German embassy demands payment of debt

In a surprise move, the Germany Embassy in Bangkok issued a statement on July 22 demanding that the Thai government repay the debt of 30million Euro owing in a longtime commercial dispute that resulted in the recent seizure of a Thai Boeing 737 in Germany.

The statement, written in Thai and German, said that the embassy truly hoped that the Thai government would make a quick decision to repay the debt, otherwise the matter would affect German investment in Thailand.

German insolvency officials seized a Boeing 737 used by the Crown Prince while it was parked at Munich Airport in southern Germany on July 12. The move was aimed at forcing the Thai government to repay a debt in a commercial dispute dating back more than two decades between Thailand and Walter Bau, a nowinsolvent German construction firm that was building a road link to Bangkok's Don Mueang airport.

The embassy further referred to the international arbitration tribunal's decision in 2009, which issued an award against Thailand to compensate damages to Walter Bau in the amount of around 30 million Euros plus interest and legal costs of around two million Euros.

"The embassy said the tribunal's ruling is considered final and the Thai government should immediately follow the tribunal's decision," the statement said.

The German embassy also referred to a German Court's ruling last week that the jet could be released upon payment of a 20million Euros deposit. The Thai government refused to pay, arguing that the jet was the personal property of the Crown Prince and not the government's.

Outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that there were no grounds for a German insolvency administrator to impound a second jet used by HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Abhisit was responding to a report on Sunday by the German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, which quoted insolvency administrator Werner Schneider as saying he was considering impounding a second jet used by the Crown Prince.

"We are considering further steps, including seizing the Prince's second plane," the paper quoted Schneider as saying. Bild am Sonntag said HRH the Crown Prince had flown the second plane to Munich to replace the first one.

AttorneyGeneral Chulasingh Vasantasing said he had already explained through a lawyer to the German insolvency administrator that the second jet was the Crown Prince's personal property and nothing to do with the government.

"As far as we know the plane has not been impounded," Chulasingh said.

Abhisit said the attorneygeneral was preparing information to take legal action against the Walter Bau company.

He said the attorneygeneral had notified him that almost 90 per cent of information concerning the company's exercise of rights in bad faith had been collected. A complaint will be separately lodged and will exclude the appeals process. It is expected that it will be completed this week.