BuffHello Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 that's actually what we expect for a long time. would anybody be surprised if a bomb goes up in one of the heavy frequented tourist areas? thailand has the problems with muslims in the south and they also supported the war in Iraq. but the singaporeans should be a bit careful; it could also happen in their country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 If you look at... http://board.nanaplaza.com//showflat.php?Cat=&Number=465083&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1 you'll see that bust1 made a very good point. IDSS is a think tank with its own agenda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 such an attack does not need to come from the seapartist groups in southern thailand. al qaida has probably a very different agenda! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 that's sort of what I said on the other thread. Couple of Al Quaida wannabes could shut down the whole country. Hey maybe we could get jobs with IDSS? I'm sure the pay is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 I think the Thai backlash on Muslims in BKK could be alot less measured than New Yorkers and Londoners after bombings there, or maybe I'm wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 lazyphil said:I think the Thai backlash on Muslims in BKK could be alot less measured than New Yorkers and Londoners after bombings there, or maybe I'm wrong? You call invading Afghanistan and Iraq 'less measured'? You think the Thais would invade Malaysia or Indonesia maybe? I know what you're saying Phil. Big crackdown on muslims in Bangkok...hundreds of arrests. Then what? That's exactly the kind of reaction the terrorists want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 If Thailand was capable of unleashing is wrath on a Muslim State like Indo or afghanistan whos to say the gov would hold back, quite clearly they cant pull of stuff the USA can so they wont, hypothetically of course. But yes you got my point, I was speaking of London and NYC civilians not going beserk at Muslims, yes there have been horrible cases of racist attacks fueled by 9/11 and 7/7 but BKK being the violent city, it could get 10X more violent for muslims, who knows till it happens, buddha willing it wont! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 You're right. If the shit hit the fan in Bangkok it could be a bloodbath. I'm sure both sides are aware how nasty it could get which may explain why the separatists haven't pushed their luck. I still think there's a bigger danger from some amateur trouble makers stirring the pot. Just found this BTW... Thai military chief believes violence in deep South will ease font size ZoomIn ZoomOut A top military official from the Royal Thai Army on Saturday expressed his belief that the violent unrest in Thailand's restive South will ease following the recent arrest of a leading suspected insurgent. Gen. Ruengroj Mahasaranond, Supreme Commander of Thailand, said that unrest in the three troubled southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat had improved considerably after the arrest of the suspected insurgent leader, Mareepeng Maha, who had a reward on his head of 500,000 Baht (about 12,200 US dollars), the Thai News Agency reported. Two days ago, police arrested four suspected militants including Mareepeng Maha, a key member of separatist Garekan Mujahideen Islam Patani (GMIP), who were believed to have been operating in the three southernmost provinces. http://tinyurl.com/a4d9f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 Chuck, Saw an interesting and frightening article in the BKK Post either yesterday or the day before I believe it was. Was about the Thai authorities seeking a known southern seperatist bomb maker in Bangkok. Said they know he is in Bangkok right now. They know he was training kids down south on how to make bombs (a few that were caught ratted him out) and that they think he is in BKK to teach other seperatists/terrorists living in the city how to make bombs and that he may be planning an attack now for the Mango. Serious terrorist known to have been trained by Al Queda in one of their camps before. Said he's a bomb expert and one of the main trainers down south for bomb building techniques. Now in Bangkok they said, positive of it the article quoted the authorites as saying. Big manhunt for him in the Mango right now. Let's hope they catch him before he teaches anyone how to make the damned bombs they've been using. Said he was adept at remote control bomb building. (Mobile phone triggers I suspect that meant.) Cent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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