PM Thaksin says bombs the work of kidnappers

PM Thaksin says bombs the work of kidnappers

BANGKOK (Agencies): Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
came up with a new theory on Tuesday to explain a spate of
bombings that killed a child and wounded dozens of people over
the weekend.

Thaksin told reporters the people who planted the bombs, for
which no one has claimed responsibility, were "kidnappers" who
simply wanted protection money from the owners of places or firms
they had targeted.

"I believe the bombs were caused by kidnappers, not (people
with) any political ideology...These people make a living by
seeking protection fees, boasting of their self-importance," the
prime minister said.

Bombs caused havoc on Saturday at a railway station in
southern Thailand's largest town of Hat Yai, at a hotel in Yala
province, and at a gas storage warehouse next to a railway line
in Songkhla province.

Thaksin's remarks contradicted previous statements made by
senior intelligence officials that the explosions were the work
of foreign saboteurs.

Palakorn Suwanarath, head of the Interior Ministry's southern
border province administration, said on Monday the sabotage was
carried out by three Muslim separatist groups seeking attention
and financial support.

The allied groups, calling themselves Bersatu (United),
consisted of Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), Pattani United
Liberation Organization (PULO) and Mujahedin, he said.

Thai newspapers on Monday quoted unnamed Thai security sources
as saying the separatist groups held a meeting in March in Kuala
Lumpur to plan sabotage in southern Thailand in April.

Thaksin has said he will raise the issue with Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad this month at a meeting in Kuala
Lumpur. Malaysian officials said the meeting would take place
from April 24-25.

PULO's website on Tuesday denied it was involved in the
bombings which it blamed on the Thai government.

In the early 1990s, the southern Thai provinces saw a wave of
bomb attacks on railway tracks and stations, most attributed to
Muslim separatist groups seeking independence from majority-
Buddhist Thailand.

Most of Thailand's Muslims, about five percent of the
country's 62 million people, live in the south bordering
predominantly Muslim Malaysia.

On Tuesday, Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon said that
the government and authorities will try their best to guarantee
people's safety. But there are difficulties because this is a
free country," he said.

"However, we need to introduce stricter measures, particularly
during the Songkran festival, because there will be so many
tourists."

A major security crackdown has been mounted to protect
tourists over the upcoming holiday weekend, when the important
Thai festival of Songkran coincides with the Easter break.

This year's celebrations for Songkran, when many Thais return
to their home provinces to celebrate the "water festival" with
their families, will be particularly large because they fall over
a weekend, he said.

"We are expecting 1.5 million tourists, both Thais and
foreigners, between April 11 and 18 ... this will be the busiest
weekend we have ever had in Thailand."