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News Asia-Pacific
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Thaksin blames rebels for blasts
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| Co-ordinated blasts on the New Year's Eve killed three and wounded 38 [AFP] |
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Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Thai prime minister, has denied involvement in the recent bombings in Bangkok and blamed the attacks on rebels from the south.
The military government that ousted Thaksin in September had blamed factions linked to his government for the bomb blasts that killed three and wounded 38 on New Year's Eve in Bangkok.
In a handwritten letter from Beijing, where Thaksin is staying, the ex-prime minister accused the generals of rushing to conclusions.
Thaksin said that the bombings followed a pattern similar to previous attacks by rebels in the Muslim-majority southern provinces of mainly Buddhist Thailand.
Statement
"The government did not admit that it was the work of the militants in the south, because if the government did admit that, it would show the failure of their new 'olive branch' approach to the conflict," Thaksin said in the letter, released by his lawyer, Noppadon Patama.
"I used to tell security forces that the unrest in the south should be confined only to three provinces [on the southern border]. Otherwise it would spill over to Hat Yai and then Bangkok, and that would damage our country."
Thaksin said he was prepared to return to Bangkok to defend himself against the accusation, as well as against corruption claims made by the military government.
"I am ready to go back to hear the charges, and I am ready to fight every accusation against me," he said.
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