Rumors Swirl

The mood tonight in Bangkok is exactly what it was on the night of the September coup: rumors are swirling that "something big" is on the cusp of unfolding. My Thai friends are all calling to tell me to hurry home and stay off the streets. Interesting times may be ahead...

Ok lets speculate! As there are no clues in here -

1) mass raids on go go bars?

2) Junior military officers stage a coup & bring Thaksin back?

3) Police arrest tons of TRT members on suspicion of planting those bombs.?

(Bangkok Post)

Army chief denies second coup rumour

Army chief and Council for National Security chairman Gen Sonthi Bunyaratkalin Thursday evening denied rumours that there might be another coup tonight.

These rumours have been spreading quickly and widely in Bangkok. Mobile phone networks are stretched as people check the news with friends or people they believe might get a clue on the rumours.

A report being checked by the Bangkok Post is that troops and tanks mobilised at Ubon Ratchathani for deployment to the South - and this sparked wild rumours that they were going to mount a counter-coup in Bangkok.

A journalist at Bangkok Post said he has so far received many calls from friends to check if the coup rumours could be for real.

Gen Sonthi flatly denied that troops had been mobilised from the Second Army Region base in Nakhon Ratchasima and that tanks had arrived at Sara Buri by the evening . "There's definitely no such movement," he confirmed.

Rumors also have it that the Council of National Security planned to stage another coup to boost their own power. He also flatly denied such speculation while Assistant Army Commander in Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda also denied such rumours.

The army urges the public not to believe such rumors and that the people should believe in the army's ability to control the situation, Gen Sonthi said.

====================

After all, they can tell the good guys from the bad just by looking at them! (or so the police chief says) :confused2:

I changed reservations from Bangkok about mid-Jan for a friend and me and he writes back "Is that because of today's bomb?". Yet I see only news on bombs in Iraq everywhere I look.

Some one else is emailing me about tonight's coup. I know nothing of another coup. Would that be a counter coup?

It is kind of scary. I rely on this board for information and I and others can't get to it so much because of the "problem".

Ok lets speculate! As there are no clues in here -

1) mass raids on go go bars?

BAD BOY, Oogleman! You're going to start a real panic! :3some:

heres the BBC latest

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 230297.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6230297.stm)

Bangkok remains on high alert following the eight blasts that hit the Thai capital, killing three and wounding at least 38 people.


Surayud Chulanont believes the culprits are in Bangkok

Security has been stepped up around transport hubs but the city is jittery - more than a thousand reports of suspicious packages and hoax warnings of bombs have been received by the authorities.

Rumours also swirled around Bangkok on Thursday of a possible counter-coup, but spokesmen for the military and government denied this.

"There have been transfers of troops but it is for the purpose of providing security in Bangkok," military spokesman Col Sansern Chaengkamnerd told the AP news agency.
Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed interim prime minister after the 19 September coup, has vowed to catch those behind the bomb attacks.

But he told the National Legislative Council: ""The public should be prepared to deal with this new kind of threat to our lives in the future."

He also ruled out a link to the conflict in the south, telling parliament that though tests showed the bombs were similar to those used in the insurgency, "I can reassure you that they are not exactly the same."

"That is why we have concluded that the bombings had nothing to do with the south, and rather that the ill-intentioned perpetrators are in Bangkok," he told parliament.

[lonelywombat]

Sonthi goes on TV to deny coup

Rumours of another putsch spread rapidly

POST REPORTERS

Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, leader of the Sept 19 coup that ousted the Thaksin Shinawatra government, went on television last night to douse rumours that he would stage a repeat coup. ''Why would we do this? We risked our lives in response to the demands of the people. Why would we do it again,'' he said in an interview with Channel 9 television last night. ''We have turned over our powers to the government.''

Gen Sonthi's late television interview came at the end of a day that had been abuzz with rumours of another coup. Tension remained high yesterday in the capital following Sunday night's bomb blasts.

Council for National Security (CNS) spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd earlier said troops had been mobilised from Bangkok and nearby provinces to ensure public safety at more than 300 spots in the capital.

He apologised for the commotion caused by the troop movements which were part of an ''operation for peace''.

During the interview with Channel 9, CNS chairman Gen Sonthi also insisted there was no division among the eight council members.

''We are all friends. Only two are younger people,'' he said.

Asked to comment on a foreign report, cited by former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, that the CNS was responsible for the bombings on New Year's Eve he said the foreign media were far from the source of information.

''We love the people too much to do it,'' Gen Sonthi said.

Authorities will today release more information on the status of investigations into the bombings so that the people understand, he added.

At the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) earlier, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont called on the country to prepare for more attacks as suspicion grew that dissident soldiers and police were behind the blasts.

''This probably won't be the last time we see incidents of this kind,'' Gen Surayud said. ''For some time in the future, we must prepare our hearts and minds to face this new form of threat to people's lives.''

Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas and assistant army chief Saprang Kalayanamitr separately implied the bombings were the work of experts in khaki or green uniforms.

''If the perpetrators are out-of-line soldiers or police, they must be executed,'' Gen Saprang said.

''Their commanders, though not the masterminds, were lenient enough to let their subordinates do wrong, and would be considered negligent. They should be dismissed for failure to supervise their subordinates.''

At the NLA, Gen Surayud said there was ''very little'' chance the bombs were linked to unrest in the South.

Citing forensic analysis, he said the materials used to make the bombs, and the way they were set off ''may seem to be similar [to those used in the South], but they are not exactly the same''.

A number of recent bomb hoaxes showed the people behind the New Year's Eve blasts were in Bangkok, he said.

The government had received prior intelligence reports that attacks could take place at the CentralWorld shopping complex, Ratchaprasong intersection and the Seacon Square mall on New Year's Eve, he said. He alerted security authorities, especially the police who were responsible for securing the capital, he added.

Gen Surayud condemned the bombers for showing no regard for the lives of innocent people and public property.

''The places, the timings and the bombs used indicate an intention to cause panic and damage to people's lives and property. Although the amounts of explosives used were small, it showed the intention to cause injuries or deaths,'' he said.

The bombings killed three people and injured 42 others, 15 seriously.

Though expecting more threats, Gen Surayud insisted his government was sticking to its goal to forge social reconciliation and launch fair elections.

Gen Boonrawd insisted that the bombings were the work of defeated politicians who wanted to discredit the government and the CNS. Gen Saprang said the government and the CNS had videotapes of suspects at two bombing sites. And along with Gen Boonrawd, air force chief ACM Chalit Phukpasuk denied the CNS was behind the attacks

DELETED

* we are all friends - only 2 are younger people*


hmmmmm

There aint nobody here but us Generals.
There aint nobody here at all.
Turn off the lights and stop your fuss.
There aint nobody here but us.

Boy, I feel safer already. :salute:

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

because gossip is posted on internet board and spreads like a California bush-fire until it finally peters out but not before damage is done.

It should be left to evaporate like the ice in my drinks. :drunken: