Former Foreign Minister Demands Revocation of Thaksin's Passports

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in THE NATION:

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Prasong Tells Foreign Ministry to Revoke Thaksin's Passport

 

Former foreign minister Prasong Soonsiri Tuesday demanded the Foreign Ministry permanent secretary to revoke all types of passports of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

Prasong submitted the written demand to the permanent secretary and threatened to file nonfeasance charges against him if he refused to revoke Thaksin's diplomatic and ordinary passports.

 

He reasoned that the Foreign Ministry's directives prohibited issuance passports to anyone who face criminal charges and Thaksin has already been sentenced to two-year imprisonment.

[Guest fountainhall]

Let's not forget that Thaksin's cronies in the last government permit him to continue travelling on a diplomatic passport!

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

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Thaksin's Redpassport Voided

 

THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL

 

The Foreign Ministry has quietly revoked the diplomatic passport held by convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

The ministry said on its website yesterday that Thaksin's red passport was cancelled on Friday after he decided not to appeal his case.

 

The statement did not go into detail but it is understood it referred to the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions verdict on Oct 21 sentencing him to jail for two years in absentia for abusing his authority in the purchase of land in the Ratchadphisek area from a government agency by his wife at the time, Khunying Potjaman.

 

The ministry said it had consulted the government before making the decision and sent confirmation to Thaksin's address in Thailand.

 

A ministry source said foreign affairs permanent secretary Virasakdi Futrakul had approved the decision as there was no cabinet minister in charge of the ministry. Former foreign minister Sompong Amornvivat was forced to step down following the Constitution Court's ruling on Dec 2 disqualifying the People Power Party and its executive members for election fraud.

 

 

[Guest fountainhall]

Bravo! Thaksin may not have disappeared off the radar, but at least the government is taking some steps to make life more difficult for him.

[Guest HeyGay]

I would not hold your breath for him to be captured, if you remember he did have his divorce cancelled in a Thai Embassy and they did nothing to arrest him, even though he is called the most wanted man in Thailand, on their Thai soil, as the Embassy is considered. People with Money in Thailand very rarely go to prison for long if at all and one with access to Billions will stay free a very long time indeed.

[Guest fountainhall]

he did have his divorce cancelled in a Thai Embassy and they did nothing to arrest him

 

But this was when his about-to-be ex-brother-in-law was Prime Minister. I reckon he'll have more difficulty with the new government as long as it stays in power.

[PattayaMale]

"The Foreign Ministry has quietly revoked the diplomatic passport held by convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

The ministry said on its website yesterday that Thaksin's red passport was cancelled on Friday after he decided not to appeal his case."

 

For some reason I thought this was funny. What does it mean to "quietly" do something when you post ir on your own website?

 

What may happen next is that his other passport will be canceled now that a new government is in place. However, if done this may cause an uproar with the red shirts??

[Guest fountainhall]

What may happen next is that his other passport will be canceled now that a new government is in place

 

I'm curious. I can see that the judicial system can demand the handing over of a passport if the individual is still in the country. But is any government actually entitled to cancel a passport from any citizen who is overseas - even though he may be a convicted felon - thereby rendering him stateless?

[mahjongguy]

I'm curious. I can see that the judicial system can demand the handing over of a passport if the individual is still in the country. But is any government actually entitled to cancel a passport from any citizen who is overseas - even though he may be a convicted felon - thereby rendering him stateless?

 

Can they? Of course they can. Very likely your country is empowered to do the same, but it would probably choose to handle such a situation differently. Making a person stateless would just cause diplomatic problems for countries friendly to The Kingdom.

 

If Thailand were to take the next step and invalidate Thaksin's individual passport, there is the likelihood that the next time he arrives at some foreign airport that he will be refused entry and quickly deported to Thailand. Very few of the powers-that-be would want that to happen. Reducing him to the status of commoner and ensuring that he does not receive special privileges is enough for now.

 

p.s. Thaksin is sure to be holding passports from other countries. Cambodia is likely.

 

p.p.s. Yes it was galling to see him and his wife waltz in and out of the consulate in Hong Kong to file divorce papers. In a better world the officials there would have refused to provide him with consular services, but surely they can't be blamed for not detaining him. The consulate may be a sovereign slice of Thailand but they have no power to handcuff someone and drag them off to the airport. Thailand would have to request extradition, and it's not likely that the crime of which he was convicted would qualify for that nor that Beijing would be inclined to comply.