School Attacks Hint at Thai Unrest

Arsonists attacked four schools in northern Thailand early this morning in what could be the first act of violent opposition to the country's new military regime.

The Thai military said they were still investigating the incidents in Kamphaengphet province, 190 miles north of Bangkok.

At least one of the schools was razed to the ground and the other four were badly damaged in the pre-dawn attacks, Colonel Banyong Sirasunthorn, told the Associated Press.

"The army has sent a team to investigate the incident and has not yet ruled out the possibility that this was an act of anger from people who lost power," he said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the arson but for the past five years Kamphaengphet has, like much of northern Thailand, been a stronghold of support for Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister who was ousted in a bloodless coup on September 19.

Attacks on schools and government offices have become common in recent months in Thailand's southern three provinces, where a decades-old insurgency against Bangkok has gathered new momentum in the last two years. But they are virtually unheard of in the rest of the country, which has remained largely unaffected by the civil unrest.

Opposition to the coup thus far has been limited to a few peaceful protests by pro-democracy activists that the authorities have allowed to proceed despite banning all political activities and prohibiting public gatherings of more than four people.

Col Banyong speculated that the arsonists' motivation might have been the closure of some 400 community radio stations in northern provinces in a bid to silence mouthpieces of the Thaksin regime.

It was through these radio stations, in addition to more mainstream broadcast media, that Mr Thaksin disseminated his populist policies to the people.

"There are a lot of frustrated and angry people out there so nothing can be ruled out," one politician in Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party told the Guardian. "However we certainly do not condone or support this sort of violent action."

The military regime, which has again renamed itself to be called the Council for Democratic Reform, announced today that its charter in lieu of a constitution has been completed and would be presented to King Bhumibol Adulyadej for endorsement on Saturday, along with the name of the caretaker civilian prime minister.

A slew of prominent civilians were appointed as advisers to the military regime yesterday, although their precise duties remain unclear.

The generals have repeatedly stated that their two priorities before holding a general election next year are to write a new constitution to prevent one person abusing power to the extent Mr Thaksin has been accused of and to investigate corruption in the previous government.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, told the Guardian the level of opposition to the military is "not yet serious but certainly of concern".

"The military has not established complete control and there are rumblings of protest," he said. "More will come, I guarantee you. The military are showing signs of botching this coup and if they don't get it right the opposition will grow."