Saturday, 24 May 2008

Thailand says poor rating is misinformed

By The Nation
Published on May 24, 2008

Rating falls from 105 to 118 with strong possibility of violence

Thailand has dismissed the Global Peace Index (GPI) report downgrading the country's peace and happiness ranking, saying the survey was not based on proper information.

Thailand's GPI rank dropped from 105 last year to 118 this year out of 140 countries. The most peaceful country is ranked first. Thailand is placed near Congo and Kenya in the rankings, while neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have higher rankings of 37, 51 and 91 respectively.

The GPI, conducted by Australia-based Vision of Humanity and University of Sydney, was unfair as the survey judged the situation in Thailand only on violence in the South, which only makes up a minor part of the country, said the Foreign Ministry's spokesman Tharit Charungvat.

Violence in the three southernmost provinces could not be used as weight indicators since people in 73 other provinces lived their lives normally and peacefully, he said.

Thailand's political instability was ranked at 3.6, almost the same level as last year. The highest point of instability is ranked 5.

The likelihood of violent demonstrations and the potential for terrorist acts in the country are both ranked as high as 4.

Tharit said the methodology and data-collecting system were doubtful in terms of updated information and accuracy.

The GPI survey was contrary to many previous surveys by other independent agencies, such as the Swiss-based Institute of Management Development, which upgraded Thailand in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2008 from a ranking of 33 last year to 27 this year, he said.

Thailand is in top place for the World's Best Tourist Country surveyed by Swedish-based Travel News Magazine, he added.

"Even people from countries that are ranked high in terms of peace come to visit Thailand. That means we are peaceful as they are at home," he said.

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