Army chief doubts bombings in South meant as protest against new charter
Army chief General Chalermchai Sithisart believes the recent bombings in the far South were meant to demonstrate terror capabilities and might not have had anything to do with the promulgation of the new Constitution.
When 40 bombings were launched simultaneously in the deep South after the promulgation of the charter last Thursday, it was speculated that they were meant to mark opposition to the Constitution, which was rejected by voters in the three southern border provinces in the nationwide referendum last year.
Chalermchai said on Wednesday that he believed the attacks were launched to show the capabilities of Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), a terrorist group in the far South, or to confirm that it is still active.
However, the Army chief said he was not certain whether the attacks had anything to do with the new charter or not. BRN normally acted when it got the chance to cause trouble to all sides, such as the people in the affected area who had to suffer electricity shortages after the bombings.
Regardless of whether the attack was meant to express dissatisfaction with the new charter, Chalermchai said nothing would change and the junta would continue to follow its agenda.
