Surapong's passport move 'just a bid to save his job'
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Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said yesterday that he believed Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul is pushing hard to issue a passport to former PM Thaksin Shinawatra because he is worried about being kicked out of the Cabinet.
Chavanand said the Democrat-led government cancelled Thaksin’s Thai passport because he had an arrest warrant in connection with the Ratchadaphisek land case and because he was actively providing wrong information to the public through his phone-ins.
“We believe Thaksin poses a security threat to the country, so we do not want him to travel freely to foreign countries,’’ he said.
The spokesman said Thaksin’s passport had expired and the Foreign Ministry would have to issue him a new passport. This would require that Thaksin’s photograph be taken.
“The government has a duty to arrest Thaksin since he is a fugitive and not issue him a passport. Police and security agencies must stop the government or the Foreign Ministry because Thaksin has an arrest warrant against him, otherwise the officials involved would be accused of distorting the facts and the law,’’ he said.
Chavanond said he had heard that Surapong is one of the ministers facing the axe in the Cabinet, hence he had to show some achievement benefiting Thaksin, which might
help catapult him to a better post.
“We want to warn Surapong that he is exploiting legal loopholes and he would come under scrutiny for dereliction of duty,’’ he said.
The Democrat Party, he said, would take action against every official involved in the procedure to issue a passport to Thaksin.
Chavanond said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra could not absolve herself of this responsibility if she allowed Surapong to issue a Thai passport to Thaksin.
Surapong dropped a bomb-shell last week when he said that he wanted to return
Thaksin’s passport to him as a New Year gift.
Chavanond said instead of giving Thais a New Year’s gift, Surapong was thinking of only one person.
