Bomb attacks might hurt Laos tourist sites: Envoy<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (Agencies): A series of bomb attacks in the Laotian
\ncapital of Vientiane could hit tourism this year, the country's
\nambassador to Thailand said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Hiem Phommachanh told Reuters the authorities feared that
\ntourists were concerned by the recent bomb attacks and some had
\ndecided to avoid traveling to Laos.<\/p>\n
\"We understand that tourists may feel scared by what has been
\nhappening in Laos, and we wish those bombs had not taken place,\"
\nhe said in a telephone interview.<\/p>\n
Laos started its two-year \"Visit Laos\" campaign in 1999, and
\nhad successfully increased tourist numbers, Hiem said.
\nHe said that in the first half of 2000 alone around 600,000
\ntourists visited, greater than the annual figure of around
\n500,000 visitors in previous years.<\/p>\n
\"We thought we could achieve a target of one million visitors
\nthis year, but with the series of bomb incidents, it might be
\ndifficult,\" Hiem said.<\/p>\n
Vientiane is also due to host the 13th meeting between
\nSoutheast Asian and European Union foreign ministers in December,
\nand the recent spate of bomb attacks has added to security fears.<\/p>\n
The latest incident took place on Monday at the Vientiane Post
\nOffice, where a bomb blast injured seven people.<\/p>\n
Hiem said no arrests had yet been made in connection with the
\nblast.<\/p>\n
The state-owned English-language Vientiane Times newspaper
\nreported on Tuesday that around 100 people had been at the post
\noffice when the bomb exploded, and a handicapped man in a
\nwheelchair was among the injured.<\/p>\n
The explosion was in the parcel collection service point in
\nthe main building of the post office, the newspaper reported.
\nHiem branded the bomb a \"terrorist act\".
\n\"Nobody knows what these people want to achieve politically, they
\nhave not said what they want from these acts,\" he said.
\n\"If they want to achieve something politically, they should use
\nproper channels, not a terrorist act.\"<\/p>\n
Asked how delegates from Southeast Asian nations and the
\nEuropean Union would be protected during December's meeting, Hiem
\nsaid a major security operation would be conducted then.<\/p>\n
Lao authorities declined to say who they believed were
\nresponsible for the post office bomb, but have blamed the series
\nof recent explosions on anti-government elements within the
\nHmong, an ethnic group spread across highland regions in several
\ncountries of Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
The Hmong have denied responsibility.
\nThe Monday incident followed confirmation by Laotian authorities
\nthat a time bomb had been found in a toilet at Vientiane's Vat
\nTai airport on Sunday morning. Airport security officials defused
\nthe bomb.<\/p>\n
Other bombings include one which injured about 10 building
\nworkers in Vientiane on June 28 and another on May 28, when an
\nexplosion in a busy market in the capital hurt 20 people.<\/p>\n
A Vientiane restaurant bombing on March 30 wounded at least
\nnine foreign tourists and four local people.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a fire was raging on Tuesday next to the main
\nmarket in the Lao capital Vientiane, the focus of a mysterious
\nfour-month-old bombing campaign, diplomats and residents said.<\/p>\n
The witnesses said the fire was burning on a densely populated
\nplot of government land adjacent to the Interior Ministry, where
\nshanties and food stalls have been built.<\/p>\n
It started at about 4:00 p.m. (4 p.m. Jakarta time) and was
\nstill burning two hours later. It was not known how the fire
\nstarted or whether anyone had been injured.<\/p>\n
Diplomats in Vientiane confirmed there was a fire but could
\nnot say what the cause was, or whether it may have been the
\nlatest bombing attack to hit the city.<\/p>\n
At least seven explosions have shattered the calm of Laos's
\nnormally sleepy capital since late March -- including two in or
\nnext to the morning market.<\/p>",
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