Kasit Not to resign

Panit Wikitset, vice foreign minister, said Kasit would be ready to comply with the law but he would not stop working and he had informed Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of his intention not to leave the office.

Panit said Kasit would return from Qatar in two days.

The Ratchathewi police station required Kasit and 24 other PAD leaders to report themselves at 1pm on July 16, while the Don Muang police station has summoned Kasit and 26 other PAD members to be questioned by police at 9:30am on the same day.

Abhisit said yesterday Kasit could go on working as foreign minister but he would not have any privileges regarding the case.

The prime minister said police and public prosecutors must handle the case straightforwardly.

He said it would be too soon to say whether Kasit would be removed from Cabinet.

Thepthai Senpong, spokesman for the Democrat leader, said Kasit could remain in office although police had summoned him for questioning.

He said Kasit was only a suspect and it would take several more procedures before his case could be finalised.

But Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said Kasit should resign immediately because he gave an interview in February that he would quit to defend himself in court if he faced charges regarding the airport seizures.

Sathit Pitudecha, a Democrat executive, said charges police had slapped on Kasit were too severe in accusing him of committing an act of terrorism.

In the charges, Kasit and other PAD leaders were accused of invasion and destruction of property, inciting unrest, and an act of terrorism causing the Airports of Thailand to temporarily close down operations.

Suriyasai Katasila, a PAD leader, said the summonses against the total of 36 PAD leaders in the two airport cases were apparently aimed at certain political goals.

Suriyasai said the charges were exaggerated and groundless and might later be ordered by the court to be dropped like the sedition charge against the PAD earlier.

Suriyasai noted the red-shirt movement had rioted and disrupted the Asean summit in Pattaya and attempted to capture and harm the prime minister, but the red-shirt leaders faced much less severe charges than the PAD leaders.

Suriyasai said police might use the PAD cases as a warning message against the red-shirt movement or might want to weaken the PAD, which has set up its own political party.

However, PAD leaders would report themselves to police as summoned because they were sure of their innocence.