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Friday August 25, 1:57 PMThai defense minister says bomb a plot to bring down government
Police defused a potent mix of TNT, plastic explosives, fertilizer and gasoline found Thursday in the trunk of a car at an intersection near Thaksin's home, which they said was a foiled attempt to kill the prime minister. An army officer was arrested shortly after the bomb was found and charged with illegal possession of explosives, prompting Thaksin to sack a top general. "There is a movement to bring the government to collapse and to kill the government's leader," Defence Minister General Thammarak Isarangkun told reporters Friday. "These people aim to take the power to lead the country," he said. Thammarak said intelligence agents had been investigating the plot for some time. Security officials have warned since late June that they were looking into intelligence reports that unknown forces were plotting to kill the billionaire premier, whose controversial rule sparked months of street protests earlier this year. "If any soldiers did it, we will punish them and the army will take care of this matter." General Panlop Pinmanee, the deputy chief of the powerful Internal Security Operations Command who Thaksin sacked on Thursday, denied any involvement. "If I had done it, I guarantee that the prime minister wouldn't have survived," he told reporters. The bomb was found as campaigning officially began for general elections set for October 15, the second national polls this year. Thaksin's security had already been beefed up ahead of elections, following scuffles between his supporters and groups opposing his rule. The polls are meant to end months of political turmoil in Thailand, but the discovery of the bomb drew worries about how deep the tensions run. "It also gives the impression that not only has the country's political system been weakened but the rule of law, which is the main pillar of democracy, has also been eroded," the Nation newspaper wrote in an editorial. Thaksin, 57, survived months of street protests earlier this year demanding his resignation over claims of corruption stemming from his family's 1.9-billion-dollar sale of telecom stock. He called snap elections in April to end the protests. His party won, but the victory was undermined an opposition boycott. The courts invalidated the results and set the stage for the new polls in October. |
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