http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/fri/jan5w8.htm
Thai bombers were 'in uniform': defence minister BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's defence minister said Thursday that "men in uniform" staged the deadly New Year's Eve bombs in Bangkok, as the prime minister warned Thais to brace for more attacks. Boonrawd Somtas told reporters that it was "highly likely that the perpetrators are men in uniform". "It's 90 per cent sure that it is politically motivated and only a handful of groups of people have the potential to mount these attacks," he told reporters. He said it was unlikely that civilians would have the training to coordinate the eight small blasts across a wide urban area, and said that left "only either police or military". He did not give any other details, but the remarks seemed to broaden the field of suspicion from politicians from the government of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a September coup. Thaksin was once a police officer, and analysts have said that elements in the police loyal to Thaksin, but acting independently of the ousted leader, could be behind the bombings. Thaksin himself has denied any role in the attacks that killed three and wounded 42, and said he believed that separatists fighting in Muslim-majority provinces of southern Thailand were behind the blasts. But army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told parliament Thursday that forensics tests showed the New Year's Eve bombs were not of the same type as those used by the separatists. "Forensics tests found that the bombs were similar to those used in the south, but I can reassure you that they are not exactly the same," army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told the parliament. "That is why we have concluded that the bombings had nothing to do with the south, and rather that the ill-intentioned perpetrators are in Bangkok," he said. Surayud said Bangkok's major transport centres would remain under heightened surveillance to prevent further attacks, but warned Thais should brace themselves for new threats. "The public should be prepared to deal with this new kind of threat to our lives in the future," he said. Dozens of bomb hoaxes and false alarms over the last four days have tested nerves in Bangkok, and prompted police to warn that prank callers reporting bomb hoaxes could face jail time. A slate of foreign governments have issued travel advisories since the blasts, prompting the foreign ministry to meet with diplomats to try to ease international concerns. Spokesman Kitti Wasinond said foreign ministry officials told the diplomats that "the series of incidents was caused by groups who were dispossessed ... supplanted or lost out politically" after the September coup. Some diplomats asked about martial law - imposed a day after the September 19 coup - and Kitti said they were reassured by army representatives at the meeting that there was no change in plans to lift restrictions. "It has been confirmed that the lifting of martial law is in the process and it hasn't been adversely affected," Kitti said. The government approved lifting martial law across half of Thailand more than a month ago but has not presented the order to the king for signing, meaning it has yet to take effect. There is no timescale for its implementation. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
