BANGKOK, 26 May 2012 – Member of the Senate Somchai Sawaengkarn has threatened to take legal action against the government if it refuses to disclose all information about NASA’s request to use the U-Tapao airport.
Mr.Somchai said on Tuesday that the government needed to be open with Parliament about NASA’s request if Parliament decided that the Thai-NASA deal fell under Section 190 of the Constitution. He said all document and signed contracts between the Thai government and NASA should be made known to Parliament as well. If the government avoided revealing the information, members of both houses could ask the charter court to rule on the matter, he said.
Mr.Somchai stated further that NASA could not bring its equipment to Thailand as no contract had been signed to authorize NASA’s use of U-Tapao. If there were evidence that NASA had transported equipment to Thailand, it could be deemed breaching Thailand’s sovereignty and the government must be held responsible.
Mr. Somchai’s comment came after the Cabinet’s decision to use parliamentary mechanisms to scrutinize NASA’s request although the Council of State had confirmed that the request did not require parliamentary approval. Mr. Somchai was quoted as saying that Parliament was not a rubber stamp the government could use to give legitimacy to any project as wished.
