Army chief says political motivation remains unclear at Siam Paragon bombings

[webfact]

Army chief says political motivation remains unclear at Siam Paragon bombings



BANGKOK: -- Army commander-in-chief and deputy defence minister Gen Udomdej Seetabutr said it remained unclear if the two bomb explosions in front of Siam Paragon was political motivated.

He said it as too early to establish political motive as it remained unclear the incident would have connection with the previous bomb explosion in Minburi.

He said the army intelligence authorities were cooperating closely with the police to investigate and have not yet ruled out any cause.

He said jumping quickly to political motive could jeopardise the case now handled by the police.

The Minburi bomb explosion in March last year killed two persons. Search of a rented house in the area produced many gas tanks and materials used to assemble home made bombs. Pipe bomb were also discovered in the house. Earlier police investigations revealed the home-made bombs might be used against anti-government protesters.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/army-chief-says-political-motivation-remains-unclear-siam-paragon-bombings


-- Thai PBS 2015-02-03

[webfact]

Army Chief: Siam Paragon bomb blasts not political

BANGKOK, 3 February 2015 (NNT)-Army Chief General Udomdej Sitbutr is urging the public to dismiss rumors that the bomb blasts at Siam Paragon on Sunday are politically motivated.

The Army Chief, who is also a deputy defense minister, said that police officers and the army’s intelligence have been sharing information regarding the Sunday incident.

The General added that the case is under the jurisdiction of police, stating further that it would be impossible to establish any connection between the explosions at BTS Siam and the one in Minburi, given there is no solid evidence suggesting so.

The public should wait for the police to identify the suspect(s) before jumping to conclusions, the General said.


-- NNT 2015-02-03

[Strangebrew]

Why must it be a political motive? I would go with my gut feeling and say it has something to do miffed Taxi drivers not getting there way. I bet if you banned all taxi's and only allow cars and mini buses to drop off passengers The chit would really hit the fan but if you bow to there demands the next time they want fares raised they will bomb another venue to get results they want.

[Costas2008]

Hmmm......political motivation remains unclear..........

Even me, with my small brain, can assure you Chief that the red activists are back to their old tricks.

Hope you get them and don't only put them for "attitude adjustment" but throw them in jail.

[Snig27]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Hmmm......political motivation remains unclear..........

Even me, with my small brain, can assure you Chief that the red activists are back to their old tricks.

Hope you get them and don't only put them for "attitude adjustment" but throw them in jail.

You come from the land of great philosophers - perhaps apply your small brain a little more to the question of who benefits from this? It very much is not the reds. There's a principle called Occam's Razor which says that the most obvious answer is usually the correct one - the obvious one is defined by who benefits.

There is a reason the army is having to publicly deny and deny involvement today - and few seem to be buying that denial.

[zaphod reborn]

The chief should contact the US diplomatic corps. The US diplomatic corps seem to be able to divine when an event is politically driven.

[NongKhaiKid]

I'm sure there's a great possibility that the motive, if one is genuinely clear, may not be the one declared for public consumption.

[deathstardan]

Just when the Americans were saying there's no need for marshal law, a bomb goes off in a tourist area after months of calm...

What's the odds on that ?

It's a good job I believe in coincidences or people might think there's some shady business going on....

[DM07]

Just when the Americans were saying there's no need for marshal law, a bomb goes off in a tourist area after months of calm...

What's the odds on that ?

It's a good job I believe in coincidences or people might think there's some shady business going on....

More so: a bomb goes of and hurts no one, in a place where you normally would think, it should...

[chainarong]

Lets be Frank , Frank , unless they left a calling card or finger prints the only way you are going to know is when they give you a call on a hacked number.

[bangrak]

When there are local explosives' specialists(?) for sure they can have the remains analysed for chemical components, and clear whether the explosives used were of the 'home made' kind, or firecrackers/firework components, or industrial (mining), or military grade, each kind has quite different specific components. For the DIY's f.i. a fertiliser can be traced up to the packaging Cy., fireworks and industrials even more easily identifiable up to the producing Cy., the military the same.

And when it would even be military origine C4, Semtek, etc., it would still not point a finger at the RTA, ...for this, as quite some explosives have 'disappeared' and been stolen from Army bunkers in recent years, some showing up in bombs used by the 'red pacifists' in the central and other parts of Thailand during 2009/2010 and 2013/2014, and also by the 'moslim activists' in the Deep South.

I wouldn't go as far as saying every explosive has its own DNA, but kind of, in a less complex way, and, yes, it is possible to compare that specific ID-card with that of other bombs of the past, providing the same tests have been done correctly made at the time... The other components of the bombs being numerous extra clues.

[bangrak]

Question: is there an investigation running for possible 'business conflicts', or extortion with companies/shops established in the direct vicinity (radius below 10m.?)?

Another question is: why 2 bombs, same place, same time (when that last was not per mistake...)? To make sure at least 1 went off, or because 'they' could only make that size and 1 was like not strong enough, or to show 'they' can have/make more than 1, or ...? At least for me, when the 2nd one didn't explode at the same time by accident/mistake, this is a head scratcher.

