Bangkok Blast Kills 1, Injures 10 In First Attack Since May Turmoil

[rubl]

...

let's also not forget that the past two post-May 19th red shirt gatherings have been at Ratchaprasong. Why the sudden change?

Have you any additional information about the post-may reds shirt gatherings at Ratchaprasong? How many people showed up? When did it exactly happen?

If they now had an aerobic event, it makes sense to do that in Lumpini Park or not?

Posting from a phone so difficult to find links, but there's been at least two red shirt gatherings in Ratchaprasong since May 19th. Both have had "plays" of people getting shot, with the last one also featuring that staged, unconvincing arrest.

Doesn't take much rocket science to consider they might of been warned to avoid Ratchaprasong this weekend so think of an alternative location & activity. After all, didn't many of the bullets fired originate from Lumpini?

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/07/25/politics/Reds-plan-aerobics-protest-30134494.html

Without further proof it is easy to speculate, do woolgathering, come up with interesting theories. IMHO the bomb attack was done by red or UDD sympathisers. They had more to gain by chaos after the PTP defeat in the election. The aerobics could have been held at Ratchaprasong intersection, or Rajdamri in front of CentralWorld, much more visibility, publicity there.

Sorry, no proof, just my opinion, so don't start asking for details, links, or the like.

Edited July 26, 2010 by rubl

[webfact]

Suspects in Big C bomb attack caught on security camera: senior officer

Pol Col Phanupong Singhara, an advisor to the Royal Thai Police, said Monday that some suspicious persons who might plant the bomb that exploded in front of Big C Rajdamri Shopping Mall were caught on a security camera.

Phanupong said investigators would try to locate the suspects as seen on a video feed of the camera and carry out further investigations.

Phanupong said the bomb, which exploded Sunday evening, was M67 grenade modified to be detonated with a clock and it had a 15-metre radius of destruction.

-- The Nation 2010-07-26

[Robby nz]

Not the first but the second bomb after the BJT party HQ effort for which we have arrests.

The UDD and PTP distanced themselves from those arrested because they got caught.

Lets hope they get the bar stewards who did it quickly.

Hay wasn't the M67 grenade a black shirt weapon of choice?

[AlanL1275]

Another gathering of Red Shirt Terrorist, is a good time to jail them all with terrorism charges.

[IvanDobsky]

Thaksin urges supporters not to use violence

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra Monday posted a message on his Twitter page, urging his supporters not to use violence in their political fight.

The call was made a day after a blast in the heart of Bangkok killed a person and injured 10 others.

In the message, Thaksin thanked his supporters for their birthday wish for him.

"If you love me and have good intention towards me, please be patient to on-going injustice and cruelty. Please do not vent out your frustration with violence. I don't agree with the use of violence," Thaksin said.

He also thanked his Twitter followers. He said the number of his Twitter followers rose to 116,814 after he opened his page for a year.

-- The Nation 2010-07-26

Can someone send me the link to Thaksins Twitter page?

A simple google search for Thaksin's twitter page and you too will be greeted with this:

if you have a twitter account, you can read it

[TheBarbarian]

It seems that the Nation editors were drunk or just in bed with the bombers. The fact is that there is NO CCTV footage at all. The device was not unknown but a military M79 grenade. The Nation often does not do its homework they can't help it, the mainstream media wins by the status quo and the state of emergency. Of course the military are behind this bombing, they need the SOE in order to suppress the media and bloggers and websites that show the real thailand.

[rubl]

It seems that the Nation editors were drunk or just in bed with the bombers. The fact is that there is NO CCTV footage at all. The device was not unknown but a military M79 grenade. The Nation often does not do its homework they can't help it, the mainstream media wins by the status quo and the state of emergency. Of course the military are behind this bombing, they need the SOE in order to suppress the media and bloggers and websites that show the real thailand.

Both the Nation and the other English language newspaper mention a M67 grenade and CCTV footage of a suspect who could be responsible for the explosion. Look it up, check it out

[souvenirdeparis]

so people saw smoke , at a notoriously sensitive location,there is emergency situation in BKK, it's election day, everybody's got a cell phone and nobody phones the police or firefighters or just yells "run for your life". People were waiting for the bus THERE by a smoking garbage bag ?

The bus people weren't given trainig on what to be on the look out for? Blast the Bus system boss; what about sky train then ? do they have a modicum of terrorist alert training? Even in careless France, after our subway blasts there were extensive bomb watch warnings, look for suspicious parcels , end of metal garbage bins (replaced by ugly see-through plastic bags everywhere) , railings erected in front of schools to avoid parking (everybody parks in front of the railings anyway).

