Secret? What secret?
A secret tape recording of a telephone conversation about the judicial stand on the three former election commissioners following the botched April 2 election last year is being circulated out of context by opponents of the junta, one of the judges involved said yesterday.
"The content of the telephone call was not a secret, and the judicial stand on the issue is on public record," judge Wirat Chinwanijakul said.Acting under the banner of the Democracy Alliance Against Dictatorship, former government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair released the recording the conversation between Wirat, a C-11 official at Government House and judge Pairoj Nawanut. Jakrapob, who served in the first Thaksin Shinawatra government, alleged the tape was evidence of an attempt to sway the judicial ruling on the election. Wirat countered that his recorded comments reflected the long-standing view of the judiciary that the three election commissioners should resign to accept responsibility for mismanaging the election. He said Jakrapob had gone overboard in his attempt to portray the judiciary in a bad light. The C-11 official made the phone call, and Pairoj answered before transferring the line to him, Wirat said. The official asked about the judicial stand, and he answered by repeating comments already made in various press interviews, Wirat said, noting that he was the judiciary spokesman at the time. Justice Minister Charnchai Likhitjittha said he did not understand Jakrapob's true intent in releasing the tape.
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