Senator warns Thaksin that his southern visit wasn’t welcome as a bomb exploded just before his arrival. Insurgents signal rejection of ex-PM’s peace role. Thaksin dismisses threats and vows to end violence by 2026. However, deep resentment lingers over his past actions.
A member of the Senate on Sunday warned that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s visit to the southern insurgency provinces may not have been as well received as Mr. Thaksin thought. The top newspaperman with his ear to the ground in the South, in particular, suggested that a bomb that went off just minutes before Mr. Thaksin’s arrival at Narathiwat bore a clear message. He said it was from the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) and basically, warned Mr. Thaksin against involvement in solving the problems in the region. It came on the same day that the former premier apologized for his role in the October 2004 Tak Bai massacre.
On Sunday, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra visited Thailand’s southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala.
However, before the ex-PM landed at Narathiwat Airport at 9:50 am on Sunday, there was a loud explosion in the vicinity of the airport.
Officials later revealed that a pickup truck owned by the facility had exploded. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Bomb blast in Yala kills one and injures seven as insurgent attacks escalate across Thailand’s deep south
Previously, on Saturday night, a bomb planted at a convenience store in Bannang Sata District of Yala Province was detonated. Allegedly aimed at a ranger patrol, the blast killed one local person and injured seven soldiers.
These bombings are part of a raised level of hostility in the southern provinces in recent months. The terror campaign there is thought to be the work of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), headquartered across Thailand’s border with Malaysia in Kelantan State.
Although Mr. Thaksin, retired and barred from politics, does not hold an official role, he is widely seen as the figurehead of the ruling Pheu Thai Party. Certainly, he is also seen as the guiding force behind his daughter, Thailand’s Prime Minister, 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
On Sunday, Mr. Thaksin’s entourage included Mr. Phumtham Vejjayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Mr. Phumtham was acting in his capacity as Chairman of the Strategy Committee for the Development of Southern Border Provinces (SBPAC).
Also among the party was Police Colonel Thawee Sodsong, the embattled Minister of Justice.
Additionally, the party included the Speaker and President of the House, Mr. Wan Muhammad Noor Matha, in addition to Mr. Chatchai Bangchuad, Secretary-General of the National Security Council (NSC).
Thaksin dismisses bomb attack as he visits insurgency-linked sites during his high-profile southern tour
Mr. Thaksin, in his whirlwind tour of the provinces by police helicopter, afterwards visited key sites.
These included the Samphan Wittaya School in the Cho Airong District of Narathiwat. The famous school is viewed by many state officials in the region as a breeding ground for the insurgency. Later, Thaksin visited the abbot at the Wat Prachum Chonthara, another revered institution.
Upon landing at Narathiwat, Thaksin quickly dismissed the latest bomb and other attacks.
He agreed with reporters it was a signal to him. Nonetheless, he said he was not afraid of death and reminded them he had survived four assassination attempts.
“Someone might want to frighten me, but my heart is strong. I felt indifferent to four previous assassination attempts. Regardless of any kind of reception, I can take it all,” declared Thaksin.
The Pheu Thai figurehead insisted afterwards that the faces he saw and people he met were significantly warmer and brighter than before. The former PM last visited the southern provinces over 20 years ago in his last term as Prime Minister.
Thaksin predicts major progress in ending insurgency and promises southern violence will cease by 2026
Finally, Mr. Thaksin spoke of a breakthrough in bringing an end to the insurgency. In short, he promised that this year will see real progress. Furthermore, he promised that by 2026, the violence would be brought to an end.
“I expect progress this year,” he explained. The former PM thought that several players would assist the process. For instance, he noted the help volunteered by a former Indonesian Vice President.
Questioned by reporters about the Tak Bai massacre in October 2004, he did not avoid the issue. Certainly, he admitted he had made mistakes as Prime Minister at that time. At the same time, he insisted the Muslims knew the importance of peace and forgiveness. Therefore, he offered his apologies.
85 Muslim protesters at Tak Bai Police Station died on October 25, 2004. They had gathered to protest several arrests linked with the insurgency.
Media senator warns that BRN bombings signal strong opposition to Thaksin’s peace role in the southern conflict
In the meantime, even before Mr. Thaksin returned from the South, his visit was commented on by media group senator Mr. Chaiyong Maneerungsakul.
Mr. Chaiyong said that Sunday’s bomb was a signal from the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN).
Basically, they did not wish to see Mr. Thaksin as an emissary of peace. The senator also referred to Mr. Thaksin’s recent meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister. He said Thaksin has asked Mr. Anwar Ibrahim to suppress the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) in Malaysia’s Kelantan State.
Nonetheless, he noted that the bomb was small and did not contain shrapnel. The fact that the bombers could plant it in a vehicle owned by the airport was disturbing. However, the southern insurgency leadership on Sunday was not seeking bloodshed.
“If the BRN had installed a 20kg bomb and used shrapnel, the car bomb would have been torn to shreds and many officers would have been injured or killed. Both the airport and ISOC Region 4 would have become targets of the losses. The bombing to welcome Thaksin Shinawatra and his entourage this time was a warning to the former prime minister to retreat from causing trouble in the southern border provinces,” the senator said.
Veteran journalist says deep resentment towards Thaksin remains strong among southern Muslim communities
The senator’s comments on the well-thought-out itinerary of Mr. Thaksin on Sunday concluded that the resentment towards the former Thai Prime Minister ran deep. Mr. Chaiyong is a veteran newspaperman.
The 68-year-old is the Chairman of the Southern Newspaper Association of Thailand. At the same time, he heads up the Daily News Southern Office.
Lawyer calls for prosecution of top officials in the Tak Bai case as PM rules out Emergency Degree
PM to visit South as Tak Bai accused officials return and take back their roles and lives as normal
“Before Thaksin Shinawatra’s group travelled to Narathiwat Province, an improvised explosive device was planted in front of a convenience store in Bannang Sata District, Yala Province. The target was rangers, injuring seven officers and killing one villager. This is an expression of the BRN movement’s disapproval of the former prime minister and his group’s visit to the three southern border provinces,” he concluded.
The visit by Mr. Thaksin came shortly after a visit by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
It comes as the South of the country is once again seen as coalescing against the Shinawatra family or the Pheu Thai Party, particularly as that support appears to be focusing on the Bhumjaithai Party.
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Further reading:
Lawyer calls for prosecution of top officials in the Tak Bai case as PM rules out Emergency Degree
Pheu Thai MP and former army commander in the South out of the country safe from an arrest warrant
Narathiwat bomb explosion leaves one senior police officer dead. PM demands tighter security
Pattani bombs put Thai security agencies on alert as they gear up for APEC Summit in Bangkok
Top insurgent leader suspected as behind Monday night’s large bomb attack on Pattani district
2 killed in 15-minute firefight between security forces and insurgents as Pattani siege is ended
