SUSPECTED insurgents launched a string of almost 20 shooting, bomb and arson attacks in Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla provinces in the deep South on Wednesday night and yesterday, resulting in three deaths, five slight injuries and substantial property damage.
The attacks prompted Fourth Army Region chief Lt-General Piyawat Nakwanich to order a security review while the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) condemned the insurgents for hurting innocent people.
The spree of violence happened only hours after the government’s Front Cabinet Command, led by Deputy Defence Minister Udomdej Sitabutr, visited the predominantly Muslim Southern region on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also the defence minister and Udomdej’s boss, said it could not be concluded that the insurgents were responding to the delegation’s visit. There were six incidents in Songkhla province – three in Thepa and two in Chana districts on Wednesday night, while a bomb detonated without injuries yesterday at 7am at the entrance to an Isuzu service centre in Chana.
In the first incident in Chana, the same service centre’s two security guards – Sanya Samankandee and Dolmalek Leeteh – were shot dead on Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm by suspected insurgents who also set fire to the premises and cars, resulting in property damage.
The second incident was carried out after the double murder when two nearby electric poles on Phetchakasem Highway were blown up, resulting in several more poles falling down and causing a blackout. The authorities believe the attacks were carried out by the same group.
On the same night, suspected insurgents launched three bomb attacks in Thepa district – one bomb hit a Government Savings Bank ATM opposite a PTT gas station in Tambon Thepa, inflicting slight injuries on three civilians, while two explosions at the Ban Tuyong intersection and at the front of the Tambon Pak Bang Admin-istrative Organi-sation caused no injuries.
In the neighbouring Pattani province, there were 12 incidents in the four districts of Muang, Yaring, Sai Buri and Nong Chik. Yaring saw three incidents: assailants opened fire at a ranger base in Tambon Tanyong Dalor, with no injuries reported; a car tyre was burned in Tambon Baloy; and a power pole was blown up in Tambon Tanyong Dalor.

Insurgents ‘retaliating’
In Sai Buri district, there were three incidents: a drive-by shooting at a police booth in Tambon Kalapo, which did not injure anyone; the bombing of four power poles, resulting in a blackout in Tambon Tror Bon; and a car tyre burned on a bridge in Tambon Lahan.
In Muang district, a shooting attack at a military outpost in Tambon Bana killed Private Nopporn Kaewphetch, while two electronic transformers were shot at in Tambon Bana and Tambon Taluboh.
In Nong Chik, a transformer was shot at in Tambon Don Rak, an explosion and fire occurred at a convenience store at a gas station in Tambon Bor Thong, and a bombing hit a gas station in Tambon Bang Khao, resulting in slight injuries to two policemen.
In Narathiwat province, a bomb was set off at a Tambon Kayoh Mati in Bacho district, while a bombing hoax was perpetrated in Tambon Lahan of Yi Ngo district.
Security officers believed the Narathiwat incidents were coordinated with the Pattani and Songkhla attacks as insurgents sought retaliation for security operations that recently killed insurgency leaders, including Mahama Maeroh, who was shot dead in Rusoh district on Sunday.
Insurgents have stepped up orchestrated attacks in the deep South since early 2004, killing more than 6,600 people, while authorities in Bangkok have failed to contain the violence and peace talks have made little progress in recent years.
The secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC) Supanat Siranthawinete said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had instructed all agencies in the South to coordinate their work effectively to respond to problems quickly.
It was the role of Isoc to handle security in the region while SBPAC would manage compensation for the loss of lives and property, he said.
At Army headquarters in Bangkok, Isoc spokesman Colonel Peerawat Saengthong condemned the attacks as a second blow to members of the public mourning the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Prawit said he had already alerted relevant agencies in the region, notably Isoc and the Fourth Army Region, to be aware of incidents during the mourning period, adding that authorities had discovered serious gaps in the intelligence and security capabilities.

