BANGKOK, 10 November 2013 The Office of the Ombudsman of Thailand will submit a report to the cabinet and Parliament on the government’s refusal to review the decision to issue a new passport former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr. Raksakecha Chaechai, the Spokesperson for the Office of the Ombudsman of Thailand, revealed that his agency had received a letter from Mr. Pongthep Thepkanchana, the Deputy Prime Minister, stating that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ issuance of a passport to Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister, had been done in compliance with all regulations of the ministry, including the Regulation on Passport Issuance B.E. 2548.
The Office of the Ombudsman of Thailand has decided to invoke section 33, paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 of the Organic Act on Ombudsmen B.E. 2552 to draft a report on the case and submit it to the Cabinet and Parliament for further consideration.
According to Mr. Raksakecha, the reason the Office of the Ombudsman did not ask the Administrative Court to consider calling for the cancellation of Mr. Thaksin’s passport was that the case did not violation the constitution or the law, and the decision on whether or not to revoke the passport of any Thai national embroiled in legal problems rests with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
