US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK2401

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/BCLTV, S/CT, CA/OCS. 
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, CASC, TH, Southern Thailand 
SUBJECT: THAILAND: TRIPLE BOMBING IN FAR SOUTH, APRIL 3, 
2005 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 2351 
     B. BANGKOK 2352 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Alexander A. Arvizu. Reason 1.4(d) 
 
1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  The evening of April 3, three bombs 
exploded nearly simultaneously in the southern province of 
Songkhla, killing at least two and injuring scores of others. 
 Two Americans were injured; their injuries, while serious 
and requiring hospitalization, are not life-threatening.  Two 
of the bombs targeted the international airport and a 
Carrefour "superstore" retailer in Hat Yai City.   The third 
exploded at a hotel in the nearby city of Songkhla.  These 
bombings, which occurred just north of where most of the 
recent separatist violence has been centered (Pattani, Yala 
and Narathiwat), were direct attacks on highly visible public 
commercial symbols in the region.  As such, they represent a 
significant development in the violence that continues to 
afflict southern Thailand.  The Royal Thai government's (RTG) 
initial public reaction has been to downplay the attacks, but 
other officials have told us privately that the attacks are, 
in their view, evidence that the violence is spreading.  On 
April 4, another explosion, in neighboring Yala province, 
injured six soldiers.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (C)  On April 3, at approximately 8:30 p.m. local time, 
three bombs were detonated nearly simultaneously (within 20 
minutes of each other) at three distinct locations in the 
southern province of Songkhla.  At least two people died as a 
result of the bombings and scores were injured, including two 
American citizens.  The first bomb reportedly was placed in a 
garbage can near the entrance to a Carrefour "superstore" 
retailer, part of the French-owned chain.  The second bomb -- 
which killed two persons and injured the Amcits -- was 
apparently left in a bag near the airport information counter 
at the Hat Yai international airport.  The third bomb was 
placed on a motorcycle parked at the Green World Palace Hotel 
in Songkhla City, where the regional police headquarters for 
the South is located.  Asked about rumors that other 
explosive devices had been disarmed, RTG Police officials 
told the Embassy that no other bombs were found in Hat Yai or 
Songkhla City. 
The bomb in Songkhla City exploded not far from the residence 
of USG (DEA) personnel; at this point, we have no reason to 
believe the USG personnel were specifically targeted. 
 
3.  (U)  The RTG's initial reaction has been to downplay the 
attacks.  Armed Forces Supreme Commander Chaisit Shinawatra, 
the cousin of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, made the 
incredible claim that the attacks in Songkhla province, "show 
that our measures are working in the three southernmost 
provinces," which border the province, i.e. that the bombers 
were forced to move North.  Deputy Prime Minister and 
Interior Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya convened an emergency 
meeting of top security officials at the National Security 
Council on April 4 to discuss the latest attacks.  Following 
the meeting, Chidchai announced that security would be 
increased at airports, and intelligence efforts redoubled. 
Chidchai also claimed that a closed circuit video camera at 
the airport had captured the bomber placing the device and 
that the authorities were working to identify the culprit. 
 
4.  (C)  Despite the government's initial attempts to 
downplay the attacks, other officials warn they are 
indicative of spreading violence.  Songkhla Governor Somporn 
Chibangyang told the Embassy that the attacks in his province 
occurred despite recent stepped up security measures. 
Somporn believes that these latest attacks signal that the 
violence, which had been largely contained to the three 
southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala, is 
spreading.  Netr Chantharasami, a prominent local businessman 
and member of the newly established National Reconciliation 
Commission, concurred.  Netr told the Embassy that the 
attacks demonstrated the RTG's failure to contain the 
violence to the deep south.  Both Somporn and Netr predicted 
that the attacks in Hat Yai and Songkhla City, which serve as 
the commercial center for far southern Thailand, would have a 
negative impact on business investment and tourism for all of 
the 14 provinces that make up southern Thailand. 
 
5.  (U)  On April 4, another explosion was reported in 
neighboring Yala province at the Yala Vocational College. 
This bomb went off in the parking lot of the college sports 
stadium during a school sports day festival.  Six soldiers 
providing security for the festival were injured in the blast. 
6.  (C)  COMMENT:  These latest attacks strike us as a 
significant development in the violence in Thailand's far 
South.  The attacks were against targets outside of the three 
southernmost provinces where most of the separatist violence 
to date has taken place.  Two targets, the international 
airport and the Carrefour super-store -- both crowded on a 
Sunday evening -- are important symbolically for the region's 
economy.  Songkhla City, which serves as the headquarters for 
the Police for southern Thailand, had no history of attacks 
prior to the April 3 hotel bombing. 
 
7.  (C)  Songkhla province has not been entirely immune from 
the violence that has plagued its neighboring provinces of 
Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.  In August 1992 and again in 
April 2001, the Hat Yai railway station was bombed, with both 
attacks resulting in several deaths and dozens of injuries. 
However, Songkhla province has escaped much of the daily 
incidents of the current upsurge of violence that continued 
in the far south since January 2004.  Provincial security 
officers had told Poloffs as recently as November 2004 that 
they believed that violence would one day reach the cities of 
Hat Yai and Songkhla.  Their prediction has played out in 
Songkhla province in a terrible manner.  END COMMENT 
ARVIZU