(ABP) — Representatives from three Baptist agencies declined to speculate what long-range impact a coup in Thailand could have on missions in the region, but they confirmed the safety of all field personnel in the country.
Spokesmen for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship global missions, and American Baptist Churches International Ministries reported all their workers in Thailand had been contacted and were safe as of Sept. 20.
Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York at a United Nations session when military forces entered Bangkok at night and surrounded government buildings with tanks. General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin declared martial law, and the army declared its allegiance to Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Paul Montacute, director of Baptist World Aid, had just returned from a trip to Thailand with Baptist World Alliance President David Coffey when he heard the reports of tanks rolling through the streets of Bangkok.
At the time of his visit, people in Thailand were “a little apprehensive” about elections in the country, but news of the coup “came as a surprise,” he said. “Thank God there appears to have been no violence,” he said.
Hours after the bloodless coup, the IMB issued a brief statement: “The International Mission Board is asking Southern Baptists to pray for the people of Thailand after a military group has led an attempted coup against the government's prime minister. No reports of violence have been reported at this time, and all International Mission Board personnel in Bangkok have been accounted for and are safe. Pray for the continued safety of people living in Thailand, and pray workers will continue to spread the gospel throughout the country.”
Shawn Hendricks with the IMB news office said the mission board's area director had been in contact with personnel throughout Thailand who reported “business as usual at this point.”
The IMB would not release the number of workers serving in Thailand.
The four families serving with CBF Global Missions in Thailand had been urged to take precautions to ensure their safety, but there was no indication any Baptist workers were endangered, said Jack Snell, director of field personnel. CBF personnel in Thailand work in community development, agricultural and educational ministries, he noted.
“We've been in touch with all of them, and they all are safe,” Snell said. “It's too early to say what the future holds, but we are hopeful. We know very little about what has happened there, but we have every reason to be optimistic because there has been no violence. Our people have reported seeing tanks in the streets, but there have been no threats of violence or any violent demonstrations.”
All of Thailand's schools — including ones attended by some missionary children — were closed on the day after the coup, but they were expected to reopen the next day, he noted.
“We'll have to wait and see what the future holds,” Snell said.
American Baptist missionaries reported “everyone is safe, and the situation is calm,” said Stan Murray, area director for Southeast Asia and Japan with American Baptist Churches International Ministries.
“We have 15 International Ministries missionary personnel there, four of whom are out of the country at present. We have currently only three volunteers there, though the number ebbs and flows substantially, with several due to arrive soon,” Murray said.
American Baptist missionaries work under the umbrella of the Thailand Baptist Missionary Fellowship, a group that includes Baptists from seven agencies based in six countries, he explained.
The fellowship has a crisis-management team in place that “has encouraged specific ways in which missionaries can exercise prudence and be prepared, should the national situation take a turn for the worse,” he said.
Murray expressed hope that conditions would remain calm in Thailand.
“An interesting tidbit is that one of our personnel told us that there are two words used in Thai for coup d'etat, and the one that the Thai news is using is a much softer word than what is normally considered when the expression … is used,” he noted on Sept. 20. “There is no violence to date, and the TV is back on, airports are expected to be functioning normally again as of tomorrow. Banks are still closed, but schools reopen tomorrow as well.”
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