NO SURPRISE TO THE EMERGENCY RULE EXTENSION

By Jamaluddin Muhammad

BANGKOK, Oct 5 (Bernama) - The extension of the current state of emergency
in four provinces, including Bangkok, for another three months effective Tuesday
came as no surprise following a recent warning of possible politically-motivated
bomb attacks in the capital until the end of the year.

The Department of Special Investigations issued the warning late last month
with the intensification of such attacks, especially in Bangkok, after 11 such
cases were reported in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Chiangmai in September alone.

Last month recorded the highest cases of bomb attacks although there have
been occasional attacks in previous months soon after the military crackdown in
the capital on May 19 which ended the two-month anti-government street protests
by the red shirts.

After the May 19 crackdown, two bomb attacks were recorded in June, six
cases in July and four cases in August.

All the attacks carried out in Bangkok, Udon Thani, Nonthaburi and Chiangmai
had claimed one life and injured 10 others.

The peaceful protest by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship
(UDD) started on March 12 to pressure the government to dissolve the Parliament.


However, the protesters seized the city centre by encamping there and later
some turned it into a war zone with the use of M16, Ak47, rocket-propelled
grenade (RPG), bombs as well as the existence of snipers when confronting the
troops.

Ninety-one people comprising 80 civilians and 11 security officers died
while more than 1,800 others were injured in the violent clashes between
protesters and troops between April 10 and May 19.

Tourism industry as well as business activities in the city centre were
badly affected, leaving 3,600 employees out of job temporarily then.

More than 40 buildings including 17 commercial banks, eight hotels and
department stores and three government agencies throughout the country had also
been torched.

The government had also frozen the financial transactions of more than 100
individuals and firms suspected of supporting the red-shirt movement.

More than 400 red shirts have been detained and 19 of them including their
key leaders are currently facing terrorism charges and the rest for violating
the emergency rule.

At the height of the protest, the government declared a state of emergency
in the capital on April 7 and extended it to 23 other provinces later but
gradually revoked most of them, leaving four provinces under the emergency
decree currently.

A curfew had also been imposed in several provinces including Bangkok soon
after the May 19 crackdown but was gradually revoked later.

The government had blamed the bombing activities after the May 19 on small
group of people who wanted to create chaos while the red-shirt leaders put a
counter blame on the government as they claimed the government had used it as an
excuse to extend the emergency decree.

Police as well as two red-shirt leaders have offered 100,000 baht rewards
respectively for information leading to the arrest of the suspects behind the
bomb attacks.

The security concern in this capital did not stop at the bomb threat only as
the red-shirt's rival, the yellow-shirts of the People's Alliance for Democracy
(PAD) had planned to hold a rally here on Friday.

The rally is to mark the second anniversary of protests against the Somchai
Wongsawat administration when they seized the Parliament on Oct 7, 2008 to
prevent the then government from delivering its policy statements.

There will also be other commemorative gatherings to mark the anniversary of
several political revolts against past military and civilian governments this
month.

All these gatherings have raised the public's eyebrow on the security
situation in this capital although the National Security Agency did not
anticipate violence surrounding the planned anniversaries.
-- BERNAMA