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

The Red cowards have promised this all along, and then when they follow through on their threats, they try to blame the Govt. for their own evil deads. The Red leaders asked over and over for their little lambs to burn down Bkk and when they burn it down, the Reds then say they were peaceful and would never do that. They have again promised this kind of retaliation and have once again followed through with their threats and again try and blame the Govt. for it. At least the psychos in the Middle East will admit and take responsibilty for their evil acts of terrorism, but not the Reds, they make their threats, follow through and then blame everyone else.

The Reds have done enough violence and destruction to give this, or any Govt. enough just cause to deal with them in anyway they see fit. For anyone to suggest the Govt. needs to do something like this to justify continuing the Emergency Decree is simply insane.

[Werfer]

The amount of people in this thread that actually believe the government would do this, wow just wow. Tinfoil hat...

[Jingthing]

The amount of people in this thread that actually believe the government would do this, wow just wow. Tinfoil hat...

It's just most the same old red supporters. They can't help it. The evidence of what happened at Black Songkran coupled with the Burning of Bangkok wasn't enough evidence for them that their movement has a strong terrorist faction.

[rubl]

The amount of people in this thread that actually believe the government would do this, wow just wow. Tinfoil hat...

The amount of people who believe the 'reds' did it, wow just wow.

Keep in mind that mostly people with an explicit opinion will post here; and a few others.

[Jingthing]

The amount of people in this thread that actually believe the government would do this, wow just wow. Tinfoil hat...

The amount of people who believe the 'reds' did it, wow just wow.

Keep in mind that mostly people with an explicit opinion will post here; and a few others.

Here's where you're wrong. MOST people think the reds did it of those who are even aware of the story. I bet you even most reds think that. Just look at the recent history and that is obvious.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

The amount of people in this thread that actually believe the government would do this, wow just wow. Tinfoil hat...

The amount of people who believe the 'reds' did it, wow just wow.

Keep in mind that mostly people with an explicit opinion will post here; and a few others.

Oh yes, of course the Reds didn't do it, they were also probably framed for burning down Bkk after they also threatened to do that !! I am sure the North Koreans were also innocent of sinking the South's ship after repeatedly threatening to do that. I am also sure that Hitler was set up and really had nothing to do with any of that nasty business throughout the second world war. So many vitims in this cruel world, chai mai?

[rubl]

The amount of people in this thread that actually believe the government would do this, wow just wow. Tinfoil hat...

The amount of people who believe the 'reds' did it, wow just wow.

Keep in mind that mostly people with an explicit opinion will post here; and a few others.

Here's where you're wrong. MOST people think the reds did it of those who are even aware of the story. I bet you even most reds think that. Just look at the recent history and that is obvious.

I was just trying to give some balance. Personally I think red or UDD sympathisers did it as I stated a few replies before.

Edited July 26, 2010 by rubl

[Jingthing]

Why give balance to a group with such a track record of terrorist acts? This isn't a garden party.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Jingthing

[rubl]

Why give balance to a group with such a track record of terrorist acts? This isn't a garden party.

Why? Just to be fair!

Till now there is no proof who did this, only many speculations. Many good, bad, interesting arguments for and against. Only party not accused yet are the aliens (the real ones that is). As I said, IMHO it's red/UDD sympathisers, but that still allows me to try to keep an open-mind!

[Mitker]

It seems that the Nation editors were drunk or just in bed with the bombers. The fact is that there is NO CCTV footage at all. The device was not unknown but a military M79 grenade. The Nation often does not do its homework they can't help it, the mainstream media wins by the status quo and the state of emergency. Of course the military are behind this bombing, they need the SOE in order to suppress the media and bloggers and websites that show the real thailand.

I like those "of course..."

They remind me how lucky we are these posters don't carry any official duty

[Jingthing]

Why give balance to a group with such a track record of terrorist acts? This isn't a garden party.

Why? Just to be fair!

Till now there is no proof who did this, only many speculations. Many good, bad, interesting arguments for and against. Only party not accused yet are the aliens (the real ones that is). As I said, IMHO it's red/UDD sympathisers, but that still allows me to try to keep an open-mind!

I don't see the point in giving equal weight to ridiculous theories. The theory that the government did it is ridiculous.

[Wozzit]

Why give balance to a group with such a track record of terrorist acts? This isn't a garden party.

Why? Just to be fair!

Till now there is no proof who did this, only many speculations. Many good, bad, interesting arguments for and against. Only party not accused yet are the aliens (the real ones that is). As I said, IMHO it's red/UDD sympathisers, but that still allows me to try to keep an open-mind!

I don't see the point in giving equal weight to ridiculous theories. The theory that the government did it is ridiculous.

I am sorry but I can't agree. Whilst I think a red sympathiser probably planted the bomb, sadly I can think of some situations when a government sympathiser or sympathetic group would want plant it - and therefore might have planted it. The struggle going on in this country is deep with two pretty entrenched positions. One is in power; the other wants power because it believes the power it had was illegally torn from it. I would find it hard to believe there are not extremists on both sides.

