Govt denies ordering revocation of Thaksin's rank

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva denies having ordered the Royal Thai Police to strip ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra of his police lieutenant-colonel's rank and his royal decorations.

Mr Abhisit was commenting on the Council of State's confirmation that Thaksin should be stripped of his police rank because the two-year jail sentence handed him by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions was already final.

The Council of State took the matter for consideration at the request of the Royal Thai Police Office.

Mr Abhisit said the government has no say in the findings of the Council of State.

Asked if the appropriate agencies would follow the Council of State's opinion, Mr Abhisit replied that they usually do.

The council's ruling has been sent to the cabinet secretariat along with guidelines on procedures to strip Thaksin of his rank and the royal decorations.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban echoed the same message, saying the move to revoke Thaksin's rank was initiated by the Royal Thai Police and the government had nothing to do with it.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob, too, said it was not politically-motivated.

Asked whether this would lead to further violence by red-shirts of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, Mr Chai said he did not think so since the red shirts had always been violent anyway.

However, the government should stop exchanging verbal blows with Thaksin because it would only worsen the situation. The government should let the Foreign Ministry do its job, he said.

Government acting spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said where ever Thaksin may go, the government would ask that country to extradite him.

He did not think the move to strip Thaksin of his police rank would cause the red-shirts to step up their activities. People had become tired of them, he added

Police spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen  said the Royal Thai Police Office had not yet been officially informed of the council's ruling.

He said the process of revoking a police officer's rank is done twice a year -- in April and October.

Revoking Thaksin's rank would take some time because he was not the only officer due to lose his commission because court verdicts were now final.

Others included former deputy police commissioner Chalor Kerdthes, who had recently lost his final appeal against the death sentence.

The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for a double murder related to the high profile Saudi-jewels theft case, he said.

Stripping an officer of his rank in such circumstances was a standard procedure under existing police regulations, he said.

Meanwhile, Thaksin's lawyer Noppadon Pattama warned revoking Thaksin's police rank could lead to violence because it was politically motivated.

He claimed that the government had used the Council of State to discredit and destroy his fugitive boss.

“The government has failed to bring about national reconciliation after nine months in office.

''It should devote most of its time to tackling problems causing hardship for the Thai people rather than trying to destroy its major rival,” Mr Noppadon said.

Puea Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit took the same tone. He believed the government was behind the Council of State's recommendation.

He then called on the government to think carefully before acting, as forcing a rival into a corner would never lead to reconciliation.

Chalerm Yubamrung, a former police officer and chairman of opposition MPs, said revoking Thaksin’s rank was political persecution and not in line with the regulations of the Royal Thai Police.

He said under police regulations, an officer is stripped of rank only for taking leave without good reason, corruption or involvement in drug trafficking.