Thai police have recommended ousted Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra be charged with three counts of lese majeste which could
put him in jail for 45 years, police chief Sereepisut Taemeeyaves
said Tuesday.
The recommendation to public prosecutors was under
consideration, he told a news conference marking six months since
Thaksin was ousted in a bloodless coup.
"The prosecutors want us to provide them more evidence on some
of the cases before they decide whether to charge Thaksin in
court," Sereepisut said.
The three potential charges of offending revered King Bhumibol
Adulyadej stemmed from remarks to a group of taxi drivers, his
weekly national radio address, and his supporters waving Thai flags
saying "Long Live His Majesty".
Sereepisut and Attorney-General Patchara Utithamdamrong declined
to give more details, citing the sensitivity of cases involving the
world's longest reigning monarch who has exalted status in
Thailand.
"The National Police Bureau and the Attorney-General's Office
agree that any political activities or any political conflicts must
not drag down the monarchy," Patchara said without saying how long
it would take the prosecutors to decide.
A charge of lese majeste carries a penalty of three to 15 years
in jail in Thailand, one of the few countries that prosecutes
strictly anything deemed to demean the royal family.
Few other countries have lese majeste on the books and
prosecutions are infrequent.
Law experts say a major problem is that the law is vague and
almost anyone can level an accusation of lese majeste, thereby
triggering a police investigation, allowing political opponents to
accuse each other of offending the monarch.
Last year, Thaksin and his enemies hurled scores of lese majeste
accusations at each other. Thaksin's alleged disrespect for the
monarchy was one of the reasons for the coup.
Elections promised
Thailand's junta chief vowed elections by the end of the year in
a nationally televised press conference Tuesday.
But the briefing of more than 2 hours shed no new light on the
military's ambitions and did little to ease criticism that the
junta-selected government is no better than the administration it
replaced.
General Sonthi Boonyaratglin's comments at army headquarters
were carried live on all Thailand's television stations.
"We will have free and fair elections on schedule," he said, but
refused to rule out the possibility that he would keep a political
role after the polls.
"I'm Thai, and I want to protect the national well-being, so I
will do anything I can for the good of the country."
The military has long promised to hold a referendum on a new
constitution followed by general elections before the end of the
year.
Efforts to write a new charter have been held up by contentious
debate over issues ranging from whether the prime minister should
be appointed to whether Buddhism should be declared the official
religion.
Political parties complain that a military ban on their
activities prevents them contributing to the constitution or
preparing for eventual elections.
(China Daily via agencies March 21, 2007)
