Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insists the CentralWorld shopping mall was torched on May 19 after red shirt leaders called off their rally and before troops moved into the area.
Mr Abhisit yesterday told parliament CentralWorld was set on fire several times after red shirt leaders surrendered to police during the army operation to break up the rally.
Government forces deployed for the military operation were instructed to remain where they were.
He said none of the troops had moved to CentralWorld and Siam Square, which were later set ablaze.
An investigation would be carried out to identify the details of the arson attacks on the two shopping centres and the shootings at Wat Pathumwanaram, where six people were shot dead on the night of May19.
The prime minister saw it as unnecessary for the government forces to harm demonstrators after the rally had been called off.
There were reports that fire fighters had tried to put out the blazes at Siam Square and CentralWorld but they came under fire from a group of armed men at the Siam Paragon shopping centre, he said.
Puea Thai Party MP for Bangkok Vicharn Meenchainant yesterday said the burned buildings were in areas where the military was in control.
Checkpoints had been set up in the area to keep people from entering, the opposition MP said.
Mr Vicharn said not even MPs were allowed into the restricted areas.
The Puea Thai Party accused the government in parliament yesterday of blocking the live broadcast of the no-confidence debate to the provinces, especially the Northeast. The government denied the claim.
Lop Buri MP Suchart Lai-ngamnern and party list MP Sunai Jullapongsathorn of Puea Thai told the lower house they had received many complaints from people in provinces across the country that they could not view the televised debate on the NBT channel.
The two MPs said most of the complaints were from people living in the northeastern provinces.
PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey, who oversees the state television channel, said he could assure the opposition that the live broadcast had not been blocked.
Mr Sathit said the broadcast problems might have stemmed from the signal transmitter and the broadcast equipment at the Khon Kaen relay station that had been damaged in an arson attack.
The NBT's changeover from the Thaicom 2 satellite to the Thaicom 5 might also be to blame for viewing problems in some areas, he said.
Mr Abhisit also said the switching of the satellites could be the cause of the NBT broadcast problems in certain areas. He said he had ordered an urgent check into the matter.
The Khon Kaen NBT station was set ablaze after the dispersal of the anti-government protest in Bangkok last month.
From : Bangkok Post
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