Tourist hurt in Bangkok blast

A small bomb blast outside the residence of the Thai king’s chief adviser injured a British tourist in Bangkok today, police said, heightening tension amid weeks of protests aimed at ousting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin blamed the blast on “hooligans” trying to cause ”trouble amid the political crisis”.

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the home-made bomb, triggered by remote control at a guard post outside the home of former Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda, now the chief adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The blast came as hundreds of Thai protesters rallied at Singapore’s embassy, demanding a halt to the sale of Thaksin’s family telecom empire to a Singapore-owned investment fund.

More than 500 demonstrators waving Thai flags and shouting “Singapore Go Home!” threatened to boycott Singaporean products if the Singapore government fails to halt the controversial sale of Shin Corporation, which galvanised Thaksin’s detractors and fuelled the deepening political crisis in Thailand.

Critics of the deal allege the sale involved insider trading and tax dodges and complain that key national assets, including the country’s communications satellites, are now in the hands of a foreign government.

The January 23 sale went through shortly after Thailand raised the foreign ownership limit on telecommunications companies from 25% to 49%, fuelling critics’ accusations that Thaksin has tailored national policy to suit his own business interests.

“Thaksin has lied and cheated non-stop since taking office,” said one protester, Chai Siritanant, a 38-year-old businessman. “We are asking the prime minister to leave because he is trying to sell our country to the competitor.”

Tens of thousands of protesters have been holding regular street rallies in Bangkok, the capital, to demand Thaksin’s resignation, and say they will rally every night until he quits.

Demonstrators planned to march on to the stock exchange of Thailand later today, as they widen their protests from public parks to symbolic venues.

Thaksin, who has been accused of widespread abuse of power and corruption, has repeatedly said he will not resign but has said he was willing to sit down with his critics.

“I will not bow out,” Thaksin told a crowd of supporters during a campaign trip in Trat province near the Cambodia border. “No way will I give up.”

Thaksin dissolved parliament last month and called for snap elections for April 2 in hopes of defusing criticism against him. He has offered to resign if his party fails to secure more than half the votes in the election.

Opposition parties say they will boycott the polls, which Thaksin would almost certainly win because of his widespread support in rural areas.

Thaksin was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second term last year when his party won 377 of the 500 seats in the house of representatives. His main defence against critics is that he enjoys a mandate endorsed by 19 million voters.