BANGKOK, April 7 (Reuters) - Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

"The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government's credibility and create fear among people," said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand's king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year's referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it. (Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Michael Perry)</s>Image copyright Reuters

The king of Thailand has signed a new constitution that paves the way for a return to democracy but still gives the army an influential role in politics.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed the document at a ceremony in Bangkok.

It constrains future elected governments with an appointed senate, and commits governments to follow the military's 20-year development plan.

The last constitution was abolished after the military seized power nearly three years ago.

Critics claim the new document only allows for a partial, guided democracy.

It was approved by a referendum last August. Elections could now be held next year.

Thailand has had so many constitutions in its modern history - this is the 20th since 1932 - that many of them were introduced with little fanfare, reports the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.

But King Vajiralongkorn, who succeeded his father last year, signalled royal approval for the new charter by requesting an elaborate ceremony for its signing.

The king had requested changes to the charter earlier this year that restore some significant areas of royal influence.

The edits remove a power that would have been granted to the constitutional court to call a meeting in the event of a political crisis.

A requirement that the king appoint a regent when he leaves the country was also removed. The king often spends time in Germany, where a son attends school.

The generals say they need to impose some limits on democratic practice in order to prevent the need for military coups in the future.

Thailand's military has a history of intervening in politics and has seized power 12 times since the end of the absolute monarchy - and the introduction of the first constitution - in 1932.

It has promised not to intervene after the next elections, which have been delayed many times.</s>BANGKOK: Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

"The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government's credibility and create fear among people," said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand's king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year's referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it.</s>Nearly two dozen arson and bomb attacks erupted across Thailand's insurgency-torn south shortly after midnight, the army said Friday, causing widespread blackouts but no casualties in the Muslim-majority region.

The violence, which saw tires set alight and dozens of electricity poles damaged by explosives, struck only hours after Thailand's king Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new military-backed charter into law.

"There are 23 simultaneous incidents in three southern provinces and four districts of Songkhla," said Colonel Pramote Prom-in, an army spokesman for the south.

The region has sizzled with violence for over a decade as ethnic Malay rebels battle Thai troops for more autonomy, claiming more than 6,800 lives.

The border region was one of few areas to reject the ruling junta's constitution in a referendum that saw the document approved last year.

The new charter curbs the power of elected lawmakers and will bolster the army's role in government even after the junta steps down following elections which are expected in late 2018.

However Don Pathan, a Thai analyst based in the far south, said Friday's wave of attacks did not appear to be linked to the charter's signing.

The violence was most likely revenge for the killing of two suspected rebels by security forces last month, he told AFP.

"There has been a small spike of violence since then. My gut feeling is that last night was a retaliation for that alleged extrajudicial killing," said Pathan.

Thailand has been hit by a string of suspected rebel assaults since that fatal shooting on March 29, including one that saw around 30 militants open fire on a police checkpoint in Yala province, injuring 12 officers.

The junta, which seized power in 2014, has held several rounds of talks with a group that claims to represent the insurgents.

But the negotiations have failed to make headway and many doubt the rebel negotiators have clout over fighters on the ground.</s>Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

“The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government’s credibility and create fear among people,” said Pramote Prom-in, spokesperson for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand’s king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country’s 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year’s referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it.</s>Nearly two dozen arson and bomb attacks erupted across Thailand's insurgency-torn south shortly after midnight, the army said Friday, causing widespread blackouts but no casualties in the Muslim-majority region.

The violence, which saw tires set alight and dozens of electricity poles damaged by explosives, struck only hours after Thailand's king Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new military-backed charter into law.

"There are 23 simultaneous incidents in three southern provinces and four districts of Songkhla," said Colonel Pramote Prom-in, an army spokesman for the south.

The region has sizzled with violence for over a decade as ethnic Malay rebels battle Thai troops for more autonomy, claiming more than 6,800 lives.

The border region was one of few areas to reject the ruling junta's constitution in a referendum that saw the document approved last year.

The new charter curbs the power of elected lawmakers and will bolster the army's role in government even after the junta steps down following elections which are expected in late 2018.

However Don Pathan, a Thai analyst based in the far south, said Friday's wave of attacks did not appear to be linked to the charter's signing.

The violence was most likely revenge for the killing of two suspected rebels by security forces last month, he told AFP.

"There has been a small spike of violence since then. My gut feeling is that last night was a retaliation for that alleged extrajudicial killing," said Pathan.

Thailand has been hit by a string of suspected rebel assaults since that fatal shooting on March 29, including one that saw around 30 militants open fire on a police checkpoint in Yala province, injuring 12 officers.

The junta, which seized power in 2014, has held several rounds of talks with a group that claims to represent the insurgents.

But the negotiations have failed to make headway and many doubt the rebel negotiators have clout over fighters on the ground.</s>Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Otago Daily Times.</s>BANGKOK: Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

"The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government's credibility and create fear among people," said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand's king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year's referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it.</s>Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

“The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government’s credibility and create fear among people,” said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand’s king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country’s 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year’s referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it.</s>Thailand's king signed a new constitution in a ceremony on Thursday, an essential step towards holding an election that the military government has promised to restore democracy after a 2014 coup.

In a nationwide broadcast, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was seen signing the constitution, giving it royal endorsement and setting in motion a process for Thailand's next general election, expected late next year.

The constitution is Thailand's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics of army rule say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

The constitution is now due to be published in the Royal Gazette, after which it becomes law.
Thai King Vajiralongkorn signed into law a new Constitution of Thailand that paves the way for democratic reforms while allowing the Royal Thai Army to retain its influential role in Thai politics.