[Criow]

Just when the Americans were saying there's no need for marshal law, a bomb goes off in a tourist area after months of calm...

What's the odds on that ?

It's a good job I believe in coincidences or people might think there's some shady business going on....

Just when Yingluck is indicted, a bomb goes off in a crowded area after months of calm...

Just when Jatuporn is sentenced to prison, a bomb goes off in a crowded area after months of calm...

Just when disgruntled taxi drivers are demanding more money, a bomb....

See how anyone can insert any sort of premise and all of them are as equally viable as the other? Any is just as suitable as the next depending on how one chooses to slant it.

btw... the bombing site is not "a tourist area"

[EnglishJohn]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Hmmm......political motivation remains unclear..........

Even me, with my small brain, can assure you Chief that the red activists are back to their old tricks.

Hope you get them and don't only put them for "attitude adjustment" but throw them in jail.

You come from the land of great philosophers - perhaps apply your small brain a little more to the question of who benefits from this? It very much is not the reds. There's a principle called Occam's Razor which says that the most obvious answer is usually the correct one - the obvious one is defined by who benefits.

There is a reason the army is having to publicly deny and deny involvement today - and few seem to be buying that denial.

I tend to think that when you have a group of proven terrorists who are paid by the ousted regime and the Army who have proven they are working to stop violence on the streets, I choose the terrorists every time. It's called common sense.

I wonder how you know 'few seem to be buying that denial' ??. Perhaps - in true red-shirt style - you just made it up because it suits you.

[surangw]

political or jealousy? ( too much competition for another shopping venue )

[lildragon]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Hmmm......political motivation remains unclear..........

Even me, with my small brain, can assure you Chief that the red activists are back to their old tricks.

Hope you get them and don't only put them for "attitude adjustment" but throw them in jail.

You come from the land of great philosophers - perhaps apply your small brain a little more to the question of who benefits from this? It very much is not the reds. There's a principle called Occam's Razor which says that the most obvious answer is usually the correct one - the obvious one is defined by who benefits.

There is a reason the army is having to publicly deny and deny involvement today - and few seem to be buying that denial.

I tend to think that when you have a group of proven terrorists who are paid by the ousted regime and the Army who have proven they are working to stop violence on the streets, I choose the terrorists every time. It's called common sense.

I wonder how you know 'few seem to be buying that denial' ??. Perhaps - in true red-shirt style - you just made it up because it suits you.

History shows that the beloved boys in green have their own hands stained with violence.

The reds are rent a thugs I agree, they just don't have as nice of uniforms.

[Tokay]

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

[Strikerxxx]

Question: is there an investigation running for possible 'business conflicts', or extortion with companies/shops established in the direct vicinity (radius below 10m.?)?

Another question is: why 2 bombs, same place, same time (when that last was not per mistake...)? To make sure at least 1 went off, or because 'they' could only make that size and 1 was like not strong enough, or to show 'they' can have/make more than 1, or ...? At least for me, when the 2nd one didn't explode at the same time by accident/mistake, this is a head scratcher.

When responding to a bomb threat one should always arrive with caution as a standard practice is to set a secondary, usually smaller then primary explosion to takeout emergency responders. While 30 sec is a short period, this may had been just a practice run to gauge response. Most explosions can be traced back to a test occurrence that did not attract too much attention before because of location or power.

[EyesWideOpen]

Hmmm......political motivation remains unclear..........

Even me, with my small brain, can assure you Chief that the red activists are back to their old tricks.

Hope you get them and don't only put them for "attitude adjustment" but throw them in jail.

Re-engage your brain....... And remember Occam's razor, the most logical

conclusion is usually the correct one. Meaning quacks like a duck etc......

Each bombing by the reds would simply insure that the military will be in

power for a very long time. That is contrary to what they want. They want

elections quickly so as to regain power before Prayut completely guts

Thaksin's political machine.

And the government seems to be yapping a bit too much about the public

jumping to political reasons for the bomb. As my favorite Shakespeare quote

says, Me thinketh the lady doth protesteth too much....

[whybother]

Until the government say "look, there was the Paragon bombing" as an excuse to continue martial law, they're not getting anything out of it.

They've said "it's not political", so they can't now use it as excuse.

[whybother]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Hmmm......political motivation remains unclear..........

Even me, with my small brain, can assure you Chief that the red activists are back to their old tricks.

Hope you get them and don't only put them for "attitude adjustment" but throw them in jail.

You come from the land of great philosophers - perhaps apply your small brain a little more to the question of who benefits from this? It very much is not the reds. There's a principle called Occam's Razor which says that the most obvious answer is usually the correct one - the obvious one is defined by who benefits.

There is a reason the army is having to publicly deny and deny involvement today - and few seem to be buying that denial.

The red shirts could gain from this bombing because extending martial law gives them more ammunition against the government.