Hej
Utrikes Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul får visst stöd i dagens Bangkok Post i tanken på att återlämna Thaksins pass även om man tycker att "timingen" är dålig, enligt ministeriets regler har man rätt att dra in en persons pass om denne" troligen kommer att skada Thailand eller något annat land", så Utrikes Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul kan göra en annan bedömning än PAD ledaren Kasit gjorde när han ansåg att Thaksin medverkade till oroligheterna i Bangkok, och den nye Utrikesministern kan anse att Thaksin har upphört med att skaapa oro och att skälet till indragning av passet inte längre finns.
Man skriver dessutom att andra dömda personer i Thailand har haft möjlighet att behålla sina pass, så även i denna fråga kan utrikesminister Surapong ha rätt.
http://www.bangkokpo...ward-priorities
Surapong's backward priorities
In a renewed effort to bring former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra back to Thailand, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul last week said he was looking into the possibility of returning the fugitive former premier's passport after the Abhisit Vejjajiva Government revoked it two years ago.
Mr Surapong first floated the idea while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, but has not followed it up partly due to the flooding situation.
If an ordinary prisoner can still retain his identity card, why can't Thaksin retain his ordinary passport, which is used as his personal Thai ID card overseas, the minister explained in re-floating his plan.
In his capacity as foreign minister, Mr Surapong claimed he was allowed by certain rules to do so.
According to the ministry's regulation, the minister is authorised to revoke a passport from any person if he deems the holder likely to damage Thailand or any foreign country.
All former prime ministers and foreign ministers have a right to hold a diplomatic passport for life but then foreign minister Kasit Piromya decided to seize the red passport from Thaksin at that time because he was seen as the mastermind of all political unrest in Thailand during the Abhisit government.
Thaksin fled the country to avoid a two-year jail term for a land purchase corruption case.
Diplomatic, or red, passports only help facilitate travel into or out of a number of countries without the need to apply for a visa.
Mr Surapong might not be wrong to return the ordinary passport to Thaksin as he also said that some Thai prisoners who had escaped from jail could hold that kind of passport. He could also argue that Thaksin had stopped stirring up trouble for Thailand since the present government took office.
But his timing in trying to returning Thaksin's regular passport is poor since Mr Surapong has no achievements to show for his three months in office.
It seems that his first priority as foreign minister was to help Thaksin and return the ordinary passport to the fugitive.
Mvh Isan Lover