Explosions in Bangkok city centre; 1 dead, 75 injured
Bangkok | Thursday, Apr 22 2010 IST
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A series of bomb blasts in Bangkok's main business district tonight claimed one life and injured 75 people as embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva convened an emergency security meeting to address the snowballing crisis confronting his government.
The explosions were caused by M-79 grenades fired by unidentified persons at one of the citys elevated metro train stations in Silom district. Three foreigners were among those injured in the attack, which took place in an area frequented by tourists at night.
The attacks tonight came after violent clashes late last night in the same area between red-shirted opponents of the prime minister and a group demanding an end to the month-long protest by the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) which has shut down Bangkoks prime commercial and shopping district for the past fortnight.
Thousands of UDD cadres who support coup-ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have been camping in the upscale shopping district of Rajaprasong, barely one kilometre away from the site of the bomb blasts tonight, demanding immediate dissolution of Parliament.
Pressure has been growing on the government to act decisively to resolve the crisis although the influential Army Chief has advised the government to find a political solution to the situation.
A Thai Court today issued an injunction against the use of force to end the UDD rally at Rajaprason and said the government must use only internationally-accepted measures to deal with the protestors.
Two former prime ministers, who are political allies of Mr Thaksin, have sought royal intervention to end the stand-off but the move has been criticised as inappropriate by the government and sections of the media. Reuters adds: Grenades similar to M-79 grenades were fired with a shoulder-mounted launcher, hit troops during a bloody clash with protesters that killed 25 people on April 10.
One explosion hit outside the headquarters of Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand's biggest agribusiness group. Another landed near the Dusit Thani Hotel, it said.
About 200 red shirt protesters rallied in front of the regional headquarters of the United Nations here requesting peacekeepers be deployed to provide security. Police made no move to stop them.
The crisis has decimated Thailand's important tourism industry and was cited as one reason the central bank left interest rates at a record low yestersday.
But Thailand's exports jumped 41 per cent year-on-year in March, compared to 23 per cent in February, indicating the protests have yet to punish the wider economy, it added.
