The detention of three more Iranian citizens on Sunday is a stark reminder that the case of the Valentine's Day blasts still has a lot of loose ends. The police deserve far more support than they are getting from the government. Security forces must continue to pursue the details of this serious threat to national security. Trying to forget the explosions in this apparent terrorism case would open the country to far greater problems, than just a brief fear that tourists might stay away.
Those arrested on Sunday were all Iranian. They bring the number of suspected gang members and helpers to eight. The two bombers arrested on Feb 14 and a third, involved man are in custody in Bangkok and in Kuala Lumpur. Two other suspects, a man and a woman, are believed to be in Iran, although the government in Teheran has so far not helped with their cases. The two men and a woman detained on Sunday have added a more sinister suspicion that "sleeper agents" may have been involved in a bomb plot.
A couple of the newly detained were legal immigrants, the husband an employee at a restaurant in Soi Nana, popular with visitors from the Middle East. The third man was an illegal immigrant, with a tourist visa that had expired five months ago. Detectives say he stayed inside his rented room at a hotel in the Ramkhamhaeng area, had his meals delivered by another Iranian, and claims to speak neither Thai nor English. It is believed the three detained Iranians had telephone contact with the bombers, right up to the doorstep of the Israeli embassy, a possible target.
There is still a lot of investigating to do, but the latest arrests are strong signs of long-term, planted sleepers in our midst. The three men known to be involved in the bomb plot entered Thailand only a short while before the Valentine's Day debacle. But the wanted woman and man in Iran were in Thailand months earlier and had rented the accommodation for the bombing trio. Now, police are investigating another three Iranian citizens who operated pretty much as members of the foreign community, two of them with visas and a job.
As of now, there is no way to know how deep the plot went, or how extensive it was. That is why National Police chief Priewpan Damapong deserves support for continuing and widening the investigation. If inquiries into the Feb 14 bomb explosions are abandoned _ as some government ministers have recommended _ it could leave intact a terrorist plot and gang. Future terrorist attacks would harm the country in ways untold.
It is time to abandon the tired, unsuccessful knee-jerk reaction to try to hide bad news. It never has worked anyhow _ not for Sars, bird flu or the tsunami. In today's internet world, tourists know important information. And in any case, in today's violent atmosphere, it is almost impossible to visit a country that has never had a brush with terrorism.
It once was suspected that Pol Gen Priewpan would kowtow to the government. But he has remained steadfastly professional, and his force has been outstanding in its anti-terrorist investigation. He deserves full support in his attempts to solve the case of the Valentine's Day explosions.