bangkok steps up security for bomb attacks
 

Security stepped up at 467 sites
By Piyanart Srivaolo
Monthien Intaket
The Nation

Cabinet yesterday stepped up measures to safeguard 467 locations
throughout the capital it believes may be at risk from bomb blasts or
political attacks.

Some prime locations such as palaces and government offices must be
under special surveillance, government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn
said.

The authorities would enact preventive measures for sites deemed at
risk, such as installing more closed-circuit cameras or deploying
extra security officials, he said.

Intelligence networks would be strengthened to follow the movement of
people who threaten trouble for the government.

Cabinet discussed the moves after a series of explosions in the
capital following the military crackdown on red-shirt protests in
April and May led to the death of 91 people.

The authorities say they have idea who the masterminds of the latest
blasts are, but assume they are motivated by the political divide.

The latest explosion took place on Monday night at the Office of the
Attorney General, but there were no casualties, only some damaged
trees. The bomb was believed to have been an M26 or M67 hand grenade,
police said.

Security agencies reported to Cabinet there have been 125 attacks,
including 108 in Bangkok, since March this year. Some 72 of those
incidents took place during the red-shirt rallies. Half of the attacks
(36), including 20 bomb blasts, have been in the capital.

Pol General Panupong Singhara na Ayutthaya, an adviser to the national
police chief, told Cabinet there were 8,846 closed-circuit television
cameras throughout the capital, but only 6,861 were working. The rest
were out of order or had been removed - and all cameras were of low
quality, he said.

Most CCTV cameras are run by the private sector. The Bangkok
Metropolitan Administration operates only 2,900 cameras.

The government would allocate Bt600 million to install cameras in the
467 sites "at risk", Panitan said. In foreign countries, crime had
been reduced by up to 70 per cent after CCTV cameras were installed,
he said.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES)
had increased security surveillance from 30 to 77 locations in Bangkok
and outskirts, centre spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

All locations would be guarded by police but the 77 at-risk locations
would be the responsibility of teams of troops and police, he said.

The centre asked for cooperation from all citizens to help inform
authorities about movements of people who might create trouble for the
government.


-- The Nation 2010-09-29