Thaksin comments on missed assasination in Bangkok

from the Bangkok Post:

Thaksin says he missed assassination

Bangkok (dpa) - Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Thursday because he left his house earlier than normal.

Thaksin said that two soldiers driving a car rigged with an improvised bomb were stopped when they were spotted circling his home in southern Bangkok in the morning.

"It's my lucky day. I have been varying my travel times after the intelligence services told me people were trying to kill me. If I hadn't left an hour earlier than usual, I might not be here now," he said on Thai television.

Thaksin added that several other attempts have been made to harm him in recent months when traveling on official duties. He alluded to "incidents" at military airports and a recent car crash that involved a car in one of his convoys.

The controversial deputy chief of the Internal Security Operations Command, Panlop Pinmanee, was promptly sacked on the prime minister's orders Thursday, after the two suspected assassins were found to belong to his military oversight office.

Panlop caused consternation earlier this year when he said a military coup could not be ruled out if political instability persists. There were unconfirmed reports that one of the suspects is Panlop's driver.

Tension has been climbing in the Thai capital ahead of an October 15 general election that Thaksin is expected to win, despite being widely disliked by the middle class and old Bangkok elites.

The driver and passenger in the suspect car, who attempted to flee, were later arrested and were being interrogated by the police. The two suspects, one a lieutenant, were identified as soldiers serving with the Thai army's Internal Security Operations Command.

The army's deputy spokesman, Colonel Akkara Thiprote, said two sticks of dynamite were found in the car and that the army would cooperate with police in the investigation.

Two bags of urea fertilizer, often used in making bombs, were also reportedly found in the car.

The discovery came on the first day of official campaigning for what is shaping up to be a bitterly fought general election on October 15. Fistfights have broken out between opponents and supporters of the premier at his recent public appearances.

The prime minister said that after this "assissination attempt" he would make only vital public appearances. "I must assign routine appearances to my deputies. We can't let these people succeed," he said in a television interview.

The opposition People's Alliance for Democracy has said this week that it would restart the mass demonstrations that rocked the government earlier this year if the authorities did not quickly identify the Thaksin supporters who kicked and punched protestors this week.

Thai newspapers reported Thursday that at least two people who beat protestors while police looked on Monday were known to have links to officials close to the prime minister.

A vehicle-free security zone has been temporarily declared around Thaksin's sprawling compound on Snitwongse Road, extending as much as a kilometre from the house.

Those opposed to Thaksin - many in Bangkok's middle class, Thai intellectuals, the older elite, advisers to the monarch and elements in the armed forces - have accused the prime minister of running a corrupt regime designed to enrich his family and a clique of rich businessmen while also undermining and eliminating checks and balances on his government.

The prime minister remains popular, however, with many rural voters and entrepreneurs and is likely to win the election. The prime minister has repeatedly claimed since taking power in early 2001 that threats have been made against his life, although his critics have accused him of paranoia and sympathy-seeking.

Interior Minister Kongsak Wanthana said Monday that there were credible but unconfirmed reports of an assassination conspiracy.

Earlier this year, several bombs exploded around the capital, primarily aimed at prominent opponents of the prime minister. The origins of these devices remain a mystery.