POMC launches Homeguard
SURVEILLANCE VOLUNTEERS TO ENSURE PUBLIC SAFETY AFTER BOMBINGS
>> The Peace and Order Maintaining Command (POMC) yesterday launched a group of community surveillance volunteers called Homeguard after a series of bombs in Bangkok.
Maj Gen Santipong Thammapiya, deputy commander of the 1st Army Region, kicked off the training programme for the first class of Homeguard volunteers at an auditorium of Thammsat University’s Tha Prachan campus, close to the Royal Plaza.
“Leading up to October [when the royal cremation ceremony for King Rama IX will be held], POMC has come up with the Volunteer Centre at Thammasat University because we want to ensure public safety,” Maj Gen Santipong said before 1,000 volunteers including motorbike taxi riders, business operators, municipality staff and the general public.
The training session taught volunteers how to spot suspicious items such as explosive materials as well as basic legal knowledge.
“If they see anything suspicious, please call 1441 or Line ID call_army 2 or Bangkok Metropolitan Administration at 02-2266801,” he said.
The Homeguard project came after a series of incidents including the bomb at Phramongkutklao Hospital, an explosion in front of the National Theatre near Sanam Luang and a blast outside the old Government Lottery Office on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue.
“From now until October, more people are expected to visit Sanam Luang. The BMA has asked each district to keep an eye on their community,” said Pol Lt Gen Amnoy Nimmano, deputy governor of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The agency has installed CCTV cameras within a two-kilometre radius of the Royal Plaza.
National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) spokesman Col Piyapong Klinpan said the authorities are seeking cooperation from neighbouring countries to send red-shirt hardliner Wuthipong “Kotee” Kochathamakun, who is suspected of being linked to the hospital blast, to be tried in Thailand.
Kotee recently told an international news agency that he was not involved in the blast.
“We have to ask the public whether they will believe the words of a fugitive?” said Col Piyapong without identifying in which country Kotee is hiding now.
In a separate interview, Chaikasem Nitisiri, former justice minister under the Yingluck administration, urged people to exercise good judgement, referring to rumours that three senior military officers were involved in the bomb attacks in Bangkok.
“The rumours were released to create division. Every theory is just a guess without any evidence or factual information. We should wait for the results of the investigation by the authorities.”
Meanwhile, a Suan Dusit poll showed that 81.76% of respondents believed the bombs in Bangkok were meant to create disturbance, 78.22% said they were related to politics, while 73.21% believed the bombings aimed to discredit the government. On the question of what the government should do, 76.66% said it should strengthen security measures with effective intelligence.
Is Bangkok still safe? The question came to my mind shortly after an explosion inside the army-owned Phramongkutklao Hospital that left 25 people injured last Monday, the day that marked the third anniversary of the 2014 coup. It was the third explosion to take place in Thailand’s capital in two months.
A week earlier, on May 15, a bomb went off in front of the National Theatre near Sanam Luang on the Rattanakosin island, injuring two female passers-by, but luckily no one was killed in the incident. On April 5, an explosion occurred outside the old Government Lottery Office on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. Two people were also injured in the incident but no death was reported.
These three bombing incidents should be a real awakening for the Bangkok Metropolitan Police led by commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathavorn and security authorities led by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who oversees national security, to help catapult safety standards for residents in every corner of Bangkok who are now living under risk and uncertainty.
Immediately after the incidents, Bangkok police investigators launched their investigations to determine what caused the explosions at the three venues that turned Bangkok into a scene that looked like a war zone.
Forensic science officers, crime detectives and explosive ordnance disposal personnel also played an important role in the investigations of these serious crimes. They were sent to help local police investigators collect crime scene evidence, take fingerprints of some suspicious people, talk to witnesses to get first-hand information and to check images caught by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at crime scenes and around the areas as much as they could so as to create sketches of possible suspects and bring them to justice.
So far no suspects have been arrested in the three incidents, while what specifically caused the three explosions has never been officially reported by police and government authorities. For now, I am still puzzling over the three explosions and what is happening in Bangkok as well as who I should turn my ears to listen to and who I should believe the most.
