PM Thaksin says bombs the work of kidnappers<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (Agencies): Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
\ncame up with a new theory on Tuesday to explain a spate of
\nbombings that killed a child and wounded dozens of people over
\nthe weekend.<\/p>\n
Thaksin told reporters the people who planted the bombs, for
\nwhich no one has claimed responsibility, were \"kidnappers\" who
\nsimply wanted protection money from the owners of places or firms
\nthey had targeted.<\/p>\n
\"I believe the bombs were caused by kidnappers, not (people
\nwith) any political ideology...These people make a living by
\nseeking protection fees, boasting of their self-importance,\" the
\nprime minister said.<\/p>\n
Bombs caused havoc on Saturday at a railway station in
\nsouthern Thailand's largest town of Hat Yai, at a hotel in Yala
\nprovince, and at a gas storage warehouse next to a railway line
\nin Songkhla province.<\/p>\n
Thaksin's remarks contradicted previous statements made by
\nsenior intelligence officials that the explosions were the work
\nof foreign saboteurs.<\/p>\n
Palakorn Suwanarath, head of the Interior Ministry's southern
\nborder province administration, said on Monday the sabotage was
\ncarried out by three Muslim separatist groups seeking attention
\nand financial support.<\/p>\n
The allied groups, calling themselves Bersatu (United),
\nconsisted of Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), Pattani United
\nLiberation Organization (PULO) and Mujahedin, he said.<\/p>\n
Thai newspapers on Monday quoted unnamed Thai security sources
\nas saying the separatist groups held a meeting in March in Kuala
\nLumpur to plan sabotage in southern Thailand in April.<\/p>\n
Thaksin has said he will raise the issue with Malaysian Prime
\nMinister Mahathir Mohamad this month at a meeting in Kuala
\nLumpur. Malaysian officials said the meeting would take place
\nfrom April 24-25.<\/p>\n
PULO's website on Tuesday denied it was involved in the
\nbombings which it blamed on the Thai government.<\/p>\n
In the early 1990s, the southern Thai provinces saw a wave of
\nbomb attacks on railway tracks and stations, most attributed to
\nMuslim separatist groups seeking independence from majority-
\nBuddhist Thailand.<\/p>\n
Most of Thailand's Muslims, about five percent of the
\ncountry's 62 million people, live in the south bordering
\npredominantly Muslim Malaysia.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon said that
\nthe government and authorities will try their best to guarantee
\npeople's safety. But there are difficulties because this is a
\nfree country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"However, we need to introduce stricter measures, particularly
\nduring the Songkran festival, because there will be so many
\ntourists.\"<\/p>\n
A major security crackdown has been mounted to protect
\ntourists over the upcoming holiday weekend, when the important
\nThai festival of Songkran coincides with the Easter break.<\/p>\n
This year's celebrations for Songkran, when many Thais return
\nto their home provinces to celebrate the \"water festival\" with
\ntheir families, will be particularly large because they fall over
\na weekend, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We are expecting 1.5 million tourists, both Thais and
\nforeigners, between April 11 and 18 ... this will be the busiest
\nweekend we have ever had in Thailand.\"<\/p>",
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