Thai MP accuses his govt of plotting to murder Thaksin

(CAAI News Media)

Thursday, 24 December 2009 15:02 Cheang Sokha and James O’toole

THE government has denied accusations that it recorded tele-phone conversations between Thai embassy officials and a Thai national subsequently convicted of espionage, and a Thai opposition parliamentarian revealed documents that he said implicated the Thai government in an assassination plot on fugitive former Thai prime minister and Cambodian government adviser Thaksin Shinawatra.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the government responded to comments Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva reportedly made last week that had Cambodia wiretapped Thai embassy phones, it would affect the Kingdom’s standing internationally.

Abhisit’s reported comments, the government said, were “simply a dream and an individual assumption made to obtain political gain”.

The telephone conversations in question were between Sivarak Chutipong, a Thai employee at Cambodia Air Traffic Services, and Kamrob Palawatwichai, the former first secretary at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. Sivarak was arrested in November and subsequently pardoned for leaking Thaksin’s flight information during the Thai ex-leader’s visit to the Kingdom last month.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanyagorn said Wednesday that Bangkok had drawn no conclusion on whether the wiretapping took place.

Also on Wednesday, Jatuporn Prompan, a lawmaker from the Thaksin-aligned Puea Thai party, revealed documents that he said were part of a November note from Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to Abhisit, according to the Bangkok Post. Jatuporn reportedly accused Kasit of outlining a plan for the “elimination” of Thaksin.

Last week, Jatuporn revealed three pages of the note, which allegedly discussed the prospect of military force against Cambodia. On Tuesday, Thaksin posted an English translation on his Web site of what he said were the Thai Foreign Ministry documents regarding Cambodia.

Chawanon Intharakomansut, the secretary to the Thai Foreign Minister, said Sunday that while such documents did exist, Jatuporn had blown them out of proportion.

Panitan said Wednesday he could not comment on the documents’ veracity or the “personal Web sites of individuals.”