[rubl]

Why give balance to a group with such a track record of terrorist acts? This isn't a garden party.

Why? Just to be fair!

Till now there is no proof who did this, only many speculations. Many good, bad, interesting arguments for and against. Only party not accused yet are the aliens (the real ones that is). As I said, IMHO it's red/UDD sympathisers, but that still allows me to try to keep an open-mind!

I don't see the point in giving equal weight to ridiculous theories. The theory that the government did it is ridiculous.

For some the theory that those peace-loving reds did it, is equally ridiculous. I don't feel up to weighting theories, even if I have my own opinion. Call it 'insufficient data'

[andyww]

I suspected that this type of attack might be the next stage in the Red proceedings in Bangkok, and sadly was proved right.

It a natural progression:

The red movement managed to capture the sentiments of a large number of people at the outset, even many Bkk residents. Then gradually people realized that the movements leaders were fractured into a moderate group and a group of violent extremists.

In May, the extremists won out and the ensuing destruction destroyed the red movement as a populist group although many people remain sympathetic to their core cause.

The reds will never again be able to mobilize a large crown of protesters as they are thoroughtly discredited as a movement, so the only way they can carry on their cause is by random acts of terrorism. It takes 10,000 people to form a protest group but only two or three to plant a bomb.

There are parallels with other movements across th world, particularly in Northern Ireland, with the "real IRA" who maintain a tiny but potentially devastating prescence following the renouncement of violence by the vast majority.

[webfact]

Deadly Bangkok bomb designed for political gain: police

BANGKOK (AFP) -- A bomb in central Bangkok that killed one person and wounded 10 on Sunday was designed to create disorder for political gain, police said Monday.

The blast came two months after deadly opposition protests rocked the city and hours after polls closed in a crucial Bangkok by-election, with initial results suggesting a leader of the "Red Shirt" anti-government movement had lost to a member of the elite-backed ruling party.

The bomb exploded at a bus stop in the same commercial district occupied by the Red Shirts during their two-month-long mass rally, which ended with an army crackdown in May.

Police General Panupong Singhara Na Ayutthaya said they were investigating CCTV images of a man who may be a suspect, adding that the culprits likely aimed "to create disorder for political gain".

The blast followed a parliamentary race in a Bangkok suburb -- seen as a litmus test of public opinion following the civil unrest -- which a Red Shirt leader now detained on terrorism charges appeared to have lost.

Initial Election Commission results showed Kokaew Pikulthong, who stood for the opposition Puea Thai (For Thais) party but was not allowed out of jail to campaign, was beaten by ruling Democrat party candidate Panich Vikitsreth.

A Puea Thai spokesman accused government supporters of setting off the bomb, which shattered an uneasy calm in the capital since the army crushed the Red Shirts' mass protests.

"I believe a bomb came from a group who support the government and want the emergency rule to be maintained," said spokesman Pormpong Nopparit.

"This group wants political gain from maintaining emergency rule, while many people in this society want the state of emergency to be revoked," he added.

The government has come under pressure from the United States and rights groups to end a state of emergency still in place across one-fifth of the country.

Authorities have used the powers -- introduced in Bangkok on April 7 -- to arrest hundreds of Red Shirt suspects and silence anti-government media.

The protests by the Reds, many of whom back fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, attracted up to 100,000 people demanding immediate elections.

Ninety people died and about 1,900 were injured in a series of street clashes between armed troops and demonstrators.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-07-26

[Babcock]

andyww "The reds will never again be able to mobilize a large crown of protesters as they are thoroughtly discredited as a movement, so the only way they can carry on their cause is by random acts of terrorism"

Not in my eyes and the eyes of the world but hey

I wonder if any cctv evidence wil emerge. The BKK governor wants to install 100000 camera I believe. There's a man with some credit who alone sought to parlay with the UDD whilst his governemt refused face to face meetings after the TV meetings.

It could be redshirts behind this bombing and we saw the BJT perps caught. Was it Seh Dang's driver again? Let's pin it on him. I agree with other posters here the police authorities aren't too interested in the public only in what they can get out of them. The bombings during the redshirt protests were carried out by the army and/or PAD. No cameras. No witnesses. No injuries except to security guard outside Poseidon "spa". That bombing may have been by redshirts. It was the only way to create a state of emergency and so to ban a legal demonstration after the illegitmate government realised that the protesters were not going away. The SOE has to continue as no charges have yet been brought. Over 400 people held including a 70 year old woman. Downhill since the coup.

[Insight]

The below link shows a picture from the Ratchaprasong gathering on the 11th:

Http://m.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=444213&id=123580604318842&r776a9b20&refid=13

There was another gathering the following Sunday where they vandalised a skytrain pylon and a feow barricades in memory of the dead. I got this info from their twitter feed @UDDThailand, currently posting under the alias Ratchaprasong News.

