Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon denied Wednesday that the weapons discovery in Chachoengsao was staged by the military regime to give it an excuse to continue to ban all political activities.
"Why would the authorities do that? They did everything in a straightforward manner. Nothing was staged," said Gen Prawit, who is also defence minister.
He insisted the government had nothing to gain politically or otherwise from plotting the cache's discovery.
Gen Prawit said he was uncertain whether the ban on political activities will be extended as the government needs to assess the situation.
Asked whether the arms cache case will delay the government's move to allow political activities to resume, Gen Prawit declined to answer. He said the media can figure out themselves whether the ban will be lifted in light of the weapons find as police were in the process of securing arrest warrants for those involved.
Gen Prawit said he did not believe any delay in ending the political ban will affect next year's general election or hurt the chances of new politicians joining parties to contest it, adding the government is sticking to the election roadmap.
The deputy prime minister was speaking after it was reported that Interior Minister Gen Anupong Paojinda planned to propose lifting the ban to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as a so-called New Year's gift to the people.
Meanwhile, arrest warrants will this week be issued for five people, including former PM's Office minister Jakrapob Penkair and former 3rd Army deputy chief Maj Gen Manas Paolik, for suspected links to the Chachoengsao arms cache.
Deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul yesterday said the Royal Thai Police was compiling evidence which will need to be presented in court to seek warrants for the arrest of the five.
He refused to go into detail as to how the suspects were involved in the war weapons and ammunition retrieved from Bang Nam Prieo district last week as he said doing so could affect the investigation.
Asked whether the weapons would implicate any political groups, Pol Gen Srivara said he had no idea at this stage how far the investigation will extend. The investigation, he said, will proceed for as long as necessary based on the evidence and witness testimonies.
According to police, a preliminary probe indicates the serial numbers on firearms and explosives match those on weapons used in the political unrest which took place in 2014.
All the arms and explosives were manufactured in Russia and they were not procured for use by the police and military in Thailand.
The weapons were in a usable condition although police have yet to find out how they were obtained and where they were going to be used.
Police also believed the seized arms are only part of a larger stash hidden in the province. Therefore, officers have intensified their search for any remaining weapons to prevent possible future unrest.
