Bangkok bombing: Red Shirts under scanner

New Delhi, Aug 18: The Thailand's junta chief has said that they are hunting a male suspect who was seen on the CCTV footage at Bangkok which was hit by a major explosion last night. The suspicion is moving towards an anti-government group, Red Shirts which is based in Thailand's Northeast, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said.

The motive appears to be extremely clear and the blast was aimed at hurting the economy of the country which relies very heavily on tourism.

Anti government group:

The focus of the investigation has shifted towards the anti government group which has been responsible for several instances of political violence. This is however for the first time that foreigners were targeted and the blast clearly aimed at hurting the tourism industry in a bid to send across a message to the government in Thailand.

When the blast occurred yesterday the insurgent southern Muslims were under the scanner. The Thailand police have been fighting Muslim insurgency for sometime now. However these insurgents have largely operated in the South of Thailand.

Who are the Red Shirts?

The Red Shirts fight under the banner of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship. They say that Thailand needs a political and judicial system that would ensure human rights and justice.

As per their own admission, the Red Shirts comprise the ordinary working class who are farmers, unregistered workers and those who do not qualify for welfare or pension.The Red Shirts are the ones who protested against the military coup in Thailand in the year 2006.

The Red Shirts have been blamed for several incidents in the recent past. A series of small blasts in Bangkok earlier this year were attributed to them a charge that was denied.

The Koh Samui explosion that occurred this year was also blamed on the Red Shirts.

However, the Thai police later on went to blame the Muslim insurgents for the same. The Bangkok bombing of last night is a major security challenge for the government. It is for the first time that an explosion on such a large scale targeting foreigners has been undertaken.

OneIndia News