On 15 February 2012, Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave a press briefing regarding the explosions incident in Soi Sukhumvit 71, Bangkok on 14 February 2012 at approximately 15.00 hrs. Summary of the briefing is as follows:
1. This morning (15 February 2012), the National Security Council (NSC) convened an urgent meeting of the Thai security authorities concerned regarding the incident which was attended by several high-ranking officials, including the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, Director of the National Intelligence Agency, Director of the Office of Policy and Planning of the Ministry of Defence, Deputy Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police and the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Based on the preliminary investigation and existing evidence, the meeting concluded the following:
1.1 The explosive devices found are Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) with C4 component and magnetic strips. No linkage between this incident and the arrest of Mr. Atris Hussein earlier last month has been found. It is likely that these explosive devices were intended for assassination of individual or individuals rather than a large scale attack.
1.2 The suspects comprise 3 men and 1 woman. The Thai authorities reacted promptly to the incident and 2 out of 4 suspects have already been arrested. The first suspect was the man injured from the explosion at the scene of the incident while another suspect was the man arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport while trying to flee Thailand. Although both suspects were found with Iranian passports, further investigations will be conducted before determining the authenticity of the passports and their nationalities.
1.3 At present, the Thai authorities have not yet identified the two arrested men as terrorists. The Thai police will press criminal charges on these two men on the ground of possessing explosive devices that caused danger and injuries to others as well as attempting murder. Further investigations will have to be conducted before any conclusion can be made.
2. At 15.30 hrs today (15 February 2012), the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs will give a briefing on this incident to members the diplomatic corps and international organizations at the Foreign Ministry. Police General Pansiri Prapawat, Deputy Police Commissioner, will also join the briefing.
3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been monitoring the travel alerts and advisories issued by countries regarding this incident and found that, as of 15 February 2012 at 11.50 hrs, 10 countries namely Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and New Zealand have issued travel advisories, providing the information about the incident and stating that the Thai authorities are investigating the incident. While most of them merely advised their citizens to exercise caution in public areas, none of them has linked the incident with terrorism.
4. The Foreign Minister also sought cooperation from the Thai public to remain vigilant and encouraged them to quickly report to the police should they come across any unusual activities.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th