A senior army officer has dismissed a claim by deputy secretary-general to the prime minister Suporn Attawong that soldiers from the 42nd Ranger Regiment in Songkhla helped in an alleged conspiracy to smuggle sniper rifles into the Democrat-led rally site at Democracy Monument in Bangkok.
Fourth Army Region commander Lt Gen Sakon Chuentrakul. Post Today photo
Lt Gen Sakon Chuentrakul, the Fourth Army Region commander, was speaking just a few hours after Mr Suporn, a hardline red-shirt leader, held a press conference detailing the alleged smuggling of weapons into the Democracy Monument rally site for unknown purposes.
Mr Suporn had brought with him a man identified as Toey Jakkaraj, 23, who claimed to be a paramilitary ranger at the 42nd Ranger Regiment in Songkhla’s Thepha district. The man said he had learned about the plan to transport seven sniper rifles to Bangkok.
Mr Suporn accused ex-Democrat MP and anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban of ordering a group to smuggle in the firearms, an allegation that was backed by Mr Toey.
Lt Gen Sakon said he had checked with authorities at the 42nd Ranger Regiment and found there was no paramilitary ranger named Toey Jakkaraj serving in the agency as claimed by Mr Suporn.
He said the allegation was unfounded and defamed the military.
Lt Gen Sakon confirmed that no soldiers from the Fourth Army Region had taken weapons to support any protest groups. He said soldiers already had enough tough work in the three southern border provinces and did not want to get involved in politics.
Mr Toey told the press conference that seven people — four civil servants, two of whom had major army ranks, and three civilians — met in a room in the compound of the 42nd Ranger Regiment on Nov 11-12 to plan the smuggling of the sniper rifles to the protest venue. He said he took seven containers of the rifles into the meeting room himself but admitted that he did not know how they would be taken to the rally site.
He exposed the plan because he did not want anyone to get hurt as had happened in past political rallies. However, Mr Toey did not give the names of the other people involved or elaborate on his role in the alleged conspiracy.
Suporn Attawong (left) and Toey Jakkaraj. Post Today photo