| |
PussyLover 69
|
Report from Bangkok Post dated Sarurday 7 January 2006 :-
S'pore expert warns of terror in Bangkok : Says attack probable in city before end of year
Bangkok Post, Reuters -
A Singapore-based security expert has warned that Bangkok could face a terrorist attack within a year as tension rises between Muslim and Buddhist communities in the South.
Rohan Gunaratna, a security analyst at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) in Singapore, also told a conference on Thursday that Iraq had become the new epicentre of jihad, or Islamic holy war, inspiring a new generation of terrorists around the world.
Asian leaders have put terrorism high on their list of security concerns following bomb attacks in Bali, Madrid and London, as well as outbreaks of violence in the south of Thailand where 80% of the population is Muslim.
''We believe that the threat of terrorism is growing at a very serious pace, and that it is just a question of time before they attack Bangkok,'' Mr Gunaratna, who heads a terrorism research unit at IDSS, told reporters on the conference's sidelines.
He said the Thai government needs to expand its intelligence network, engage Thailand's Muslim political leadership and work with neighbouring Malaysia to stop the spread of cross-border terrorism.
''If they don't do that, our assessment is that terrorists will attack Bangkok before the end of the year,'' he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Chidchai Wannasathit, who is responsible for day-to-day security in the South, said there was no intelligence report to confirm Mr Gunaratna's warning, which, he said, was simply precautionary.
He said this week that most of those responsible for the unrest had been captured and that the government had ''fixed 40% of the problem''.
Mr Gunaratna said that terrorist networks have expanded to 10 European countries, as well as the Middle East, and were inspiring cell networks across Southeast Asia. Indonesia's home-grown Jemaah Islamiah, the group seen as al- Qaeda's regional arm, has been blamed for the 2002 bombings in Bali.
Meanwhile, army chief Gen Sonthi Bunyaratglin has pointed out that Indonesian-trained southern militants called RKK were involved in the beheading of an army sergeant in Yala and a spate of ambushes in the far South, which were aimed at scaring local villagers.
Gen Sonthi, a former special warfare officer admitted that soldiers were at great risk of being ambushed.
He also admitted that the southern militants were trying to introduce Iraqi-style violence to three southern border provinces and the military must stop them.
Earlier, Gen Sonthi said about 300 RKK members had been stationed in many tambons of the deep South to incite chaos and some of them had been arrested for burning Wat Promprasit in Pattani's Panare district and killing and beheading a monk there in October.
In the meantime, Pol Maj-Gen Witthaya Kosiyasathit, commander of Metropolitan Police Bureau division 4, admitted some alliances of southern instigators were residing in dormitories in Ramkhamhaeng.
He said some instigators were studying at Ramkhamhaeng University, especially the Political Science Faculty, and frequently travelled between Bangkok and the South.
Pol Maj-Gen Witthaya said there should be no serious concern about the group, who are being watched closely by police, as these men were neither professional terrorists nor leaders, but were occasionally hired to incite chaos due to their wildness.
The commander denied news reports that Faisol Hayesama-ae, suspected of perpetrating several bomb attacks in the South, was hiding in the Ramkhamhaeng area, saying it would be easier for the man to have escaped to Malaysia.
Mr Faisol was implicated in the Hat Yai airport bombing which killed and wounded scores in April last year.
However, Pol Maj-Gen Witthaya ordered Hua Mak and Wang Thong Lang police to instruct dormitory operators to register and screen all tenants and alert police about any irregularities.
|
Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:51 am on Jan. 7, 2006
|
|
China Sailor
|
Maybe Taksin should try the approach that the Americans are now using in Iraq (according to NYT) -- Throw cash at them.
It seems that Al Qaeda is having a little cash flow problem (not too many ATMs in the caves in Pakistan) and may of the Iraqi insurgents are in it for profit, not for religion.
I am sure the same applies to the South...
|
Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 6:43 am on Jan. 9, 2006
|
|
| |
|
