK was not on that list.<BR><BR>According to the UK newspaper,
The
Guardian<BR>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1527400,00.html],<BR>the
US on July 12 lifted its ban on service personnel travelling to London<BR>after
high-level exchanges involving ministers and America's most senior<BR>military
officer in Europe. It rescinded the ban after a bout of what<BR>defence
officials called "ear-twisting" by the media.<BR><BR>General James Jones, the
commander of US forces in Europe, who ordered the<BR>ban to be lifted, was
quoted by the Guardian as saying: "While all personnel<BR>are encouraged to be
vigilant, we cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated<BR>by the acts of
terrorists. All US personnel are encouraged to continue with<BR>their normal
routine."<BR><BR>The Australian travel advisory
website<BR>[http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/United_Kingdom]
said<BR>merely: "Australians in the United Kingdom are advised to exercise
caution<BR>and monitor developments that might affect their safety. A series
of<BR>terrorist bomb attacks occurred on 7 July on the transport system of
central<BR>London and British authorities have warned that further attacks
cannot be<BR>ruled out. You should be vigilant and watch the media for
information about<BR>possible new safety or security threats."<BR><BR>By
comparison, the advisories against Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand gave<BR>the
impression that the terrorist 'threat' was worse in those countries than<BR>in
the UK.<BR><BR>This is what the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade website<BR>said about INDONESIA in an advisory issued on Thursday, 09 June
2005 but<BR>still called valid as of 13 July 2005:<BR><BR>"Australians are
advised to defer non-essential travel to Indonesia.<BR>Australians in Indonesia
who are concerned for their safety should consider<BR>departing. Australians who
consider their presence in Indonesia to be<BR>essential should exercise extreme
caution. The recommendation that<BR>Australians defer non-essential travel
applies to Indonesia as a whole,<BR>including Bali. The bomb attack outside the
Australian Embassy on 9<BR>September 2004 underscores that the threat to
Australians in Indonesia is<BR>real.<BR><BR>"We continue to receive a stream of
credible reporting suggesting that<BR>terrorists are in the very advanced stages
of planning attacks in Indonesia.<BR>Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere
in Indonesia and could be directed<BR>at any locations known to be frequented by
foreigners.<BR><BR>"Recent credible reporting suggests that international hotels
frequented by<BR>Westerners in Jakarta are being targeted in current terrorist
planning.<BR>Public statements by the Indonesian National Police (POLRI) that
security<BR>has been increased at a number of Jakarta hotels due to the
potential for<BR>terrorist attack underline that international hotels are a
target. This<BR>follows a POLRI warning of May 2005 about possible further
suicide bombings<BR>in Jakarta, identifying as potential targets other places
frequented by<BR>foreigners, in particular embassies, international schools,
office buildings<BR>and shopping malls.<BR><BR>"Australians are advised to avoid
all travel to Aceh and Maluku province,<BR>particularly Ambon. Australians in
Aceh and Maluku should depart.<BR><BR>"We continue to receive reports that
terrorists may be planning attacks<BR>against foreigners involved in the tsunami
relief effort in Aceh and other<BR>parts of northern Sumatra. In view of these
security concerns Australians<BR>should not travel to Banda Aceh or other parts
of Aceh to participate in<BR>humanitarian relief efforts unless under the
auspices of a recognised aid<BR>organisation that has facilities in place to
accommodate and feed staff and<BR>a security plan approved by Indonesian
authorities to ensure the safety and<BR>security of its personnel. From 26 March
2005 all foreigners wishing to<BR>travel to Aceh require written permission to
do so prior to entry. In view<BR>of the terrorist threat information,
Australians in northern Sumatra should<BR>ensure they have a robust security
plan in place. We advise Australians not<BR>associated with recognised aid
organisations and who are not covered by an<BR>approved security plan to depart
in the interests of their own safety. All<BR>Australians in Sumatra and Aceh
should register with the Australian Embassy<BR>via the Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade on-line registration<BR>service."<BR><BR>For MALAYSIA, the
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade<BR>advisory was issued on 22
June 2005 and still considered valid as of 13 July<BR>2005. It
said:<BR><BR>"Australians in Malaysia should exercise a high degree of
caution,<BR>particularly in commercial and public areas known to be frequented
by<BR>foreigners. The risk of terrorist attack against Western interests
in<BR>Malaysia remains.<BR><BR>"Australians are advised to avoid all travel to
coastal resorts, islands and<BR>dive sites off the east coast of Sabah. We have