They are clearly fond of Ratchaprasong, but not this Sunday. Guess we now have a way of knowing if it's safe to go shopping anyhow.

[sbk]

andyww "The reds will never again be able to mobilize a large crown of protesters as they are thoroughtly discredited as a movement, so the only way they can carry on their cause is by random acts of terrorism"

Not in my eyes and the eyes of the world but hey

I wonder if any cctv evidence wil emerge. The BKK governor wants to install 100000 camera I believe. There's a man with some credit who alone sought to parlay with the UDD whilst his governemt refused face to face meetings after the TV meetings.

It could be redshirts behind this bombing and we saw the BJT perps caught. Was it Seh Dang's driver again? Let's pin it on him. I agree with other posters here the police authorities aren't too interested in the public only in what they can get out of them. The bombings during the redshirt protests were carried out by the army and/or PAD. No cameras. No witnesses. No injuries except to security guard outside Poseidon "spa". That bombing may have been by redshirts. It was the only way to create a state of emergency and so to ban a legal demonstration after the illegitmate government realised that the protesters were not going away. The SOE has to continue as no charges have yet been brought. Over 400 people held including a 70 year old woman. Downhill since the coup.

Please do not post speculation as fact, thanks. It is inflammatory and disruptive and further such posts can result in more than a simple public request.

[chainarong]

This is just my opinion and it might offend people but I believe it to be true

The government has been far to nice to the red shirts. They have been more concerned about looking good than they have in punishing the criminals. The red shirts should have been crushed. As is they were merely coddled told it was not there fault and given free rides home.

Time to think of Thailand and not what is nice for the red shirts. Give them the same consideration they gave Bangkok. If the situation was reversed they would not handle you in such a nice way.

Most governments work off a policy of whats good for the state, this may or may not include the people ,the country should come first..

[rubl]

andyww "The reds will never again be able to mobilize a large crown of protesters as they are thoroughtly discredited as a movement, so the only way they can carry on their cause is by random acts of terrorism"

Not in my eyes and the eyes of the world but hey

I wonder if any cctv evidence wil emerge. The BKK governor wants to install 100000 camera I believe. There's a man with some credit who alone sought to parlay with the UDD whilst his governemt refused face to face meetings after the TV meetings.

It could be redshirts behind this bombing and we saw the BJT perps caught. Was it Seh Dang's driver again? Let's pin it on him. I agree with other posters here the police authorities aren't too interested in the public only in what they can get out of them. The bombings during the redshirt protests were carried out by the army and/or PAD. No cameras. No witnesses. No injuries except to security guard outside Poseidon "spa". That bombing may have been by redshirts. It was the only way to create a state of emergency and so to ban a legal demonstration after the illegitmate government realised that the protesters were not going away. The SOE has to continue as no charges have yet been brought. Over 400 people held including a 70 year old woman. Downhill since the coup.

Interesting rant, not being bothered by evidence seen in the last few months. This I'd call the imagination of a true blooded red-shirt supporter, or should I say anti-current-government ? Anyway these few words I type are already more response than that rant deserves.

Edited July 26, 2010 by rubl

[Babcock]

anti-current government?

and the military? Mr 30%s. They don't care about the people. Nobody elected them. Nobody elected this government. BJT changed sides. So a vote for them didn't count really for much.

Block, ban all indipendant media., web sites. Arrest 16 year olds for holding a placard saying he saw dead people in Rachaprasong! A rant indeed. Oh yes. Things may be good in Pattaya but not here in Bangkok. Tourism is on the slide. Our business is suffering but those in power they couldn't care less. This is what you get from overthrowing an elected government. Sorry 2 elected governments and 3 prime ministers. The clock had to reset. Look at the history. Anytime change, modernisation begins here it has to be supressed. Everyone can see who really runs Thailand and they're so greedy. Are they buddhists? Downhill since the coup.

[jayjay0]

I suspected that this type of attack might be the next stage in the Red proceedings in Bangkok, and sadly was proved right.

It a natural progression:

The red movement managed to capture the sentiments of a large number of people at the outset, even many Bkk residents. Then gradually people realized that the movements leaders were fractured into a moderate group and a group of violent extremists.

In May, the extremists won out and the ensuing destruction destroyed the red movement as a populist group although many people remain sympathetic to their core cause.

The reds will never again be able to mobilize a large crown of protesters as they are thoroughtly discredited as a movement, so the only way they can carry on their cause is by random acts of terrorism. It takes 10,000 people to form a protest group but only two or three to plant a bomb.

There are parallels with other movements across th world, particularly in Northern Ireland, with the "real IRA" who maintain a tiny but potentially devastating prescence following the renouncement of violence by the vast majority.

Also they are highly mobile now. It could be your neighbor. They don't have to go to a rally or Bangkok just get on the phone and call one of there like minded buddies and KABOOM