Sukampol visits South, says Thaksin did not meet PULO leaders

Sukampol said before leaving Bangkok that the trip was aimed at getting firsthand information on obstacles and recommendations from the authorities in the region and seeking ways to coordinate operations among the various agencies in the Southern provinces so that they run more smoothly.

He said any intelligence and strategic operations that were working properly would not be altered, but more communication technology for more effective coordination among official agencies would be implemented.

As for security measures to ensure public safety, he said the emergency decree was being enforced in the three Southern provinces and the local authorities would decide whether a curfew was needed in any of their jurisdictions.

Sukampol also dismissed the possibility that Thaksin had held secret talks with Thai insurgents living abroad. He said the claim would not have an impact on security matters and urged the public not to give it any credence.

Opposition Democrat MPs for the Southern border provinces of Songkhla and Yala cited informed sources as saying that Thaksin had recently talked with the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO) in a neighbouring country. However, the insurgent movement reportedly rejected the ousted his alleged offer of money in exchange for an end to the eightyear insurgency in the deep South. 

The failed talks allegedly led to the recent surge of violence that has rocked the region. 

The Democrat MPs asked the government to investigate the PULO website, where Thaksin was said to be pictured embracing its leader.

At a meeting with Sukampol and senior officials in Yala, Pol Colonel Thawee Sodsong, secretarygeneral of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, reported that authorities had held two suspects involved in the Yala carbombing in custody but details were withheld pending investigation. 

Meanwhile, the Southern Border Provinces Police Operation Centre has distributed photos and details of five stolen vehicles that could be used in future carbombings. The agency is urging the public to keep a lookout and alert authorities if they spot any suspicious cars or trucks. 

Police said of eight stolen vehicles reported, three had been fitted with explosive devices and used in last weekend’s bombings – one in Hat Yai and two in Yala on the same day.

The other five suspicious vehicles, all pickups, are a white Toyota Hilux, a green Mitsubishi L200, and three Isuzus, one brown, one bronze and one gold.

The double bomb attacks in Songkhla and Yala killed a total of 14 and injured many others. 

In related news, 50 soldiers yesterday continued to clear the March 31 carbomb scene at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel’s underground parking lot in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district and removed cars from the building, while affected Thais and Malaysians presented papers proving car ownership to claim their damaged vehicles for repair. As the scene was to be totally clear of cars yesterday, unclaimed vehicles would be temporarily kept at the Sena Narong Army Camp, pending owners’ picking them up.

Sukit Wattanawong, head of Hat Yai Municipality’s public works division, said an initial inspection by Prince of Songkla correct, no h University engineering experts had found that structural damage at the blast scene on the car park’s B3 level was reparable. 

A detailed inspection will be held after the scene is cleared of cars and debris, and some testing tools are needed to determine the full damage and set out the methods for repair, which should take a month, Sukit said.

Plaza executive Wanchai Leelasithorn said the hotel would resume service in two weeks, while the plaza section would remain closed pending the investigation and repairs.