Police have not ruled out the possibility that influential far South political group Wadah and separatist elements of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) and Patani Liberation Organisation (Pulo) were behind the bomb and arson attacks in seven provinces two weeks ago.
National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda said yesterday at least 20 people, most of from the far South, were behind the attacks in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin and the southern provinces of Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phangnga, Phuket, Surat Thani and Trang on Aug 11 and 12.
Progress has been made in the investigation and police know where the perpetrators assembled and the steps they took to carry out the attacks, Pol Gen Chakthip said.
Responding to a question as to whether police are zeroing in on the Wadah group, an influential group of Muslim politicians in the deep South, Pol Gen Chakthip said the investigation was keeping tabs on major groups and there are several in the South, including the Wadah group.
“MPs or politicians are normally aware of the activities of the residents in their areas so they should not protect them,” he said.
The government has insisted the attacks are linked to southern rebels but does not believe the attacks were an expansion of insurgent operations. Instead, the government believes that some insurgents were hired to orchestrate the attacks by a group of people with political motives.
Although those linked with the southern insurgency may have been involved in the attacks, this does not mean the attacks were the result of the extension of the unrest from the far South, he said.
Political motives based on the Aug 7 referendum and the expansion of the southern insurgency have not yet been ruled out as causes of the attacks, Pol Gen Chakthip said.
Meanwhile, Wadah members yesterday reiterated they had nothing to do with the attacks.
“We have nothing to say about attacks in other places, even incidents in our backyard. We still do not know [who did it],” said Najmuddin Umar, a key Wadah figure and a former Matubhum Party MP for Narathiwat.
Asked whether the perpetrators were possibly hired by a political group, Mr Najmuddin said this was unlikely.
Former Pheu Thai MP for Yala Wan Muhamad Nor Matha, leader of the Wadah group, said Wadah politicians had no interest in activities carried out by the southern insurgents.
“We also have to be careful about untoward incidents. We do not know these insurgent groups. What we are doing in our political activities is to meet residents, like other political parties,” he said.
“They are likely to be a group without the purpose of gaining money or seeking positions. They did this for their separatist ideology,” Mr Wan Nor said.
He said Wadah had asked the group’s lawyers to gather evidence to lodge complaints against a couple of people who had implicated the group in the attacks.
Pol Gen Chakthip also said the BRN or factions of Pulo have always tried to create conditions for talks with the government though an agreement has not been reached despite negotiations with several governments.
Police have so far obtained an arrest warrant for Ahama Lenga from Narathiwat, accused of planting bombs in Phuket’s Patong district.
Some of the 20 suspects are facing arrest warrants for causing unrest in the three southernmost border provinces, he said.
It is also notable that several of them have no criminal backgrounds and are likely to be “young bloods”, he said.
The police chief said he is confident that all the suspects had undergone training to carry out the attacks.
Most of the attackers are Muslim natives of the far South, said Pol Gen Chakthip, adding some of them studied at ponoh, or Islamic schools.
Pol Gen Chakthip also reiterated 17 members of the so-called Revolutionary Front for Democracy Party, who were arrested last week, had nothing to do with the attacks.
The group may have intended to use various means to hinder the government from carrying out its tasks, but was unlikely to be involved in the blasts, he said.
The military court granted 15 of them bail yesterday. Another two were released earlier.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam said families of the dead victims will be given 1.18 million baht each in compensation.
Compensation for the wounded would depend on the severity of their injuries, he said, adding payments must be made within this month.