Home > Opinion > Our nominee Govt

  • Print
  • Email
NEWSMAKER

Our nominee Govt

Matichon newspaper's page 2 yesterday carried a special report entitled "Revenge Mission". The sub-headline read:



"Nominee government presses the Council for National Security's ally". Below the headline was the picture of Payap Shinawatra, younger brother of Thaksin. Payap was quoted as saying that "I would avenge them for the entire generation." Payap said this on April 21, 2007, when the CNS was still in power.

Matichon said it has become clearer that the People Power Party has started to ask for "payback" from graft-busters who were assigned to investigate alleged corruption cases involving former prime minister Thaksin. Matichon highlighted some cases to ensure the public gets the picture of the "payback" time.

First, the Assets Examination Committee was summoned by the police even though the AEC several months ago filed a case asking the police to quickly pursue the legal case against Thaksin's lawyer on a charge of contempt. On June 4, eleven AEC members were summoned by the police, who clearly stipulated in the summons that, "If the AEC members fail to show up, the authorities may issue warrants."

Secondly, Khunying Jaruwan Maintaka, the Auditor General, who has been on the opposite side to Thaksin, has become a target. Matichon said that the decision to hire a private company to conduct a training course for the Office of the Auditor General (worth Bt10 million) would become a serious problem for Jaruwan after the local press reported that the company had a special relationship with Jaruwan. A group of people filed a case with the National Counter Corruption Commission to investigate the issue. But the petition was met with silence from the NCCC. Nonetheless, the Department of Special Investigations reacted quickly and its high-level officials said they would give priority to the case.

Third, former judge Sunai Manomai-udom was not only transferred from the DSI but was also issued with a warrant by Wang Noi police, Ayutthaya province, for failing to report to investigative officers on a charge of contempt against Thaksin.

Matichon said that when he was the director-general of the DSI, Sunai said that in June last year the DSI had sufficient witnesses and evidence that could nail Thaksin. Thaksin argued that his statement was presumptuous because a defendant should be deemed innocent until proven guilty. Sunai was issued with a warrant by a judge in Wang Noi who ordered the police to take action against Sunai on this charge, with a statute of limitations of ten years.

Fourth, agencies have ordered the police to collect legal complaints against key personalities of the People's Alliance for Democracy.

Fifth, powerful people in the government pressed the Revenue Department to revoke the order to freeze the assets, worth Bt1.2 billion, of Thaksin's children. This is linked to tax evasion charges against Ample Rich Investment regarding the sale of Shin Corp. A tax appeal committee is scheduled to hold a meeting soon to consider whether to return the assets to Thaksin's children amidst strong political pressure.

Matichon summed up in its special report that, "when state power, especially that of the police and the DSI, is controlled by a 'nominee' government, the mission to gain revenge upon and get even with the opponents of 'Thaksinocracy' is unlikely to stop".


Advertisement

Search Search

Privacy Policy (c) 2007 NMG News Co., Ltd.
1854 Bangna-Trat Road, Bangna, Bangkok 10260 Thailand.
Tel 66-2-338-3000(Call Center), 66-2-338-3333, Fax 66-2-338-3334
Contact us: Nation Internet
File attachment not accepted!