THE BANGKOK BOMBING

So, dear reader, the form of warfare invented by the Provisional IRA and waged against the British people in the 1970s has been visited on the people of Thailand, that beautiful country known as the Land of Smiles.

I mention the Provisional IRA because it was they who built the prototype for this kind of war; planting in public places bombs designed to kill and maim as many innocent people as possible. And then, very important, make no claims of responsibility. Before the Provos happened along, such devices were hurled against the symbols of perceived repression: soldiers, army outposts and barracks, police stations, etc. The Provos changed all that by recruiting psychopaths who enjoy such work. Britain suffered years of it. Now it appears to be Thailand’s time.

By now most people who care about it know that a bomb was detonated close to the Bangkok's Grand Hyatt Hotel beside what’s known as the Erawan Shrine, a place of worship dedicated to a Hindu deity. It’s in the heart of the capital’s tourist area and resulted in heavy loss of life and many seriously injured and with no one claiming responsibility.

Sadly the world has become inured to such mindless violence. Only last week a suicide bomber killed and injured far more by detonating a truck packed with explosives in a crowded market in Damascus, Syria. We’ve come to expect such events like this to happen in the Middle East. It’s almost a weekly occurrence, and consequently we’ve become battle hardened. Perhaps this is why such media giants as the New York Times and Washington Post buried the news of the Bangkok bomb, mentioning it only in their international features; a bombing in Bangkok means little to them. And as the Thai English-language press is so tightly muzzled by the military junta now ruling Thailand I choose to get my news from the BBC and their World Service.

So, what now? The search for the guilty is on. And as many of the victims were tourists, a resolution is urgent and has top priority. Tourism is a big player in Thailand’s economy. And, as we know, the Thai police force is on the case in the search for those responsible. A police spokesman, reporting on video taken at the scene showing a man in a yellow shirt leaving the scene said:

“The yellow-shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber,” Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri, a police spokesman, told the Associated Press.

Isn’t that something? “He is the bomber.” No evidence other than a blurred video image and he’s the man. This does not exactly fill me with confidence about things.

From the outset, I have to say I have zero confidence in Thai police investigations, especially where crimes that have a detrimental impact on tourism are concerned. There have been cases in the past where pressure has been applied to get the case solve.

When Kathrine Horton, a young Welsh backpacker, was raped and murdered on Kho Samui in 2006, the then Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, faced the media stating: "I have ordered police to get the killer of the British tourist in Koh Samui as soon as possible. This case has caused severe damage to the reputation of our nation and the tourist business.”

So the pressure was on. Suspects sought, two were arrested, confessed and after an accelerated trial sentenced to life imprisonment. Were they guilty? Were they the perpetrators? Possibly they were, but in my mind questions lingered.

And now there is the case of British tourists David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, murdered in 2014 on Kho Tao. Two Myanmar migrant workers were arrested and are on trial for this crime. The police forensic at the crime scene was seen by many observers and considered sloppy and poor. And the treatment of the accused caused outrage in Britain and raised questions about Thai police competence. There have been other, similar, cases.

In Britain in 1975, six men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the infamous Birmingham pub bombings. While on remand, it was found that the men suffered beatings. Years later, in 1991 their convictions were quashed after the police were found to have fabricated and suppressed evidence. This was in Britain. This is Thailand.

I hope that the perpetrators of Monday night’s atrocity are apprehended and severly punished. But I hope it isn’t a police shakedown that results in innocents getting railroaded for a crime they didn’t commit just to satisfy Thai tourism.

And something else bothers me. Will the Thai junta see this tragic event as an excuse to tighten the screws. It’s hard to see them allowing such an opportunity to go to waste. I'll keep you posted as events unfold.