Army installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Friday warned Thailand to brace for months of political unrest, saying new attacks could follow the deadly New Year’s Eve blasts in Bangkok.
“Based on the information that I have, the public must keep vigilant and alert for a period of at least a month or two,” he told reporters, adding he could not rule out the possibility of more bombings.
“No government can guarantee that it will prevent a bombing,” he said after an emergency meeting with a top member of Thailand’s junta.
The coordinated blasts in Bangkok, which killed three people and wounded 42, reignited political tensions more than three months after twice-elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a coup.
Surayud has accused political factions linked to Thaksin of being behind the blasts.
Two top military officials have said they believed the bombers were “men in uniform”.
The heightened tensions sparked rumours of a new coup during the night, forcing General Sonthi Boonyaratglin — who heads the Council for National Security (CNS), as the junta calls itself — to speak on television late on Thursday and early on Friday to reassure a jittery public.
Sonthi denied he had mobilised forces to reassert direct military control over the country. He also denied the rumours of a counter-coup.
“They [the bombers] wanted to make people suffer, which would hurt both the government and the CNS. They want to destroy both of us, and we must stop them,” he told army-run Channel 5 early on Friday.
“It’s a movement to trigger chaos, which, in military terminology is sabotage, being used by ill-intentioned people to destroy national security,” he said.
Surayud said he believed the coup rumours stemmed from the movement of about 300 troops around the capital to bolster security after the blasts. But he also said he believed the rumour was linked to the bombings.
“The rumour aimed to create public panic and was connected to the bomb attacks. That’s their method, to create panic and a disturbance among the public,” he told reporters.
Military leaders led by Sonthi seized power from Thaksin in a bloodless coup on September 19 and then appointed Surayud, a retired army general, as prime minister.
Although a majority of Thais appeared to support the coup, there have been some grumblings lately that Sonthi has been interfering in day-to-day government matters, and the country has been on edge since Sunday’s deadly blasts.
In Bangkok, where people originally welcomed the coup as an end to months of political turmoil surrounding Thaksin’s government, support for Surayud’s government has nosedived.
A poll conducted in the days after the bombings put his support in the capital at 48,5%, down from 90% when he took office three months ago.
The military and the government have said they believe the bombings were politically motivated, but have not directly implicated Thaksin or his party.
Thaksin, who has been in exile since the coup, has denied any role in the blasts. Analysts have said that elements in the police loyal to Thaksin, but acting independently of the ousted leader, could be behind the bombings. — AFP