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Ex-PM's remarks 'aimed at impressing backers'

The Courts of Justice yesterday denied discussing bail releases for jailed red shirts with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, saying the fugitive politician had made the claim only to impress his supporters.



"He might have said this to impress his people but the truth is that there has never been a discussion," court spokesman Sitthisak Wanachakit said.

Thaksin said in a phone call to his supporters during a rally in the Northeast on Saturday that he was talking to judges about arranging the release on bail of red shirt detainees.

But Mr Sitthisak said: "Bail is handled on a case-by-case basis and concerns individuals, and a panel of judges is responsible for each case. It is impossible to talk with a judge to influence 100 cases."

He stressed that judges made their vow to His Majesty the King to work on the monarch's behalf to ensure justice and refrain from prejudice.

The Supreme Court president had also told the judges to adhere to justice. He said bail releases depended on laws, individual cases, the behaviour of the accused, the bail bond, and the decision of particular judges in charge.

The court spokesman declined to comment on whether Thaksin's remarks were in contempt of the court.



He said, however, the Courts of Justice had different levels of response to people who made statements with an intention to discredit it, ranging from seeking a simple explanation to legal prosecution of the wrongdoers. Opposition and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thaksin's remark implied the justice system could be influenced and it reflected the fact that Thaksin wanted a justice system that could be swayed. He asked whether society wanted that kind of justice system.

Thaksin fled overseas in 2008 to avoid a two-year jail term for abusing his authority to help his then-wife Potjaman na Pombejra buy a state-owned land plot in Bangkok.

Mr Abhisit said Thaksin and associates had criticised the justice system over his conviction because its rulings had been undesirable and could not be influenced.

He warned that such influences would compound conflicts and destroy righteousness in society.

Green Politics Group coordinator Suriyasai Katasila said yesterday Thaksin had tried all means to influence the justice system.

He urged society to be vigilant for any further attempts to influence the justice system, as Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra is the prime minister.

"Thaksin accused the courts of double standards, but he is guilty of this himself," Mr Suriyasai said.



"Ordinary people must go to court when they are prosecuted but when the cases are against himself and his people, he will resort to negotiations with judges.

"Will society continue to compromise with someone with this mentality?"

He said Thaksin's vow to secure bail for jailed red shirts might merely be a bid to maintain their support because many red shirts have started to wonder if they had been used as a tool to pave the way for Thakin's Pheu Thai Party to gain power, while their grievances relating to social inequality remained unsolved.

Pheu Thai MP and red shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan said red shirts from Udon Thani and Nong Khai provinces would meet Thaksin in Vientiane, Laos, on April 12 and 13 and in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on April 14 and 15.

Mr Jatuporn said Thaksin missed his red shirt supporters, so he tried to be as close to Thailand as possible. Tens of thousands of Thai and Cambodian people are expected to join the Siem Reap meeting with Thaksin but he did not yet know whether Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen would attend.