JulianThai satellite company THAICOM has begun broadcasting the Hizbullah terrorist-run TV station Al-Manar on its multi-continent network. Israeli terrorism experts at the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) in Herzilya called THAICOM’s decision to broadcast the channel “an outrage,” saying Hizbullah would be able to spread its propaganda far more effectively with THAICOM’s help. Al-Manar is currently broadcast by two Arab stations and reaches most of the Middle East and some of Europe. THAICOM reaches viewers in Australia, Africa, Asia and most of Europe. Among the nations on those continents are Indonesia and Malaysia, both with extremely high Muslim populations.European satellites dropped Al-Manar in 2004 because of its connection to terrorism, said ITIC head Dr. Reuven Erlich, “so Hizbullah has found a way around it.” In December 2004, Al-Manar was added by the U.S. State Department to its Terrorist Exclusion List. “It’s a war,” said Erlich. “Al-Manar spreads Hizbullah and Iranian values of radical Islam.”Strong Israeli-Thai RelationsIsrael has enjoyed full diplomatic relations with Thailand since 1958. Thousands of young Israeli tourists flock to the southeast Asian nation each year, many of whom choose Thailand as their destination for post-army world tours.Israeli rescue and recovery teams were first on the scene when a domestic shuttle plane crashed in September 2007 after departing Bangkok for the popular resort island of Phuket. Forensic experts, paramedics and local Chabad emissaries slept only an hour or two each night, spending most of their time attempting to track down the missing and wounded, and identify the dead.The Thai government, as well as other foreign nations, requested Israel’s assistance in locating and identifying the many bodies of foreigners who also died in the crash. “They turned to us because we’re the only ones here,” explained Israeli delegation head Yitzchak Koroniu at the time.Likewise, Israeli teams were the first to arrive and worked tirelessly for days helping to rescue survivors and recover bodies of those who did not survive the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. A number of Israeli tourists died in both disasters.THAICOM officials said the decision to add Al-Manar was a “purely business decision which had nothing to do with politics.” Sources said the company planned to issue a more detailed response over the weekend, explaining its position.
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