THE BANGKOK Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is making new arrangements at Sanam Luang to make way for the construction of the Phra Merumas royal crematorium for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The structure will be the site of the royal cremation of the late King who passed away in his 89th year on October 13. Construction is expected to begin after the new year.
Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said yesterday no concrete plans had been made yet, as the city would wait for Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to inspect the ceremonial grounds.
Aswin said two-thirds, or 50 rai (eight hectares), of the 75-rai Sanam Luang would be dedicated to the construction of the Phra Merumas. The city would move state agencies’ tents, rest areas and mobile toilets from the south to the north side of the field. Volunteer tents and mourners will also have to vacate some areas.
Deputy Bangkok Governor Pol Lt-General Amnuay Nimmano said yesterday that tents would have to be relocated before the end of next week.
Amnuay said homeless people would not be allowed to stay overnight in Sanam Luang as the ground was a sacred venue for the country’s major royal ceremonies.
Prasarn Pitakvoraratana, director of the BMA’s Public Works Department, said construction in the southern area possibly would start in February so the grounds had to be cleaned and prepared.
Last night city workers were scheduled to pour asphalt and concrete on the north side in a project scheduled to be completed by Sunday, after which 70 tents would be set up, Prasarn added.
BMA adviser Wanlop Suwandee said meal-distribution tents were fully booked until December and people who wished to distribute food should book a reservation.
Amnuay said the BMA would today begin three shifts distributing meals for breakfast from 6am to 9am, lunch from 11am to 2pm, and dinner from 4pm to 8pm.
Since the passing of the revered monarch, more than 1.5 million people have visited Sanam Luang. Of the total, 547,381 have entered the Grand Palace to pay respects to the late King either in front of his official portrait or the Royal Urn.
Due to the long lines of mourners, many people have paid homage to the King from outside the palace walls. Several tonnes of fresh flowers have been placed outside the Grand Palace during the past few weeks as many people expressed their love and loyalty to the King.
Officials from the Japanese and Australian embassies visited Sanam Luang yesterday to observe police operations in the area, as authorities deal with the massive crowds.
There are now eight checkpoints around Sanam Luang and 18 surveillance units.
The foreign delegations also handed out banana cake, butter cake and fruitcake to police and mourners.
“We share the sadness of Thai people on the passing of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej,” Keisuke Hosaka, from the Japanese embassy, said.
Pol Lt-General Prommatorn Park-at, an acting assistant national police commissioner, said as many as 40 volunteer interpreters were working at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha after it reopened to tourists on Tuesday.
The renowned royal monastery had been closed for more than two weeks after the King’s passing.
“Together, these volunteers can speak five foreign languages. They can assist tourists and support police operations,” Prommatorn said.
Tourists and mourners enter the Grand Palace, which hosts not just the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall but also the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, through separate gates.
Metropolitan police chief Lt-General Sanit Mahathaworn urged mourners from Bangkok to come to the Grand Palace on weekdays because the lines were shorter than at the weekend.
“Please leave the weekends to people from the provinces. They travel from farther away and hence usually have to come on the weekend,” he said.
He added that all mourners who queued up on Tuesday were able to enter the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall by 5pm.
During the past weekend, the lines were several kilometres long and many mourners were unable to pay obeisance to the late King in the Throne Hall of the Grand Palace.

Meanwhile, His Majesty King Letsie III of Lesotho yesterday morning placed a wreath in front of the King’s Royal Urn at the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall within the Grand Palace compound. His Majesty also signed a farewell and condolence message at the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary.
During a meeting at Government House, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha welcome the newly appointed Ambassador Sanchez and they discussed prospects for cooperation, including trade and investment expansion in high-potential areas such as the automotive, electronics and tourism industries, Weerachon said.
Prayut urged Mexico to use Thailand as a gateway to the Asean regional economy, trade, investment and services, while Sanchez said his country also wanted to be Thailand’s gate to Latin America, Weerachon said.
As Mexico’s automotive industry ranks seventh in the world and Thailand’s ranks 10th, Sanchez said his office would organise a seminar for Thai-Mexican trade cooperation in the automotive and electronics sectors on November 24 at Bangkok’s Bitec Bang Na, Weerachon said.
Sanchez also said the Mexican people admired the late King for his works and his devotion to his people.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is buying up paddy of Hom Mali fragrant rice from farmers throughout the country, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikalya said yesterday, adding that the paddy bought from farmers would be milled and packaged for sale.
“Consumers will be able to buy quality rice obtained directly from farmers,” he said, with orders available through the Marketing Organisation for Farmers (MOF) website, Ortorkor.com.
Chatchai said that the MOF would also hold a “Thai Rice Festival to Help Farmers” as a channel to distribute the rice output onto the market. The festival will be held from this Saturday to November 23, according to MOF director Kamolwit Kaewfak, who said that there would be a campaign for state agencies, businesses and members of the public to give rice as New Year presents.
Cooperative Promotion Department director-general Vinaroj Supsongsuk said yesterday that rice produced under this urgent project would be sold through the agency’s 24 main distribution centres and 120 smaller centres throughout the country.
Meanwhile, Kasetsart University has allowed farmers to sell their rice inside its Bang Khen campus, rector Chongrak Wachrinrat said. The move follows a project that encouraged students whose parents are farmers to sell their rice directly to consumers.
“The university has come up with measures aimed at relieving the farmers’ problems. We are also discussing ways to help farmers in the long term,” Chongrak said.
Kasetsart is the country’s first agricultural university and its third oldest, after Chulalongkorn and Thammasat.
Provincial authorities also have started providing marketplaces for local farmers to sell their rice directly to consumers.
Kanchanaburi yesterday launched its “rice market” project at the Provincial Hall, where residents can buy rice directly from the local farmers.
Provincial governor Sak Somboonto, who presided over the opening ceremony, said the project would allow rice farmers and consumers to meet directly, without the need for middlemen.
Also yesterday, groups of farmers in various provinces began selling their rice directly to consumers at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus in Pathum Thani.
Farmers from Suphan Buri and Uthai Thani sold various rice types at prices ranging from Bt30 to Bt70 a kilogram, which is much higher than the prices offered by middlemen.
Kanokporn Ditkrachan, a farmer from Suphan Buri, said that her organic rice could sell very well at the marketplace inside the campus. “There are lots of people here who want to buy our rice to help farmers,” she said.

Prison chief Krit Wongwet said the inmates had been making ribbons since October 15 two days after the King’s death – and 20,000 ribbons had already been distributed to prisoners’ relatives and members of the public at various locations in Samut Prakan.
“The inmates, as loyal subjects, want to do something good and dedicate it to HM the King in gratitude for his royal grace,” he said.
Krit said the inmates pray each morning for their beloved King, then join in singing “Rak Hang Pan Din” (The Love Song of the Land) before making the ribbons.
Some inmates play royal songs such as “Klai Rung” (Near Dawn) on Thai instruments, serenading the others while they get to work on the ribbons, he said.