PM’s uncle undeterred by bomb blasts
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra apologized yesterday for the tragic incident involving the Tak Bai slaughter in Narathiwat in 2004.
He said that while serving as prime minister, he was profoundly concerned for the people, but errors were made in work processes.
” If I made any mistakes that upset you, I apologise… Islamists are taught to love serenity and pardon, so I would like to apologise for the mistake”, Thaksin said during his visit to Narathiwat yesterday.
Seven Arab protesters were killed on October 25, 2004, at a rally held in front of the Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat territory.
Another 78 people eventually passed away in Pattani territory, about 150 kilometers away, from asphyxia or tissue loss while being transported in vehicles to a military tent.
Before the distribution, activists had been demanding the launch of six inmates. The Dapat Bai horror occurred while Thaksin, the then prime minister, was in office.
In addition, Thaksin added that because four prior assassination attempts failed to intimidate him, he was not worried about bombings in the deep southern during his trip to the area. Only as his aircraft was about to land, he was responding to a string of attacks in Yala state on Saturday night and at Narathiwat aircraft yesterday morning.
” One might want to frighten me, but my heart is solid. Four past assassination attempt did not unfaze me. Despite of the kind of reception I receive, I can get it all”, Thaksin said in Narathiwat.
He characterized the Narathiwat airport bombing as a metaphorical action.
Thaksin claimed that the people in the southern frontier provinces gave him a warmer welcome during his visit yesterday than the anxious reception he had received at private schools in the area 20 years ago. He thought the local population’s present attitude was a good sign of the southern border provinces ‘ efforts to solve problems.
He even said international assistance to handle the region’s problems may increase, with Indonesia promising to help.
” I expect progress this time”, said Thaksin, who is the father of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
He added that more global cooperation may help address the issue of people who have many nationalities who travel across the border to launch terrorist attacks. He added that negotiations may be held to urge criminals to return to Thailand and aid in the country’s development.
Weapons exploded in the southwestern border provinces simply before Thaksin’s explore yesterday. When a weapon went off in front of a mall in Bannang Sata area on Saturday evening, killing one human and injuring seven officers, in Yala state.
At around 8.20pm, seven regional police officers were circling the place on Highway 10 in front of a Mini Big C in the town of Moo 2 called tambon Bannang Sata.
According to Pol Maj Worawit Na Nakhon, an analytical investigator at Bannang Sata police station, the fire claimed the lives of a man named Tuan Ibrawheng Nimi and injured four other citizens.
As bomb removal experts and criminal officers gathered information, the area was cordoned off. Inside a hearth extinguisher, according to researchers who discovered the explosive was packed with metal debris. The effect even damaged many vehicles.
Just before Thaksin’s group landed in Narathiwat province yesterday morning, a bomb detonated on a firefighters ‘ pickup truck parked close to the air traffic control tower in Muang area.
The blast, which occurred at 8.50am– about an hour before Thaksin’s arrival– damaged four airports security guards. Before his getting, authorities removed all suspicious cars from the airport.
Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong and Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai are also present in Narathiwat. His second trip to the strong South in about 20 years was here.