Thaksin is a childish, cowardly demon : FM Kasit

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday lashed out at former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, calling him a "demon" and challenging him to a debate in any forum across the world.

Admitting the former PM had given him cash in the past, Kasit insisted he had not used any of it on himself; it had gone to local embassy staff or Thai people abroad.

The minister called a press conference yesterday at the Foreign Ministry after Thaksin launched a personal attack on Kasit during the phone-in on Monday night.

Thaksin accused Kasit of accepting money while he was Thai ambassador to several countries.

"The money was something like a donation to local staff. Why would Thaksin want to take money from a monk's alms bowl?" Kasit asked.

"Is Thaksin a human or a hungry ghost? I did not count how much he had given me, but I think it was a few hundreds of thousands of baht. If you want it back, I will give you Bt1 million right now," the foreign minister said.

"Some of the local embassy staff who took your money have died, so if you want the money back, please go and collect it in hell," Kasit said.

The foreign minister said he was once close to Thaksin and admired him because they shared a dream to turn Thailand into a developed country. Kasit was a former adviser to Thaksin but defected saying he could not tolerate Thaksin's corruption and conflicts of interest.

"I took to the streets to fight Thaksin but have never attacked him personally," he said. "If you hit me under the belt, I challenge you, Thaksin, for a face off anywhere.

"Don't use your lackeys, your street thugs to have a go at me," Kasit said, referring to the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship rally which has criticised him occasionally.

The minister said if Thaksin did not want his Thai passport anymore, he would be happy to go personally and collect it from him.

However, Kasit said, he would not exercise his authority to terminate Thaksin's normal Thai passport. The former PM's diplomatic travel document was revoked shortly before Kasit took office three months ago.

"It is better if Thaksin returns his Thai citizenship, it would make this country clean," Kasit declared.