Thais unveil restored statue at bomb site

Thais unveil restored statue at bomb site

Thai authorities have unveiled the restored centrepiece of the Erawan Shrine in a bid to restore confidence in Bangkok after last month’s deadly bombing.

In the past week, police have arrested two people and identified seven more believed to be part of a network that carried out the August 17 blast, which killed 20 and injured more than 120 people.

They have intentionally avoided calling it an act of terrorism for fear of hurting Thailand’s image.

“The most important issue for the country’s image is to restore confidence about safety,” Minister of Culture Vira Rojpojchanarat told reporters at Friday’s ceremony, which he said was intended to “create confidence and raise the morale of (Thai) people and tourists”.

The ministry’s fine arts department repaired 12 areas of the golden statue of the Hindu god Brahma, notably on its four-headed face where a chin was blasted out.

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