Bangkok alert after bomb blasts
Source: Agencies |
March 1, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THAILAND'S prime minister ordered stepped-up security in Bangkok yesterday after four banks were targeted with small explosive devices.
The attacks on Saturday night, in which no one was hurt, came a day after the Supreme Court ordered US$1.4 billion of exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra's assets seized for corruption. Authorities had voiced concern the verdict could spark violent protests by his supporters but none occurred.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters yesterday that he did not know who was behind the attacks on Bangkok Bank, which caused only minor damage at two branches when grenades exploded.
Bangkok Bank has been the target of protests by Thaksin's supporters, who feel it supports ruling class figures they blame for having the former leader ousted by a 2006 military coup.
Some fringe groups in the pro-Thaksin "Red Shirt" movement advocate violence, but provocateurs seeking to discredit them are also possible suspects in the blasts. The government often accuses the Red Shirts of promoting violence.
Last April, a Red Shirt protest in Bangkok deteriorated into riot that left two dead and had to be quashed by the army.
Thaksin, speaking to his supporters by video from self-imposed exile in Dubai, urged them after Friday's court ruling to continue their fight for what he termed democracy and justice, but asked them to do so nonviolently.
The attacks on Saturday night, in which no one was hurt, came a day after the Supreme Court ordered US$1.4 billion of exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra's assets seized for corruption. Authorities had voiced concern the verdict could spark violent protests by his supporters but none occurred.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters yesterday that he did not know who was behind the attacks on Bangkok Bank, which caused only minor damage at two branches when grenades exploded.
Bangkok Bank has been the target of protests by Thaksin's supporters, who feel it supports ruling class figures they blame for having the former leader ousted by a 2006 military coup.
Some fringe groups in the pro-Thaksin "Red Shirt" movement advocate violence, but provocateurs seeking to discredit them are also possible suspects in the blasts. The government often accuses the Red Shirts of promoting violence.
Last April, a Red Shirt protest in Bangkok deteriorated into riot that left two dead and had to be quashed by the army.
Thaksin, speaking to his supporters by video from self-imposed exile in Dubai, urged them after Friday's court ruling to continue their fight for what he termed democracy and justice, but asked them to do so nonviolently.
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