US says sorry over FBI list, Prayuth claims

US says sorry over FBI list, Prayuth claims

Terror checks boosted as FBI sounds alert

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has brushed aside a list by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that ranked Thailand as Asia's most likely target for terrorist attacks.

There is a terrorism risk in Thailand, says the army commander Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, but it is almost exclusively focussed in the four conflict provinces in the deep South such as this car bomb attack. (Reuters photo)

Gen Prayuth said he contacted the US military attache at the US embassy in Bangkok and the attache had apologised for the "misunderstanding" caused by the list.

Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Tarit Pengdith disclosed the FBI's list Wednesday.

The FBI has warned Thailand that it ranks at the top of the region as a possible terrorist target, Mr Tarit said.

Citing research in the US and Britain, Mr Tarit said Thailand also ranks fifth in the world as a possible target for terror attacks.

Gen Prayuth said the FBI's ranking is wrong and needs to be corrected.

"It's not true to say that Thailand is at risk of being hit by a terrorist attack," he said. "The information must be corrected straight away."

The research is based largely on the number of violent incidents and casualties in the three southern border provinces, he said.

Compared to some other countries, it is understandable then that Thailand would be perceived as more violent, Gen Prayuth said.

He added that violence does not happen on a daily basis or in every district of the far South.

It could be that the terrorist threat on Thailand is exaggerated, but the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) is preparing measures to thwart terrorist financing activities, Bangkok Post reporter King-Oua Laohong found Thursday.

Gen Prayuth stressed the need to rectify and prevent misconceptions about Thailand that could harm its reputation and tourism industry.

Manasvi Srisodapol, director-general of the Information Department at the Foreign Ministry, also rejected the FBI's report.

He said he had checked the information with the US embassy in Thailand, the National Security Council and the army.

They all confirmed there was no reason to believe Thailand was vulnerable to terror attacks.

Seehanart Prayoonrat, secretary-general of Amlo, told reporter King-Oua the FBI had not sought help from Amlo to monitor terrorist activities, but his office had set up a unit to gather intelligence on terrorist financing.

Anti-money laundering offices in other countries had established similar units to deal with the issue, he said.

Pol Col Seehanart said Amlo had tracked the money trails of foreign terrorists suspected of doing business in Thailand, but so far had not found any solid evidence of terrorist activities.

He said the FBI warning list - which also named Thailand as the fifth-most likely terrorist target in the world - was probably based on the insurgent situation in the restive far South.

Pol Col Seehanart said Amlo would reveal a list of about 300 international terrorist suspects compiled by the United Nations after the Songkran festival.

It will also issue a list of suspected militants operating in the violence-plagued South which will be distributed to financial institutions nationwide.

Any financial institutions found to have engaged in transactions with those on either list will face a fine of 1 million baht, plus an additional 1,000 baht per day until they cease the transactions.

Any individuals who conduct financial transactions with suspects on the lists will face a jail term of three years, Pol Col Seehanart said.

Royal Thai Police spokesman Pol Maj Gen Piya Uthayo said the Foreign Affairs Division and the Special Branch Police had been ordered to determine why Thailand ranked so high on the FBI list.

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