"Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Friday the government would not terminate diplomatic passport of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. "The government has no policy to revoke Thaksin's red passport," Samak told reporters.
His statement came after Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said earlier that the Foreign Ministry was in the process of terminating Mr Thaksin's red diplomatic passport after he skipped bail and fled to London last week to evade corruption charges. Mr Tej also said that he would ask Mr Samak to consider the matter.
On Thursday, supporters of People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) gathered outside the ministry, asking Mr Tej to revoke all passports of Mr Thaksin and his wife Potjaman on the grounds that they have been served with arrest warrants. The protesters also called on Mr Tej to ask the British government to reject the asylum petition filed by the couple."
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/tops...s.php?id=129850
0
Thaksin will keep his diplomatic passport
Started by Sexpat, Aug 22 2008 04:28 PM
1 reply to this topic
#2
-
- Members
-
- 3,744 posts
Veteran
Posted 23 August 2008 - 01:15 PM
Unforuntunately, the folks at PAD ( which should be called People Against Democracy the way they have been behaving ) don't seem to recognize that Khun Thaksin has not been convicted of anything at this point.
If the press reports are accurate, the Court hearing the land case against the Thaksin's had previously granted their request that the trial be allowed to proceed in absentia, which presumably means that the Thaksins violated no law by not attending that session two weeks ago. The fact that an arrest warrant was issued by the court ex parte under these conditions raises more questions than it answers.
It's true that Mrs. Thaksin was convicted of tax evasion and is appealing that ruling. That's hardly any legal basis for revoking her husband's diplomatic passport. All of this may sound like legal niceties, but the Thais are about to discover that in the realm of international law and matters of political asylum or extradition, legal niceties are the staff and stuff of life. If there is even a hint of kangaroo justice here, the judiciary will be the ultimate losers.
If the press reports are accurate, the Court hearing the land case against the Thaksin's had previously granted their request that the trial be allowed to proceed in absentia, which presumably means that the Thaksins violated no law by not attending that session two weeks ago. The fact that an arrest warrant was issued by the court ex parte under these conditions raises more questions than it answers.
It's true that Mrs. Thaksin was convicted of tax evasion and is appealing that ruling. That's hardly any legal basis for revoking her husband's diplomatic passport. All of this may sound like legal niceties, but the Thais are about to discover that in the realm of international law and matters of political asylum or extradition, legal niceties are the staff and stuff of life. If there is even a hint of kangaroo justice here, the judiciary will be the ultimate losers.
