Ousted PM denies involvement in New Year's eve bomb attacks
Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday strongly denied suggestions that he was involved in the deadly New Year's Eve bomb blasts in Bangkok, and suggested that it may have been the work of the Muslim separatists from the deep South, his lawyer said.
"Thaksin strongly rejects the allegations and said that his government, which came from people, would not hurt its people," Noppadon Patama said. "The government should not rush to conclusions by trying to relate the attacks to previous governments. It is totally unfair and untrue," he said. Noppadon said Thaksin has warned coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin some time ago to keep an close watch against the militants in the Malay-speaking south over the possibility of them carrying out bomb attacks in Bangkok. But PM Surayud Chulanont earlier Monday linked the New Year's eve blasts -- which killed three and injured more than 30 across Bangkok -- to the "undercurrent" post-coup political movements that is largely deemed a tool of Thaksin's camp. Twice-elected Thaksin was ousted in a coup on September 19 while he was attending the United Nations General Assembnly in New York and has since been living in self-imposed exile abroad. Noppodon said the billionair telecom tycoon wants to return to Thailand to defend himself against corruption charges, a request that has been denied by the government. Four of Thaksin's close allies were ordered to report to the junta this morning. But the generals later postponed the hearing. The Nation
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