Thais Visit Daesh Social Media Sites, But Not Linked To Terrorist Group - Thai DPM

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa BANGKOK, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon said Wednesday that some Thais follow social media sites related to Daesh but they have no links with the terrorist group. "There is no support from the Thai people. They (Thais) only visit the social media pages as they might be interested to know about (Daesh) even if they are not connected with the group," he told the media here. He was commenting on the information relayed by the Australian police on the suspected link between certain Thais and Daesh. Prawit, who is also responsible for internal affairs, said he already knew of the information from the Australian police and had instructed the Thailand police Special Branch and the Immigration police to work on the matter. The Deputy Prime Minister was asked about the statement by Thai Police deputy chief Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul Tuesday on the findings by the Australian police that Thais had visited Daesh-related social media sites. The deputy police chief, as quoted by the local media, said the Australian police informed their Thai counterparts that 100,000 Facebook users from Thailand visited Daesh-related online communities over the past year. The information provided by the Australian police was part of a probe it conducted which had linked some Thais with certain Islamic radical groups, he said. Prawit said security measures needed to be beefed up and every country had to be on constant high alert on the worldwide threat posed by Daesh. The issue of the Daesh threat in the region had also been discussed in ASEAN, he said and cautioned security agencies in the region on the need to be on top regarding issues involving the terrorist group. "Security measures need to be beefed up and every country has to keep alert," he said. -- BERNAMA