Gaybutton Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Thaksin's Passport Revoked, Retains Citizenship Published: 15/04/2009 The passport of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been revoked for his role in inciting the protests that caused the cancellation of the weekend Asia summit in Pattaya and subsequent rioting, the chief government spokesman said on Wednesday. Thaksin still retains his Thai citizenship. ''The foreign ministry has cancelled his passport,'' spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said. ''The incident on the 11th [of April] is the reason. ''The decision to cancel his passport was based on passport issuing regulations, which state that the ministry can cancel or recall a passport if it can prove that a person has caused damage to the country,'' he said. "The cancellation will hinder Thaksin's foreign travel as a Thai, although his Thai citizenship remains intact," the spokesman said. Thaksin's diplomatic passport, issued to him as a former prime minister, was revoked on Dec 12 last year, days after the Abhisit Vejjajiva government came to power. Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for a corruption conviction. He has made a series of speeches to his red-shirted supporters in Thailand by videolink and phone in recent weeks urging them to overthrow the government . A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin and 12 of his key supporters on Tuesday over the anti-government protests in Bangkok that left two people dead the previous day. The demonstrators abandoned a three-week vigil outside Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's offices at Government House on Tuesday after troops cleared rioting protesters from the streets on Monday. The withdrawal of his ordinary Thai passport is the latest in a series of actions against the outlaw politician, who fled Thailand to avoid a conviction and two-year jail sentence for abuse of power while in office. His assets in Thailand, worth an estimated 76 billion baht, were also frozen. He faces additional corruption charges if he returns, and arrest for inciting the unrest which led to the holiday weekend riots and cancellation of the Pattaya summit. The government spokesman said the Foreign Affairs Ministry had not reported canceling the passport of any other person wanted over the Songkran riots. ____________________ And this, from THE NATION: _____ Thaksin's Passport Revoked The Foreign Ministry has terminated an ordinary passport held by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra since his traveling right might hurt the country, spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Wednesday. Thaksin's revoked passport is his last Thai traveling document after his diplomatic passport was terminated in the middle of December when the government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva took office. His ordinary passport was revoked April 12 after he used video link a abroad to provoke a group of red shirted protesters to disrupt the Asean summit last Saturday. The foreign ministry has authority to recall any passports which the traveling holders could exploit it to facilitate their movement to hurt the country, Tharit said. However, the termination of his passport did not affect Thaksin's Thai citizenship, he added. Thaksin could no longer travel with Thai passport but he can ask for temporary traveling document from any Thai embassy or consult office in abroad if he wanted to return to Thailand, Tharit said. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 Better late than never! But as we discussed on another thread some time ago, he has no doubt bought himself passports - perhaps even diplomatic ones - from a number of 'easy' countries happy to have a slice of his ill-gotten gains in their banks. Quote
