The early morning bomb blast in Bangkok's Government House has killed one protester and injured 26 others from the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy ( PAD) which occupied the complex since mid-August.
The explosion occurred at 3:25 a.m. (0825 GMT), just a day after a temporary cease-fire during the royal cremation of the King's elder sister, local newspaper The Nation's website reported.
PAD guards rushed the 27 injured to nearby hospitals. One of them, a 48-year-old man named Jenjit Kladsakhon, later died in a hospital after a piece of bomb cut his throat.
Police bomb disposal officers later checked the explosion site and said that the grenade appeared to have fired from a grenade launcher from a building of the Civil Service Commission head office.
The police hasn't decided which type of explosives it was, while the PAD's initial investigation showed that the bomb was likely to be a military issue M-79 rifle grenade.
The PAD has been staging anti-government protests since May 25 in Bangkok and occupied the Government House for rally since Aug. 26.
On Wednesday, a government spokesman said the cost of damage to the Government House and lost items is estimated to reach 100 million baht (about 3 million U.S. dollars) since the PAD seized the compound.
Following the explosion, the PAD core leaders met urgently to consider counter-measures on Thursday morning.
PAD core leader Chamlong Srimuang, a retired major-general, has sent letters to the army chief, Metropolitan Police Bureau Commander, National Police Chief to petition for more protection to protesters in the Government House compound and bring the assailants to justice.
PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul claimed that the government was behind the explosion.
The PAD issued an announcement, saying that it will organize a massive anti-government demonstration on Sunday, starting 2:00 p.m. (07OO GMT), which is aimed at toppling the "proxy" government, preventing the government from amending the constitution, and putting an end to the "Thaksin regime."
Prime Minister and Defence Minister Somchai Wongsawat responded to the accusation by saying that the government would not create unrest and no Thais would want to hurt another Thai, blaming "ill- intentioned or third parties" for the violence.
(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2008)
