More troops for Thai south after killer blasts

The Straits Times, February 20, 2007
By Nirmal Ghosh, THAILAND CORRESPONDENT


9 dead, 44 injured in bomb and arson strikes on Sunday in four provinces




VICTIM OF VIOLENCE: A Thai volunteer helping a karaoke bar girl injured in a bomb blast in Yala province on Sunday. -- AFP


BANGKOK - THAILAND is sending more troops to the troubled south after bomb and arson attacks marred the Chinese New Year, leaving left nine people dead and 44 injured.

The attacks by suspected Muslim separatists overnight on Sunday saw all four troubled provinces - Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Songkhla - hit simultaneously for the first time. Yala and Pattani were the worst hit.

In all, more than 30 sites were attacked, including a police station, a mosque, schools, theatres, hotels, shopping centres, bars, and even a golf course.

Chinese-owned businesses bore the brunt, but there was also indiscriminate violence apparently designed to create panic, analysts said.

'It's quite symbolic that they planned these attacks on Chinese New Year, and the towns hardest hit were all ones with large Sino-Thai populations such as Yala, Betong and Sungai Kolok,' said Professor Panitan Wattanayagorn of Chulalongkorn University.

'The Chinese are the pillar of the economy so, if they are able to pull the pillar down, the economy will fail,' he told The Bangkok Post.

The first signal of violence came at 7pm on Sunday as a bomb exploded at a power plant near Pattani, plunging the city into darkness.

One group of attackers fanned out in small units to strike at a police station and businesses in Pattani and Yala. A second group, consisting of roving bands of youth clad in black, with black and white scarves and black headbands and armbands, rode through the streets on motorcycles, throwing petrol bombs and shooting indiscriminately.

Sources said at least two youngsters were caught and were being interrogated.

The carnage continued yesterday as bombs exploded at a car showroom in Pattani and near a railway station in Narathiwat.

An army major was also killed by a remotely detonated bomb as he left his house in Yala yesterday morning.

Thailand's army chief Sonthi Boonyarataglin yesterday said more troops would be sent to the area but it was not necessary to declare a state of emergency. He said security forces had been on alert after receiving intelligence of imminent attacks.

The Thai army has 18,000 to 20,000 troops deployed to the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, where violence has claimed close to 2,000 lives since January 2004.

Interior Minister Aree Wong-araya told journalists before leaving for the south that the covert nature of the operation had made the attacks difficult to prevent.

The attacks had nothing to do with Thailand's agreement last week to a Malaysian offer to mediate with militants, he added.

Prof Panitan told The Straits Times Bangkok had done right in cooperating with Malaysia, and by setting up the right structures and policies for the south. But he said a younger generation of militants want to 'send a signal that they are in control'.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont held an emergency meeting with top officials yesterday, and said security personnel should be on alert for possible attacks during upcoming Buddhist holidays.