12 wounded in bombing attack at PAD rally

BANGKOK, Nov 16 (TNA) – Twelve persons, including children, were wounded Sunday night when a bomb exploded at a Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rally at Sanam Luang as demonstrators showed their power in protecting the monarchy and the dignity of the nation, and express dissatisfaction with recent moves of fugitive, ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

One man is in police custody after the incident.

Witnesses said the bomb was hurled at a footpath behind the PAD stage by two men on a motorcycle. The explosion left a hole in the ground around eight centimetres wide.

Police could not confirm that the man detained was one of the assailants, but he continued under questioning.

The rally continued after the explosion but ended at about 11 pm, earlier than the planned midnight closing.

The gathering at Sanam Luang on Sunday was the yellow-shirted movement’s first mass rally since the PAD set up its New Politics party in June.

The explosion occurred when PAD and New Politics leader Sondhi Limthongkul was addressing his supporters at around 9pm.

Acting National Police Chief Pol Gen Patheep Tanprasert who inspected the scene before midnight said that police had not identifed the type of the bomb, which awaited the report bomb specialists on Monday morning.

He said the police were on high alert after a report that some ‘the third hand’ groups wanted to cause problems during the rally.

Police collected material evidence at the bombing site, behind the PAD stage, and gathered closed-circuit TV data in the area for more information.

Partly aimed at the intrusion of Cambodia into Thai domestic politics, when Cambodia appointed Mr Thaksin as its economic adviser,

Thailand recalled its ambassador to Phnom Penh, and both kingdoms engaged in successive retaliatory actions.

The Cambodian government invited Mr Thaksin to Phnom Penh to lecture a large gathering of Khmer business leaders and government economists as his first assignment, in a high-profile move which Thailand considered a provocation.

Thailand responded with an extradition request for its ex-premier, which Cambodia rejected.

As the diplomatic row continues, Mr Thaksin shocked Thailand in a high-profile interview with the online edition of Britain’s leading newspaper, The Times, an interview which sparked widespread criticism among Thais.

Mr Thaksin was quoted on the Thai monarch and his successor, comments considered offensive to the monarchy. The ousted premier, however, reportedly defended himself by saying his interview was ‘distorted’ by the reporter.

The PAD Yellow Shirts played a pivotal role in the movement to topple the Thaksin government, with protests leading to the military coup d’etat on September 19, 2006. The movement later staged a series of street protests which toppled two successive governments which it accused of being Mr Thaksin’s proxies. (TNA)