Since the Thai politics entered a period of vacuum four or five years ago, there were several protests, first by the "Yellow Shirts" People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and now by the "Red-Shirted" United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). Political moves on Ratchadamnoen Avenue have always been under the watchful eyes of security agencies. And one worrying conclusion was agreed: Many groups of people are trying to create violence in order to effect political changes.
Waging Political War
The M79 grenade launcher has become the major weapon of choice in waging this "political war." The people on the streets have heard about this weapon for a long time. But they appear to hear about it more frequently after an attack on the Daily News' office, then other attacks on the Yellow-Shirted protesters gathering to drive out "nominee governments" at the Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge and later at Government House.
When the political power was shifted from Thaksin Shinawatra's group into the hands of the Democrat Party and the young Aphisit Wetchachiwa, there were protests by Red-Shirted. That was followed by M79-related incidents at a record number never been seen before.
Even the military became a target of attacks, including the Army chief's office and the Defense Ministry. Other targets included the Public Health Ministry and the attack took place shortly after the Cabinet completed its meeting there on 23 March. The attacks took place even at a time when Bangkok is still under the Internal Security Act.
Creating Confusion
The incidents have come under watchful eyes of intelligence and security agencies which are silently working on the cases. Information involving the groups suspected of being behind the M79 attacks is being collected. There are two main groups: those who want to pass the blame on the opposite side and those who want to create confusion in the country.
The security agencies are particularly interested in seven groups of people which also have subgroups within them.
Groups Involved
The first group is led by "Sia Piak," a former hard-line taxi driver who is close to "the old power clique." He has a good knowledge about traffic routes in Bangkok. His team is small and consists of amateurs but they are daring. Investigators are convinced this group was responsible for some incidents in which the M79 was fired and grenades were thrown. This group is connected to Sawai Yangsanthia, a 42-year-old man suspected of involvement with the grenade-throwing attack on the Bangkok Bank's Silom branch on 27 February. One "gentleman's agreement" among the group's members is that they will never implicate others when arrested.
The second group is led by "Se K," a high-ranking soldier who is a close aide to a senior politician and ex-general. He even wins the respect of the "famous Se". Security sources suspect that "Se K" had tried repeatedly to incite a coup. And when the "big boss" made his political moves, violent attacks often took place. ("Se," which is short for "senathikan", refers to military officers who pass the Command and General Staff College.)
The third group belongs to the "famous Se." On many occasions, his warnings that initially appeared to be nonsense turned out to become true. Many members of this group have come under the attention of intelligence and security agencies, such as "Sergeant M," the group leader's trusted aide who often is seen going places with him. The man was charged with murder and it was found that he provided weapons for other group members to carry out attacks.
Other group members include "Sergeant R," who is the chief bodyguard and another trusted aide to the group leader, followers Daeng, Nat, Sut and Rin. There are also "Wan," who is believed by investigators to hurt a lawyer of former police chief General Seriphisut Temiyawet while going to a court, and "Sek," who is believed to be responsible for many M79 attacks. Moreover, there are many other people who agree to join the group but make their moves independently.
The fourth group is led by a "famous general." Recent reports say he has been at odds with the old power clique and his role has been shunted aside. But behind the scenes, he is still making his moves secretly, albeit not as actively as before.
The fifth is a group of hardliners led by a violence-prone former singer. This group has now got special attention from the intelligence and security agencies since they created disturbances last year. They have been suspiciously inactive over the last few days, which led to suspicion among intelligence officials that they are preparing for something.
The sixth group is led by an MP in the Northeast. It has many members but most of them are grassroots people. Although they are not viewed as posing a severe threat, the group remains under a watchful eye of the authorities.
The seventh group is loyal to the former leader. They are active in northeastern provinces and are viewed as hardliners. This group made it clear they are against the Aphisit government and they are now under a close watch by the authorities. Many of their threats of violent incidents turned out to become true.
All of the groups are now politically active. The intelligence and security authorities are merely monitoring their activities and gathering information. There has been no sufficient evidence to positively link them to any of the recent attacks.
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