Foreign Ministry insists Thaksin's diplomatic passport cancelled since 2008

[webfact]

Foreign Ministry insists Thaksin's diplomatic passport cancelled since 2008
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Foreign Ministry has issued a statement to affirm that the diplomatic passport of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been cancelled since 2008.

It issued the statement after some Thai papers reported that Thaksin was still holding a diplomatic passport after his two ordinary passports were on May 26.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Foreign-Ministry-insists-Thaksins-diplomatic-passp-30261367.html

-- The Nation 2015-06-01

[EricBerg]

I do not believe this.

If it would be true the bad guy would not have been able to travel with his Thai diplomatic pass. Perhaps an old one was cancelled , yet a new one issued to him?

Corruption has many ways.

[smedly]

is it possible they actually have no clue what passports he has, not only would that be breaking Thai law but also international law

I would not surprise me that some sort of underhand illegal process took place when passports were issued cancelled issued cancelled to Thaksin - PTP have a tendency to cheat and work outside the law and rules because they feel they are bigger and have more authority, not a problem if you can hold onto power by any means but it all goes to (deleted) when you don't have control any more and proper law and order is restored

[Cuchulainn]

^^^ ........................Corruption has many ways...........................

Especially when that clunt Thaksin is mentioned or involved.

[lostinisaan]

I'm really wondering that Mr. T. with so many dead bodies under his bed is still breathing.

[scorecard]

Diplomatic? Normal, how many?

IMHO this shows, again, how incompetent the Thai newspapers are and also how incompetent their reporters and journalists are

How come given the numerous recent newspaper articles that no journalists, no reporters or no editors have asked for clarity whether the passports under discussion are diplomatic or normal, and how many?

How much of what appears in Thai English language newspapers has any real credibility?

[AleG]

is it possible they actually have no clue what passports he has, not only would that be breaking Thai law but also international law

I would not surprise me that some sort of underhand illegal process took place when passports were issued cancelled issued cancelled to Thaksin - PTP have a tendency to cheat and work outside the law and rules because they feel they are bigger and have more authority, not a problem if you can hold onto power by any means but it all goes to (deleted) when you don't have control any more and proper law and order is restored

When his cousin, under her sister government (why, yes, I am underscoring the nepotism) handed him a new passport via diplomatic courier, they did it while the offices in charge of that were closed because of the floodings of 2011, so that, right there points at unusual procedures.

Here's what was going on back then:

"Democrat spokesperson Chawanont Intharakomalsut said he has received a letter from a civil servant of the Foreign Ministry claiming a group of politicians and some of its staff members managed to remove the name of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra from its blacklist and have issued him a new Thai passport.

Chawanont said the controversial move occurred on October 31 in the ministry's Department of the Consular Affairs which had been closed during the recent flooding in Bangkok.

Chawanont noted that Foreign Minister Surapong Towichakchaikul was in Dubai between November 22 and 25 and he believed the minister then met with Thaksin to deliver his new passport."

So a group of Thaksin sycophants walk in the Department of Consular Affairs while it was closed, then walk out with a new passport for their dear leader; maybe it was a diplomatic passport, maybe it wasn't, hard to tell when things are done via subterfuge.

[mango66]

it was cancelled,

but no one took it from him,

so it is still in his posession , and he will travell with it till it expires !!

[billd766]

it was cancelled,

but no one took it from him,

so it is still in his posession , and he will travell with it till it expires !!

If the government knows the passport number they can just invalidate it and the expiry date doesn't matter.

As a normal courtesy ALL ex PMs of Thailand are granted a diplomatic passport. Most ex PMs retire and quietly fade into the background. Thaksin refures to retire, refuses to fade quietly into the background and to mh knowledge is the only Thai ex PM to have a diplomatic passport cancelled along with his normal ones.

Travelling without any Thai passport is no problem as he has diplomatic ones from Montenegro and Nicaragua unless itis to a country that doesn't recognise those countries but it is the loss of face which will hurt the most.