More than four million guns are registered in Thailand, but the number of illegal guns and revolvers is expected to be much larger

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, December 20 (IslamOnline.net) - Thailand intends to be gun-free in five years, as a ban was extended on sale of rifles and more arms control are in the pipeline, press reports said Saturday, December 20.

"The press should avoid saying we are going to be tough on guns, or gun shops will protest," Interior Minister Muhamad Nor Matha was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying.

Wan Muhamad, who hails from southern Thailand which is considered a center point in gun trafficking, said that his government would enforce total gun control only when the authorities could guarantee the safety of life and property.

“If possession of guns was to be banned permanently, the government also would have to make sure gun owners were unaffected,” he said.

More than four million guns have been registered with the state, but the number of illegal guns and revolvers or pistols in the country is unknown though it is said to be much larger in a huge business in Thailand.

Thailand is known for being a major supplier of illegal guns in the South East Asian region.

The Thai official said licenses for possession of 9 mm pistols and 0.38-calibre revolvers, considered weapons of self-defense, would no longer be issued.

He had not yet endorsed new permits for state officials allowing them to hold and carry guns, except for Anti-Money Laundering Office staff.

Matha said he had told provincial governors to work on a database of registered guns and their owners, measures to limit imports, possession and use of guns, types of people who could carry guns in public and areas in which gun-carrying were allowed.

Pardoned

The Thai government would try to reduce the number of weapons in people's hands by pardoning illegal holders who hand over their arms to the state,  imposing heavier penalties for illegal use and  scrapping life-time gun holding rules.

Gun shops across Thailand would be also checked to see if they come in compliance with the law. Controls would be tightened on shooting-galleries to prevent guns and ammunition slipping out.

The plan also called for the designation of pilot weapons-free zones in three phases, the Bangok Post said, citing an unnamed official of the Ministry of Interior.

The restrict measures are also reported to promote efforts to crack down on arm smuggling to suspected terrorists in other neighboring countries.

Rebels from Myanmar, Laos and other neighboring nations are buying guns and weapons on the black market in Thailand and reselling them to ‘terror’ suspects in Indonesia and the Philippines, said the paper.

Philippines and Malaysian as well Singaporean secret services revealed this year that most of the illegal weapons found in South East Asia came from Thailand.

Malaysian police too said recently that most criminals in Malaysia had sourced their weapons from Thailand, which included Ak47 and other types of riffles and guns.

The governments of these countries, as well Indonesia, urged Thailand to curb on illegal weapons in a bid to prevent terror suspects to have easy access to guns and explosives.