Ministry pushed over former PM's passport
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Ex-democrat MP notes Thaksin was once foreign minister, with diplomatic status
The Foreign Ministry should come clean on whether fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who also served as foreign minister early in his political career, still holds some kind of Thai passport, former Democrat MP Watchara Petthong said yesterday.
Suspicion had been cast by former foreign minister Prasong Soonsiri, who claimed that all foreign ministers were issued a diplomatic passport for life, he said.
Norachit Sinhaseni, permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, has the responsibility to clarify the situation, and if there is a lack of transparency, he would have to be held accountable, Watchara said.
Any attempt at a cover-up would not work, he said. Some bureaucrats are also dragging their feet in the belief that the military’s National Council for Peace and Order will not stay in office for long and that Thaksin will eventually return to power, he said.
If national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung fails to pursue promptly the government’s bid to strip Thaksin of his police title, Watchara will take action against Pol General Somyot by lodging a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission, he said.
This is not a threat against the police chief, he insisted – police should expedite this to protect the force’s integrity. The law should apply equally to everyone, and Thaksin is no exception, he said.
Maj-General Weerachon Sukhon-tapatipak, a deputy government spokesman, reconfirmed a report from the Foreign Ministry that two ordinary Thai passports belonging to Thaksin had been cancelled last Tuesday.
What is more, Thaksin’s diplomatic passport No D215863 had been taken back on December 15, 2008, he said.
Monk Phra Suthep Paphakaro said that when he was deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban, the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva had tried to rescind Thaksin’s police title but had to follow due process and the attempt could not be pushed through.
Rushing things would have amounted to a personal vendetta. It was also not certain whether His Majesty the King’s endorsement was needed, he said.
Revoking Thaksin’s passports is standard practice in the case of a criminal running from justice, said Phra Suthep, former leader of last year’s anti-government protests in Bangkok that led up to the coup.
