Thaksin supporters blamed for bombings
rc...@mailinator.com
By Amy Kazmin in Bangkok
Published: January 1 2007 22:01 | Last updated: January 1 2007 22:01
Thailand's military-installed government on Monday pointed to
supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister, as
possible culprits behind a series of bombs that killed three people and
injured 38, including nine foreign holidaymakers, in Bangkok on New
Year's eve.
General Surayud Chulanont, the Thai prime minister, said it was
unlikely that Malay Muslim insurgents, who are waging a violent
separatist struggle in Thailand's southern-most provinces, were
behind the eight co-ordinated blasts in the capital.
Gen Surayud - the retired army chief who was propelled to the
premiership after a bloodless military coup drove Mr Thaksin from
office in September - blamed "those who have lost power" for the
unprecedented attacks.
"Briefs from various intelligence agencies, based on evidence
available, show that they came from groups that have lost political
power," he said. They were by "ill-intentioned people who want to
have political impact. They want to create a scenario of a politically
unstable Thailand...Their intention was to cause panic and fear."
Gen Surayud offered no further details to support his claim and did not
name any individuals, saying that authorities were so far unable to
"pinpoint which particular group was involved".
However, most Thais understood Gen Surayud to be implicating supporters
of Mr Thaksin, who has been in effective exile since the coup but
remains popular and is thought to be keen to return to Thailand -
potentially to reclaim power.
Local media also reported that the Thai military was seeking to
question several top aides of the former premier.
"What we saw...was a reflection of a coup gone wrong," Thitinan
Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University, said of
the bomb attacks. "They got rid of Thaksin but they did not put him
away. He is a free man and his supporters are out there agitating."
Mr Thaksin's lawyer denied that the former prime minister, now in
China, was in any way connected to the attacks, calling the allegations
"unfair".
Some political analysts were sceptical about the government's
assertion that the bombs were not linked to the bloody separatist
insurgency that has claimed more than 1,900 lives in the
Muslim-majority southern provinces in the past three years.
"Many of us have been very concerned that the way the previous
government had used force to solve the southern problem would only
bring the insurgency to Bangkok eventually," said Giles Ungpakorn, a
university lecturer and critic of both Mr Thaksin and the military
coup-makers who deposed him.
"How can they possibly rule out the southern insurgency within
minutes of the bombs going off? I'd like to see a lot more evidence
before they jump to these conclusions."
The New Year's eve explosions came in two waves. The first six bombs,
which hit in the early evening shopping rush hour, mainly targeted
locations frequented by lower-middle and working class Thais, including
a crowded bus stop, a market and a shopping mall on the city's
outskirts. Two other bombs were reported to have been defused at
popular tourist spots.
The second wave hit the city centre, minutes before midnight, in an
area that was due to have been packed with revellers counting down to
the new year. The bombs failed to cause mass casualties because the
celebrations were cancelled.
Australia and the UK on Monday advised their citizens to avoid moving
around in Bangkok, citing the potential for more terrorist attacks in
the coming days.
Thailand's financial markets were closed on Monday and will not
reopen until Wednesday
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fd0f28ea-99e1-11db-8b6d-0000779e2340.html