Bomb threat clarity needed

Bomb threat clarity needed

The government and security forces have not been straight about their response to intelligence reports of a bomb threat in the Bangkok area. Police, the defence minister and the national spokesman all have made statements which have turned out to be less than forthcoming. The security threats supposedly involve Muslims from the deep South, and the allegations are swirling on the very eve of the anniversary of the acutely sensitive Tak Bai "incident" and its 85 senseless deaths.

The threat, reported for the past few weeks by this and most other media outlets, was first disclosed by police. Deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said there was a plot to launch a car bomb attack in or near Bangkok. An investigation was under way, of course, and arrests were, he hoped, imminent.

That investigation moved quickly, according to official accounts. Pol Gen Srivara said detectives had detained 14 suspects, then released nine for lack of evidence. All were Muslims from the three turbulent provinces in the deep South. All had been detained through raids "in the Ramkhamhaeng Road area". That immediately raised questions, and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and National Security Council chief Thawip Netniyom intervened directly.

This is where the reports became less clear. Gen Prawit changed the plot from a suspected car bomb to pipe bombs, ready for assembly, to be used across Bangkok and in the surrounding suburbs and provinces. Mr Thawip backed up the new pipe bomb version of the alleged plot. He said all 14 men detained were suspected of involvement in the plot, but five were transferred from police to the army for further questioning at Bangkok's 11th Military Circle.

Then, witnesses and civil rights groups began adding and contradicting details of these accounts. Particularly and forcefully outspoken were the Federation of Patani Students and Youth and the Thai Academic Network for Civil Rights. It now seems, although officials have suddenly gone quiet, that the "security raids" were both larger and more sinister than claimed.

For starters, joint military-police teams were involved, and not just police as initially claimed. Midnight raids were launched over six nights around the Ramkhamhaeng University campus. Proof has emerged that 44 youths and students were detained -- 30 more than the top security officials claimed. Some were sent to Klong Prem Central Prison. Much more importantly, the five principal suspects, supposedly housed at Bangkok's military detention centre, were actually transferred immediately to the Ingkayut Borihan Military Camp in Pattani which is infamous for military interrogations.

But the Pattani army camp is feared and noted in the deep South for another pertinent reason. Soldiers from that camp were responsible for the mistreatment of protesters and the 85 unnecessary deaths in the Oct 25, 2004, Tak Bai incident. Raids and arrests in the middle of the night and detention at the Ingkayut Borihan camp will not sit well with citizens of the deep South today, the 12th anniversary of those deaths that have still gone unpunished.

The insensitivity and economy with the truth about the Bangkok raids unfortunately illustrates the very attitude that led to the Tak Bai deaths. More than two weeks after Pol Gen Srivara first declared the car-bomb threat, officials have released no evidence of actual danger.

It is to be expected that investigations of terrorist threats need layers of secrecy. But when officials themselves disclose their probes, they have the responsibility to follow up and explain what happened. Bangkokians now have no idea of whether the bomb threat is over -- or if it was even real.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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