Thaksin apologises for Tak Bai incident, shrugs off car bomb blast

TNR Staff

1 year ago

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FORMER prime minister and de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra was unperturbed by a car bomb explosion within Ban Thon Airport at far-south Narathiwat province this morning (Feb. 23) an hour before he and his team landed there while he later apologised for the Tak Bai incident, Naewna newspaper said this afternoon (Feb. 23),

The Facebook page of Narathiwat province’s public relations office posted a video clip wherein Thaksin said at a press conference in Samphan Witthaya School that in his discussion with religious leaders and Muslim brothers and sisters he apologised for the Tak Bai incident.

“When I was Prime Minister, I was 100% determined and concerned about the people, but there were some mistakes in my work. If there was anything wrong that causes dissatisfaction, I apologise and ask everyone to help solve the problem together. I don’t want suspicion to remain, ” he said.

Regarding the car bomb blast with the explosive attached to an officer’s pickup truck going off on the road near the control tower of this airport prior to their arrival, the former prime minister said it is just a symbolic gesture.

He added that some people may have tried to shake him up but he is a strong-willed person who has survived four assassination attempts.

“I am still indifferent, it’s okay I am not afraid of this. Whoever welcomes me in whatever way, I accept them all,” he said.

Moreover “Southern Border Comrades” webpage posted images of the bomb attached to the pickup truck along with a message warning the public to be careful, stating that “This morning’s case, a bomb was attached under the vehicle, beneath the vehicle’s fuel tank at Narathiwat Airport. Please be careful.”

Thaksin is visiting the three far south provinces – Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani – as adviser to Asean chair Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with Deputy Prime Minister/Interior Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Justice Minister Thavi Sodsong accompanying him, Amarin TV said.

The objective is to discuss and exchange views on the development of the southern border provinces in many dimensions, including security, religion and education for the local people.

Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, Narathiwat Governor Trakul Thotham, Pol. Lt. Col. Wanpong Kotcharak, secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre. and members of the public were there to welcome them.

Two decades ago on Oct. 25, 2004 altogether 85 Thai citizens died in the Tak Bai massacre or Tak Bai incident amid insurgency in the far south, Wikipedia said.

On that day a demonstration of around 1,500 people took place in front of a police station in Tak Bai to protest the detention of six men. Several hours into the protest, the crowd attempted to cross the police barrier into the station. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons, and the crowd responded by throwing rocks. Police fired into the air and then into the crowd at head height, killing seven.

Almost 1,300 protesters were detained at the scene. They were ordered to strip to the waist, lie on their stomachs, and crawl to nearby trucks that would transport them to another site.

The detainees were then stacked atop one another in trucks and transported to Inkayut Army Camp in Pattani province. The drive took five hours, and by the time the trucks arrived at the destination, 78 detainees had died from suffocation or organ collapse.

CAPTION:

De facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra accompanied Deputy Prime Minister/Interior Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Justice Minister Thavi Sodsong are warmly welcomed at Narathiwat airport upon their arrival today, Feb. 23, 2025. All photos: Amarin TV