Stripping Thaksin of police rank 'lawful'

The revocation of convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra's police rank of lieutenant-colonel is in line with the law, House Speaker Chai Chidchob said on Wednesday.

The Council of State issued an opinion on Tuesday that the prison sentence given to Thaksin by the Supreme Court met all the conditions required to strip him of his police rank and his royal decorations.

Whether the revocation of his rank would lead to violent protest by his supporters, Mr Chai said the red-shirts have done that all along.

He then suggested the government not to counter Thaksin's moves, but just let things go according to legal procedures.

Government acting spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said the revocation of Thaksin's police lieutenant-colonel rank must be carried out by the Royal Thai Police and under police regulations.

He did not believe this would inflame the red-shirt movement into further prolonging their anti-government protests.

On the contrary, Mr Panithan expected the protests to gradually diminish because people were getting very bored with them.

The Council of State's opinion has been sent to the Cabinet Secretariat along with guidelines for the process.

The Royal Thai Police had queried whether Thaksin's conviction was sufficient to strip him of his rank, arguing that he was sentenced to prison for violating the rule on conflict of interest under the anti-corruption law. He was cleared of malfeasance charges under articles 152 and 157 of the Criminal Code.

Thaksin's offence was political and so might not be enough to warrant revoking his rank under police regulations.

The Council of State, the government's legal adviser, said the prison sentence handed down by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions met all the conditions required to revoke Thaksin's rank and royal decorations.

As long as the jail sentence imposed on Thaksin was considered final, he should lose his rank regardless of the court in which he was tried.

The council also cited PM's Office regulations on royal decorations which stipulate that a person can lose them if a jail sentence is considered final.