17.05.09 Thai PM says submerged container link with Bloody May disappearances unlikely
Source: TNA
BANGKOK, May 17 (TNA) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said
Sunday that he had ordered concerned officials to investigate whether
containers on the seabed off the eastern district of Sattahip contain
human skeletons.
This follows speculation by relatives of those missing believed
killed during the 1992 Bloody May uprising in the capital that the
rumoured discovery of bodies could be linked to the disappearance of
their loved ones.
Speaking during his weekly television address on Sunday, Mr. Abhisit
said it was believed initially that the containers have been under the
sea for more than 20 years. If this is true he said, they would have
nothing to do with the Bloody May incident which happened exactly 17
years ago.
However, more proof is needed, said Mr. Abhisit, adding that he was
awaiting what should be done in order to relief worries of relatives of
those missing since the 1992 incident.
Hundreds of people were killed and many remain missing after the
military in May 1992 under the government of then prime minister Gen.
Suchinda Kraprayoon opened fire on demonstrators calling for his
resignation after he seized power in a bloodless coup.
Dr. Porntip Rojanasunan, director of the Justice Ministry’s Central
Institute of Forensic Science, said she planned to report on the
progress of an undersea survey of the containers off the coast of
Sattahip in Chon Buri province to Mr. Abhisit and to offer ways of how
to view the interior of the containers.
Dr. Porntip said viewing inside the containers could be carried out in two ways through either drilling or retrieving.
The operation took place after scuba divers claimed to have seen
several skulls on the seabed during a coral reef dive and reported the
find to the media, triggering hopes among relatives of those missing
victims during the Bloody May incident that the skeletons may belong to
them.
Meanwhile, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)
group, so-called red shirt protesters plan to hold a vigil on Sunday to
mark the anniversary of the Bloody May. (TNA)
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