FBI's ranking for Thailand 'a misunderstanding'
A ranking by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that placed Thailand as the No 1 most likely country in Asia and fifth in the world to be hit by terrorist attack was the result of "a misunderstanding".
A military attache with the US Embassy has apologised over the issue, Army commander General Prayuth Chan-ocha said yesterday.
The Army chief said he sent word to a FBI-hosted meeting on the issue in Brunei, seeking clarification about the ranking. A military staffer from the US Embassy in Thailand who was present at the session explained that it was “a misunderstanding” and apologised.
“There will be further discussions over the FBI listing and the security issues related to the insurgency in the South between Thai and US authorities,” Prayuth said.
Prayuth explained that the criteria used for the FBI ranking might not be taking into account the uniqueness of the situation in the South.
Although the number of casualties is large and the incidence of violence has been frequent over the past nine years of the insurgency, the attacks have been limited to a specific region and have never widened, Prayuth said. He called for the FBI ranking to be corrected and a revised listing be announced. Prayuth also called on the Thai media to further pursue the matter and publicise the revised FBI ranking.
AMLO TO RELEASE LIST OF SUSPECTS
Meanwhile, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) announced yesterday that after the Songkran holiday break it would make public a list of 300 people suspected of links to, or of giving logistical or financial support to terrorists.
The announcement is in compliance with an international standard based on United Nations regulations, said AMLO secretary-general Seehanart Prayoonrat, adding that most of the names on the list are linked to the southern insurgency.
Also, an ad-hoc civilian-supervised operation centre for counter-terrorism measures would be soon set up, said Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung. He gave no further details about the centre.
Chalerm also defended Department of Special Investigation director-general Tharit Phengdit, who disclosed the FBI terrorism ranking after meeting on Wednesday at the US Embassy with FBI legal attache Daniel P Powers.
