This will also help the public see that the government is giving importance to the southern unrest, Prayut said.The PM also called on the media not to play up the claim by Barisan Revolusi Nasional ( BRN ) of responsibility for the bombings in seven tourist destinations on August 11 and 12, as it would boost their credibility. "Why didn't they claim responsibility right after the attacks, as it is done in other parts of the world? When the media pressure the government, they [the separatists] use violence to counter that. That does not kill members of the media, but residents in the South," he said.Earlier, National Security Council secretary-general General Thaweep Netrniyom said people should not believe reports of BRN taking responsibility for the August bombings because the group normally never takes responsibility for attacks.Meanwhile, deputy police chief Pol General Srivara Rangsipramanakul, who led the probe into the August bombings, said although the suspect in the Trang arson, Abdul-Kadae Salae, had links to unrest in the south, neither he nor five other suspects had been found to have ties with BRN or its military wing Runda Kumpulan Kecil. He said the six men were among 20 involved in the August attacks.Bomb-making material - including two phones, three assembled circuits, eight relay switches and two gas canisters - were seized yesterday in Yaha in Yala.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 13, 2016 17:15 UTC