Sunday, February 14, 2010
BANGKOK: Thai police said they had defused a bomb near the Supreme Court on Sunday, while a grenade exploded near government offices, ahead of a ruling this month on ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's fortune.
Neither incident in central Bangkok caused casualties. But they occurred despite the deployment of at least 20,000 extra security personnel around Thailand ahead of the February 26 court verdict on ex-premier Thaksin, who lives in exile.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has faced mass protests from Thaksin supporters since coming to power in December 2008, accused anti-government elements of trying to stir up trouble.
"The motive is to cause turmoil. I am not swayed by this psychological warfare," Abhisit told reporters.
"The government is keeping an eye on movements because we have heard that a certain group of people would like to see the failure of the administration. We have always expected that."
Police said unidentified attackers fired a grenade late Saturday at a university located opposite Government House -- the office of Abhisit and his cabinet.
A car, a truck and a storage room were damaged by the grenade, said police Colonel Rangsan Pradittphon.
Early Sunday a security guard found a cardboard box containing three pounds (1.4 kilogrammes) of the plastic explosive C-4 attached to electric wire in the yard outside the Supreme Court building, police said.
Bomb disposal experts had removed the box, said district police chief General King Kwangvisatchaichan.
The Supreme Court is due to rule on whether the fortune of Thaksin -- frozen in the months after he was deposed in a military coup in 2006 -- can be seized by the authorities.
The government fears a backlash from pro-Thaksin "Red Shirts" if the court agrees to such a step. The movement has stepped up anti-government demonstrations ahead of the court date.
Despite staying abroad since August 2008, Thaksin remains a divisive figure in his homeland, still popular among the poor but reviled by the Bangkok-based elites.
Both his opponents -- the so-called "Yellow Shirts" -- and red-clad supporters have staged numerous rallies over the past year, which have sometimes turned violent.
BANGKOK: Thai police said they had defused a bomb near the Supreme Court on Sunday, while a grenade exploded near government offices, ahead of a ruling this month on ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's fortune.
Neither incident in central Bangkok caused casualties. But they occurred despite the deployment of at least 20,000 extra security personnel around Thailand ahead of the February 26 court verdict on ex-premier Thaksin, who lives in exile.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has faced mass protests from Thaksin supporters since coming to power in December 2008, accused anti-government elements of trying to stir up trouble.
"The motive is to cause turmoil. I am not swayed by this psychological warfare," Abhisit told reporters.
"The government is keeping an eye on movements because we have heard that a certain group of people would like to see the failure of the administration. We have always expected that."
Police said unidentified attackers fired a grenade late Saturday at a university located opposite Government House -- the office of Abhisit and his cabinet.
A car, a truck and a storage room were damaged by the grenade, said police Colonel Rangsan Pradittphon.
Early Sunday a security guard found a cardboard box containing three pounds (1.4 kilogrammes) of the plastic explosive C-4 attached to electric wire in the yard outside the Supreme Court building, police said.
Bomb disposal experts had removed the box, said district police chief General King Kwangvisatchaichan.
The Supreme Court is due to rule on whether the fortune of Thaksin -- frozen in the months after he was deposed in a military coup in 2006 -- can be seized by the authorities.
The government fears a backlash from pro-Thaksin "Red Shirts" if the court agrees to such a step. The movement has stepped up anti-government demonstrations ahead of the court date.
Despite staying abroad since August 2008, Thaksin remains a divisive figure in his homeland, still popular among the poor but reviled by the Bangkok-based elites.
Both his opponents -- the so-called "Yellow Shirts" -- and red-clad supporters have staged numerous rallies over the past year, which have sometimes turned violent.
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