received credible reports<BR>that terrorists are planning kidnapping attacks
targeting resorts frequented<BR>by foreigners. Terrorists have in the past
kidnapped foreigners from the<BR>eastern part of mainland Sabah, and from the
islands and sea off its east<BR>coast. Kidnapping attacks in other parts of
coastal and off-shore Sabah<BR>cannot be ruled out.<BR><BR>"Australians
intending to travel overland from Malaysia to Thailand should<BR>be aware of the
travel advice for Thailand which recommends that travellers<BR>defer
non-essential travel to the far southern Thai provinces of Yala,<BR>Pattani,
Narathiwat and Songkhla, including deferring non-essential overland<BR>travel
from and to the Malaysian border through these provinces."<BR><BR>The UK Foreign
and Commonwealth Office also had an advisory on INDONESIA<BR>which was "updated'
on 8 July 2005 (the day after the London bomb) and still<BR>considered valid as
of 13 July. It said:<BR><BR>"We advise against all travel to Aceh, except for
those involved in<BR>post-tsunami humanitarian and reconstruction work under the
auspices of a<BR>recognised aid organisation that has a security plan approved
by the<BR>Indonesian authorities to ensure the safety and security of its
personnel.<BR>Parts of Aceh remain affected by a long running internal conflict
with the<BR>possibility of armed clashes. An aid worker was shot and injured
while<BR>travelling at night in West Aceh on 23 June. Relief agencies should
check<BR>the local security advice of the UN Office for Crisis and
Humanitarian<BR>Affairs in Banda Aceh.<BR><BR>"We advise against travel to some
parts of Maluku, especially Ambon, and<BR>some parts of Central Sulawesi, which
are experiencing civilian unrest. At<BR>least 22 people were killed in a bomb
attack in Central Sulawesi on Saturday<BR>28 May.<BR><BR>"There remains a high
threat from terrorism in Indonesia. We continue to<BR>receive reports that
terrorists in Indonesia are planning further attacks on<BR>Westerners and
Western interests. Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere<BR>in Indonesia and
are likely to be directed against locations and buildings<BR>frequented by
foreigners.<BR><BR>"The Indonesian Police are on a state of high alert in
Jakarta, and have<BR>deployed additional personnel around the city, including
additional security<BR>arrangements for embassies.<BR><BR>"Terrorists have shown
in previous attacks, like the attack on the<BR>Australian Embassy, the Marriott
Hotel, Jakarta and the Bali bombings, that<BR>they have the means and the
motivation to carry out successful attacks."<BR><BR>For THAILAND, the advisory
was updated on 04 July and considered still </DIV>
<DIV>valid as of 13 July. It said:<BR><BR>"There is a high threat from terrorism
throughout Thailand, particularly in<BR>the far southern provinces of Pattani,
Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla. We<BR>recommend against all but essential travel
to these four provinces where,<BR>since January 2004, there have been regular
attacks including bombings and<BR>shootings. On 3 April 2005, three bombs
exploded in Songkhla Province, </DIV>
<DIV>one at Hat Yai International Airport, one at a hotel and one in a
shopping<BR>centre. Further attacks against places frequented by foreigners
could occur<BR>at any time."<BR><BR>Similarly strongly worded advisories
containing all kinds of warnings about<BR>travelling in a number of Asian and
African countries are contained in all<BR>the websites of the US, UK and
Australian foreign affairs offices. But in<BR>the case of the London bombings,
they are all highly circumspect.<BR><BR>My question to the private sector
industry leaders and public sector<BR>officials in the advisory-hit countries of
Asia-Pacific is thus: What are<BR>you going to do about this obvious double
standard? For years, you have<BR>complained bitterly about being at the
receiving end of these highly<BR>damaging advisories, and bent over backwards to
assure foreign visitors,<BR>especially from UK, US and Australia, of their
safety and security.<BR><BR>Now, you have 1) the UK prime minister admitting
that they didn't have<BR>enough intelligence about these blasts in his own
country, and that they<BR>can't be prevented anyway; 2) the US and Australia
saying nothing about the<BR>dangers of travelling to the UK; and 3) the US, UK
and Australia continuing<BR>to play up 'security threats' in many of the
developing countries.<BR><BR>So I repeat the question: Do you sense a double
standard here? And if so,<BR>what do you plan to do about it? Is it time for the
travel industries of the<BR>developing countries to demand the same transparency
and accountability </DIV>
<DIV>here that has been demanded of us for years?<BR><BR>If we plan to take no
action, then please let's take the issue of travel<BR>advisories off our desks
and don't complain when the next bomb hits our<BR>countries, which will be
followed invariably by more travel advisories from<BR>the US, UK and Australia
discouraging their people from travelling here.<BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>