Thailand’s military-installed government on Monday blamed politicians who had lost out in last year’s coup for the deadly bomb attacks that ripped through Bangkok on New Year’s Eve.
After the Thai capital’s worst night of bombing for decades, embassies, including those of Britain, the United States and Australia, warned that there could be more explosions and advised holidaymakers to avoid travelling within Bangkok, a city usually known for its relaxed lifestyle and uproarious nightlife.
The eight small blasts claimed three lives and left 38 people injured, including two Britons hit by shrapnel at midnight near the Central World Plaza, the main spot for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The deputy national police chief, General Achiravit Supanpasat, told a press conference on Monday that it was the worst attack in Bangkok in his 40-year career.
Faced by a security crisis and a threat to the nation’s vital tourist industry, the government held an emergency meeting and temporarily brought troops back on to the streets for the first time since the coup in September. Many New Year festivities were cancelled, and security was beefed up at the capital’s airport. Police said they had set up 6 000 checkpoints around Bangkok.
It was a grim start to 2007 following a year of unrest, during which there was a bloodless military coup against the prime minister of the time, Thaksin Shinawatra, and an increasingly violent Muslim insurgency in the south.
There was no warning of the attacks and nobody claimed responsibility, but the Prime Minister, Surayud Chulanont, pointed the finger at Thaksin and his supporters. “There is a slim chance that it is related to the southern insurgency. It is likely related to people who lost their political benefits,” he told a press conference.
“The people who carried out the bombings were ill-intentioned people who want [the attacks] to have political impact. They want to create a scenario of a politically unstable Thailand.”
An unnamed senior military source told Associated Press that several senior army officers loyal to Thaksin had plotted the bombing with ousted politicians to discredit the government. According to local media, the top aide to the former prime minister, Prommin Lertsuridej, was ordered to report to the Council for National Security.
However, Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin’s lawyer, accused the government of a smear campaign.
Since taking control, the new administration has imposed martial law in several strongholds of the former prime minister and launched corruption investigations against Thaksin and his supporters. Thaksin, who is said to be plotting a return from exile in China, remains popular in the countryside, where his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party built up enough support to win two elections.
Any further escalation of violence would be a disaster for Thailand’s tourist industry, which is only just recovering from the tsunami of two years ago. Every year, an estimated 12-million foreigners, including 750 000 Britons, pass through Bangkok on the way to the beaches of Phuket, Krabi and Ko Samui. With tourism accounting for 6% of the country’s economic activity, the prime minister, who has promised elections this year, played down the risks of more attacks.
The New Year’s Eve devices were packed with ammonium nitrate and nails, and left among roadside bins. They were detonated by digital watches. The first six were placed in markets, police booths and at a national monument. Two later bombs went off in the Central World Plaza, a glitzy shopping area where crowds had gathered to celebrate; nine of the victims here were overseas visitors who had either misunderstood or ignored vague warnings to go home early.
The attacks are the most alarming sign yet of unrest in a country until recently seen as a relative haven of stability in south-east Asia. But since January 2004 Islamic insurgency has led to the death of more than 1 900 people. In the southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani there are almost daily reports of violence. On Monday police in the north, in Chang Mai, reported a bomb explosion at a mosque. There were no casualties.
The suspects
Supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra
The Thai government blames the bombs on politicians who lost out in last September’s military coup. The Thaksin camp says the accusations are part of a smear campaign.
Muslim insurgents
Bombings and shootings occur almost daily in the three southernmost provinces, which have a majority Muslim population. But they have not reached Bangkok before. Police say the new year attacks do not fit the modus operandi of the insurgents.
Foreign terrorists
Groups linked to al-Qaeda have attacked tourist resorts in south-east Asia before, notably in the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings. The high-profile timing of the attacks led some to draw comparisons, but the explosions appear to be too small and the bombing techniques too unsophisticated. Police say they are not looking for foreign suspects.
Crime or conspiracy
Criminal gangs involved in narcotics and prostitution could probably launch a bomb attack, but there appears to be little motive now that Thaksin, who launched a crackdown on drug dealing, is out of power. Some locals speculate the military government may have staged the attacks to discredit Thaksin and his party before elections, promised in October. – Guardian Unlimited Â