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A YouTube video claiming to be an al-Qaeda threat against fugitive ex-premier Thaksin was removed by the video service on Saturday as too violent, and then appeared again hours later.
The 2-minute, 45-second video is entitled "Al-Qaeda video against former Thailand Prime Minister".
It showed three men in Arab-type clothing, one armed with what appears to be an AK-47 rifle, with the "leader" in the centre, reading the death threat. Later in the video, the other two men also carry assault rifles, which appeared to be real or replica AK-47s.
The third man held a photo of Thaksin.
The English language commentary included threats to kill Thaksin, "to avenge the killing of Muslims in the South in 2004". It referred to the killings at Tak Bai district town, while Thaksin was premier. "You have killed our Muslim brothers in Tak Bai, south Thailand," the video stated.
(Some media reports stated incorrectly that the video criticised the killing of southern militants in 2004 at Krue Se mosque.)
"We will get you any time, anywhere in the world," said the speaker.
There was little other context provided in the video. The uploader of the original video, a registered YouTube user with the handle "mansoor ahmed volvo", appears to be a Pakistani, who posts often in Urdu about the Punjab, the disputed area along the Indian border. The accent in the video could indicate the speaker was from South Asia.
The first upload to YouTube was removed after a few hours with the notice: "This video has been removed as a violation of YouTube's policy on violence".
It appeared again from a different uploader several hours after that.
The second upload of the video also was removed.
But the anti-Thaksin posters played tag with YouTube. Early Sunday, a third version of the video was also posted on YouTube, with a Thai-language soundtrack played over the original.
It also was taken down by YouTube after a short time. It was uploaded again at mid-morning Sunday.
Southern militants have denied they have any connections with al-Qaeda or similar foreign terrorist groups.
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Thaksin death threat video a fake, says Paradorn
A video posted on YouTube making death threats against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is a fake and was done by members of the anti-government white-mask group, National Security Council secretary-general Paradorn Pattanatabut said on Sunday.
"The people who made the video clip are nothing more than a group of people who want to bring down Thaksin," Lt Gen Paradorn said. "When the video was uploaded, the white-mask people posted it on their Facebook pages and were having a good time criticising Thaksin."
He said the fact is that the problems in Thailand's three southern border provinces are not caused by al-Qaeda or Thaksin alone. The situation in the deep South is a problem inside the Thai state with the movement of the Malayu people, he said.
The security chief said the execution of the video was not very good when compared to other videos done by the al-Qaeda terrorist group.