THAILAND: Bangkok cancels Buddhist New Year celebrations after bombs kill two

Record ID: 356458

  • Title: THAILAND: Bangkok cancels Buddhist New Year celebrations after bombs kill two
  • Date: 1st January 2007
  • Summary: (SONDBITE) (Thai) SONTHI BOONPAT SAYING: "I think there will be more of these incidents as our nation is considered to be not in a normal situation now" WOMEN PRAYING (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN SAYING: "I think we have to be more careful from now. They placed bombs throughout Bangkok, it's quite scary"
  • Embargoed: 16th January 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVAX29LB9A9IY07VC3MHNZITPAF
  • Story Text: The police in Bangkok cancelled traditional Buddhist New Year ceremonies on Monday (January 1) after a series of bombs in the Thai capital killed two people and wounded 30,including foreigners.
    Just a few Buddhist monks and worshippers gathered at the Royal ground in front of the Emerald Buddha temple on Monday for a traditional alms-giving ceremony which usually draws a huge crowd.
    Thai police have ruled out Muslim insurgents waging a separatist war in the Malay-speaking far south, despite similarities in the style of attack. There is also no indication that the bombs were the work of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
    People in Bangkok seemed wary of more trouble in the city.
    "I think there will be more of these incidents as our nation is considered to be not in a normal situation now," said Sonthi Boonpat, who attends the alms giving ceremony every year.
    A young woman commented: "I think we have to be more careful from now. They placed bombs throughout Bangkok, it's quite scary."
    Five of the first six bombs in Bangkok several hours before midnight were triggered by timers. Some were planted in areas likely to cause deaths -- outside a shopping mall, in an open-air market -- and some were not, like one in the parking lot of a shopping mall and another at an intersection.
    Later, two bombs exploded around midnight which could have caused far greater casualties had the New Year street celebrations not been cancelled by the authorities.
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