Thailand's Caretaker PM condemns fatal political attacks

SARABURI, THAILAND, February 24 (TNA) - Thailand's Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has condemned, through her facebook account, fresh fatal political attacks in Bangkok and Trat Province in the Thai East last weekend and expressed her condolences to the families of the victims. Yingluck said on Monday morning that the attacks are considered terrorist acts, aimed at political gains, and her caretaker government is trying to track the culprits down. According to the caretaker prime minister, people may have different political views and their disagreements can be expressed by many means, but fatal violence is not a way of civilized people or Thai people who are praised internationally to be kind and have mercy. The caretaker prime minister asked all parties to settle differences peacefully in a democratic manner, instead. The caretaker prime minister's comments followed a fresh grenade attack in front of the Big C superstore near a main protest site of the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) at the Ratchaprasong Intersection, killing three victims, including two children, a six-year-old girl, her four-year-old brother and her middle-aged aunt, while 21 others were injured, and a shooting attack in Trat, putting the accumulated death toll from domestic political violence since November 30, 2013 at 19 and 717 injuries, based on the Erawan Medical Centre of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanatabutr, Secretary-General of the National Security Council (NSC), insisted that the caretaker government had nothing to do with Sunday's grenade attack near the Ratchaprasong Intersection and a shooting attack in Trat, pointing out that both incidents were connected and blaming hard-core groups to have been behind a spate of the political attacks, aimed to overthrow and frame the caretaker government. The NSC chief foresaw that from now on, more violent incidents may happen at demonstration venues and all locations where the PDRC will be visiting are, thus, danger-prone areas. The NSC chief noted it is obvious that weapons used become increasingly powerful.(TNA)