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Politics
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2007-01-03 19:50:44-05
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Thailand junta denies coup rumors
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Rumors of a new coup d'etat swept Bangkok on Thursday night, but were denied by government and military authorities even as tensions remained high in the Thai capital after New Year's bombings that killed three people. Government spokesman Capt. Yongyuth Maiyalarb said he had contacted members of the military council that overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September, and they told him that they had received no reports of an imminent coup by opponents or unusual troop movements. Col. Sansern Chaengkamnerd, a spokesman for the military's Council for National Security, also told The Associated Press that coup rumors circulating around the jittery capital were baseless. "There have been transfers of troops but it is for the purpose of providing security in Bangkok," he said. On Sep. 19 last year, troops manned the streets after the military staged its first coup since 1991, ousting the elected Thaksin. Earlier Thursday, interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told Thailand to prepare for a repeat of the bomb attacks. "I would like to ask our brothers and sisters to brace themselves for a life-threatening thing like this for a while," Surayud told the National Legislative Council, which is acting as a parliament in the wake of a Sept. 19 military coup. He gave no details. His comments were likely to keep the 9 million inhabitants of the sprawling capital on edge after a string of bomb hoaxes and scares since the New Year. Local media reported false alarms at a government office and major shopping mall on Thursday. An Associated Press reporter, meanwhile, saw no unusual activity near Government House, the office of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, or at other key locations late Thursday. The Sunday night bombings, whose perpetrators remain unknown, had already resulted in an increased troop presence in the capital, especially in bus stations, airports and other transportation hubs. Since the coup, the military has suggested that Thaksin's supporters have been trying to destabilize the country in a bid to take back power. It has strongly suggested, without specifically saying so, that his backers were responsible for the bombings, a charge denied by the former prime minister. But there has also been speculation that the military may be dissatisfied with the performance of the interim civilian government it installed after the coup, and might like to take complete power for itself rather than work behind the scenes. Defense Minister General Boonrod Somtat continued to rule out foreign terrorist groups and Muslim militants fighting Bangkok's rule in the far south, despite some similarities in style. The defense minister said that "men in uniform" staged the deadly New Year's Eve bombs in Bangkok. "So, there are only those inside the country left -- the civilians, police and armed forces both in khaki and green," he told reporters. "Intelligence puts 90 percent weight on political issues. There is a political group in which a few people have the potential to do such a thing," he said, without elaborating. "People who can handle this involve civilians, police and military officers." Somtat said it was unlikely that civilians would have the training to coordinate the eight small blasts across a wide urban area. The failure to catch the bombing perpetrators has been seen as discrediting the military, which is supposed to ensure security. The interim government, which is supposed to relinquish power after an election expected late this year, has drawn criticism for failing to solve several major problems, including an Islamic insurgency in the south and the rising value of the baht, which has hurt Thai exports. The failure to restore peace in the south, and the bombings in the capital, raised fears that the insurgents may be spreading their campaign out of their own territory, the country's three southernmost, Muslim-dominated provinces. Almost 2,000 people have died of the violence there in the past three years.
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