Nationwide security alert for Songkran

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BangkokPost.com:

Authorities have issued a full security alert in the wake of an explosion in front of a Bangkok mall. Australia warned that more bombings were feared at Songkran this weekend.

Bangkok areas of particular concern were the Khao San Road, a celebrated meeting point for foreign tourists and backpackers, and Sanuam Luang, a large park in the centre of the old part of the city which attracts thousands of Songkran revellers.

The government has ordered extra police in Bangkok for Thai New Year celebrations this weekend to try to prevent a repeat of the New Year's Eve serial blasts that killed three people.

Pol Lt-Gen Adisorn Nonsee said more than 3,000 police officers would patrol the capital, up from the current 1,500, during the five-day Songkran festival which kicks off on Thursday afternoon.

Piyabutr Jiwaramonaikun, chairman of the Association of Khao San Traders, said more than 100 soldiers, policemen and civil volunteers would be on duty in the backpackers' festival area while bomb detectors would also be used as part of the security measures.

Mr Piyabutr expected that more than 10 million baht would be circulated during the four-day event on Khao San Road which should see a daily turnout of 40,000-50,000 Thai and foreign celebrants.

He said revellers would be banned from applying talcum powder on others and each day's festival would end at 7 pm. Water gun is one of the favourite equipments to splash water on others during the festival.

Nobody was hurt in Monday night's explosion in front of Major Cineplex Ratchayothin, but three phone booths were damaged. Police detained, but later released a taxi driver suspected of planting the home-made device.

The Australian embassy in Bangkok issued an advisory to its citizens in late February, saying it had received reports of possible bombs in crowded places such as department stores or public transport in the capital.

The advice, renewed today in an announcement, urged "a high degree of caution because of the high threat of terrorist attack".

"Thai authorities have previously warned of the possibility of further co-ordinated bombings in Thailand to coincide with symbolic dates, including in Bangkok and the southern provinces," the travel advice said.

"They have mentioned the Buddhist festive season of Songkran (around the period April 11-17, 2007) as a particular time of concern. We assess these warnings are credible," it said.

"Further terrorist attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Thailand," it added.

Source: http://bangkokpost.com/topstories/to....php?id=118001

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Some more news about the most recent bomb from The Nation, April 10/07

Bomb 'may have been a warning'

The small bomb near the Major Ratchayothin shopping and entertainment centre late on Monday night could be a warning, Special Branch Police acting commander Maj-General Rapeepat Palawong said yesterday.

"We have some information, but it remains incomplete. We are talking with the Metropolitan Police," he said.

A source said after the bomb, security measures were stepped up ahead of the Songkran festival.

Officials are worried about a repeat of the New Year's Eve attacks in the capital and Lunar New Year bombings in the deep South that also killed several. Major Ratchayothin was one of the targets of the December 31 bombs.

Songkran runs officially from April 13 to 17. Hundreds of thousands of revellers are expected on streets across the country.

"Surveillance will focus more on Bangkok than in three South provinces this time," an intelligence source revealed.

Chana Songkhram police superintendent Colonel Utasin Ritruangdej - whose jurisdiction includes Khao San Road - said extra patrols would be deployed in the area over Songkran.

"We have asked the Army Region 1 to deploy soldiers, too," he said. Sniffer dogs would be used around the clock during the festival.

The moves follow orders from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lt-General Adisorn Nonsee that all capital commanders tighten security, especially at spots where large gatherings were expected.

Adisorn said it was clear the explosion was designed to create a disturbance. "At this point, we have yet to gather enough evidence to determine who is behind the attack."

He believed the bomb was unrelated to the New Year's Eve blasts.

"The bombs used at New Year's were much more powerful," he said.

Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Maj-General Krissada Phankongchuen said yesterday Monday's device was detonated by a clock and was armed with gunpowder. "It was harmful in a five- to 10-metre radius," he said.

Krissada said the bomb was similar to those detonated outside the residence of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, Lumpini Park, the Manager Daily building and the Tokyo shopping centre.

National Security Council secretary-general Prakit Prachon-pachanuk and Interior Minister Aree Wongsearaya insisted a state of emergency was unnecessary. Both urged the public to help prevent more attacks.

Police questioned a fruit seller, a traffic-police officer, a traffic-signal technician and a Major Ratcha-yothin security guard after the blast. A Major Ratchayothin executive said the bomb did not stem from a business dispute.