raid on house in Chiang Mai Guns, bombs seized
Guns, bombs seized in raid on house in Chiang Mai
PM Abhisit Vejjajiva cancels his plan to go to Chiang Mai
Police yesterday found 6,000 home-made “ping-pong” bombs as well as eight guns from a raid at a house owned by man linked to the red shirts, in Chiang Mai.
The owner of the house in Chom Thong district, identified as 45-year-old Narong Bunchongcharoen, was arrested for the illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.
However, he rejected the charges, arguing that the ping-pong bombs were actually fireworks that he meant to sell at his shop during the Loy Krathong festival earlier this month.
As for the six pistols, a rifle and shotgun found, the man claimed they had been given to him in lieu of debts.
A police source said initial investigations had shown that the man was known to have traded in weapons and ammunition, and had also acted as a security guard during the last red-shirt rally in Chiang Mai.
While the suspect was being interrogated, two men in red shirts were seen outside the police station, reportedly making phone calls to their leaders in Bangkok.
On Wednesday night, police also raided a karaoke bar in Chiang Mai’s Muang district and found 22 home-made guns, ammunition as well as a large amount of gun-making equipment.
When police arrested Silpa Chaichana, 45, for illegally possessing those weapons, he said he was making guns to sell.
Region 5 police commissioner Lt-General Somkid Boonthanom, whose jurisdiction covers Chiang Mai, told the press yesterday that the arrests were part of security measures ahead of PM Abhisit Vejjajiva’s visit.
Abhisit yesterday cancelled his plan to visit Chiang Mai on Sunday to preside over the closing ceremony of the annual conference of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
Meanwhile, more than 100 red shirts rallied outside Chiang Mai’s Muang district police station yesterday to protest against the provincial court issuing an arrest warrant for local red-shirt leader, Petchawat Wattanapongsirikul.
Petchawat is accused of making threats to assassinate the prime minister on a community radio programme.
The protest leaders also took turns in verbally attacking the top three local police officers – Somkid, Chiang Mai police commander Maj-General Sommai Kongwisaisuk and Muang police station superintendent Colonel Yuthachai Puaprasert – and demanded that they be transferred.
The attack, broadcast on a local community radio station controlled by the red shirts, also targeted the prime minister, the government and Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda.
The anti-government leaders are also threatening to protest outside the home of Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce president Narong Krongprasert, who said the rallies would affect the local economy, as well as at the residence of Chiang Mai Governor Amornpan Nimanun, who had boosted security in anticipation of the PM’s visit.
Ping-pong bombs
A ping-pong bomb is a type of home-made explosive. It is widely used to make noise during seasonal festivities. These devices have become better known recently after they were used in street protests following 2006 coup.
The “bomb” can be made easily by putting gunpowder into a ping-pong ball and sealed with aluminium foil or clay. They can be ignited by fire or just by throwing it to hit a solid surface.
The detonation method can be designed according to a person’s intent. Both methods are equally risky for users.
If a ping-pong bomb can badly damage someone’s hand if it explodes while they hold it.
Is avoiding Chiang Mai a good idea?
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has finally revealed his decision on the trip to Chiang Mai. He has taken the safe option – to skip the Chamber of Commerce meeting in the northern capital this weekend.
The decision was made after the pros and cons of the trip was discussed both inside and outside the House by those who mattered as well as analysts. There was an apparent consensus that whether he addresses the Chamber of Commerce conference via satellite or in person, there would be consequences.
Already, the focus is not on the meeting – which is being held to tackle a few crucial matters regarding the weak economy – but on the man who was scheduled to say just a few ceremonial words to participants.
If he had decided to go, this attention would have been greatly amplified, affecting virtually everyone from the hotel staff to the highest-rank-ing provincial officials.
However, if he had a safe and uneventful trip, it would have boosted him politically and had a positive impact on his international standing as well as helped his domestic agenda in some way. If there is to be any hope at all for national reconciliation, the head of the government should be able to visit any corner of the country – with or without the protection of commandos and helicopters.
The Chamber of Commerce suggested this week that he not go. Initial concerns that this might puncture Abhisit’s pride and thus have a reverse effect did not materialise. Instead, the advice gave the premier an excuse to bow out gracefully.
If this had been a state-organised function, Abhisit said, he would surely be in Chiang Mai. “But this is organised by the private sec-tor and I have to listen to what the organisers say,” he reasoned.
The red shirts might now taunt him for being a “coward” for a few days, but that should be the least of his concerns.
His no-show means he has bowed following a relatively mild bluff from the red shirts – or a solid threat if you know something that we don’t. This will only encourage the use of a similar strategy in the future.
Maybe the next time it will be in Udon Thani or another province where the red shirts are strong, unified and aggressive enough to mount such threats, or bluffs.
In the context of the Thai crisis, which has seen Government House occupied and an international conference ambushed, the Chiang Mai affair might look small. And while it may appear Abhisit has little to lose by opting not to go, it may well wonder how much he might otherwise have gained if he had decided to go.