My question to police and government officers in charge of national security is whether they will be able to determine what progress has been made with the investigations into these incidents or whether any suspects will be caught shortly so as to make the public feel more confident in their role of providing safety and making Bangkok a safe and healthy place to work, live and tour.
I have been closely monitoring updates of the ongoing investigations into the three attacks. What I heard were only assumptions and theories about the explosions. The police’s daily remarks have boasted of good progress in investigating the cases without attempting to explain greater details. They said more elaboration could impact the outcome of the investigations. It was such a ridiculous and simple explanation.
Violence in the deep South and Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the armed insurgent Muslim group in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, were linked to the bombings in the capital because they used the same kinds of explosives used in some incidents in the South — pipe bombs filled with an explosive material and sharp objects such as nails and broken glass to increase harm and damage.
Some authorities surmised the explosions were probably politically motivated. Those ill-intentioned people wanted to create trouble and a climate of fear and undermine the credibility of the Prayut Chan-o-cha government who seized power from the previous Pheu Thai Party-led government.
Shortly after the explosion at the army-owned hospital, army commander-in-chief Gen Chalermchai Sitthisart was the first officer who came out to say that the three attacks were carried out by the same network. They used the same kind of explosives, which were pipe bombs, an improvised explosive device. At that time he said he could not say which group it was, and he did not elaborate with more details such as the motivation that drove them to carry out such attacks.
On Thursday, Gen Chalermchai again spoke to the media, suggesting the bombing at Phramongkutklao Hospital was carried out by the network of red-shirt hardliner Wuthipong “Kotee” Kochathamakun, who is now believed to be hiding in the neighbouring country of Laos. And the army chief also vowed that authorities would redouble their efforts to seek the fugitive’s extradition even though Lao authorities have never responded to Thailand’s request to help arrest Kotee.
Deputy PM Prawit a few months ago went to Vientiane to seek help from Lao authorities to arrest Kotee over lese majeste charges in Thailand. Apart from that, Kotee was accused of being behind a huge cache of mostly military weapons seized from a house in Pathum Thani in March. Investigators believed the weapons were intended to be used against authorities who had laid siege to Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani’s Khlong Luang district, including a plot to kill Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha. The weapons were taken from a house linked to Kotee.
Tida Thavornseth, a prominent leader of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, expressed her belief that she is not convinced Kotee and his network are powerful enough to commit those serious crimes, particularly the latest explosion at Phramongkutklao Hospital. And she does not see any reason why Kotee would be motivated to carry out such an attack.
“Is it easy for authorities to jump to conclusions that the network of Kotee is allegedly behind the attack at Phramongkutklao Hospital?’’ Ms Tida asked, saying she needs to see fair and transparent investigations for the time being.
However, Ms Tida also said she is highly concerned over the safety of the residents of Bangkok, demanding police and authorities in charge of security do more to help protect the lives and property of residents.
“How was it possible that nine of the 13 CCTV cameras inside the hospital were broken? Was it true?’’ she asked. Furthermore, she said she did not see Bangkok police do anything after they had been warned about a hospital bomb a few days before the blast at Phramongkutklao Hospital.
According to deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, a warning letter had been sent to a hospital, which he did not name, three days earlier. But police sources said it was the National Cancer Institute on Rama VI Road. Its director also confirmed that it was true and he had travelled to Phaya Thai Police Station asking officers to place on record the receipt of the letter.
The attack has raised concerns about safety in the capital, which attracts millions of tourists, and has left the city on edge. Police have responded to several calls in the past week about unattended bags, which turned out to be false alarms, and have tried to reassure the public and international community that Bangkok is still safe.
When it comes to safety in Bangkok, I also noticed that what Bangkok police and government authorities did to reduce the impact of the incidents every time was to step up some safety measures, increase patrol time, fix broken CCTV cameras and set up road checkpoints to inspect suspicious people and vehicles.
This is like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. They have not yet done enough to make around 10 million people living in Bangkok feel secure enough. In fact, they should pay more attention to the efficiency of all surveillance systems by checking them frequently to see whether they are all functioning, since they are crucial to investigations to track down the perpetrators of such attacks. However, I think Bangkok is still safe.