By THE NATION ON SUNDAY
Published on December 20, 2009
(CAAI News Media)
Abhisit says use of violence not govt policy, especially with neighbour
The Democrat Party yesterday condemned opposition MP Jatuporn Promphan for distorting a classified Foreign Ministry document and called for an investigation into who leaked the document.
Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samutaraks said the party had condemned Jatuporn, a Pheu Thai Party MP, for distorting facts and creating misunderstanding over three points:
Giving misleading information that the classified document mentioned a time frame for assassinating former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Buranat said the document did not include any sentence that mentions any form of violence by the government.
Lying about declaring war on Cambodia. Buranat said the document, in fact, mentioned about how the government plans to normalise bilateral relations.
Misleading the public that the document revealed there had been interference in the justice system by a person with political clout outside the government.
Buranat said by releasing classified information to Cambodia, Jatuporn had made the neighbouring country aware of Thailand's security information. He questioned if Jatuporn had leaked the classified information to Phnom Penh in return for the information Cambodia had provided the red shirts about what Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that Jatuporn had interpreted the classified document beyond what was the truth and - whatever report the government received - using violence had never been one of the government's policies, especially when dealing with neighbouring countries.
Asked if the government would take action against Jatuporn or officials who released the information, Abhisit said everyone must be subject to the law.
He added that leaks of classified information occur in every government and when the Democrat Party was the opposition party, it also received classified information from state agencies - but it used it responsibly.
Thepthai Senpong, spokesman of the Democrat Party leader, said Hun Sen had probably received the classified information and that was why he had adopted a strong stance towards Thailand.
He said Jatuporn had given his own analysis and had distorted the classified information.
Thanee Thongpakdi, deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Information Department, said the classified information that Jatuporn had revealed was a highly confidential report on how the Foreign Ministry analyses relations between Thailand and Cambodia and guidelines for implementation, which he could not explain in detail, but it did not state any action to be taken against Thaksin.
He said the report was supposed to be sent directly to the PM and some copies were sent to concerned agencies. The Foreign Ministry has set up a panel to discover how the document was leaked.
Jatuporn yesterday challenged Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to take legal action against him for making public the ministry's classified information.
He said a person who was on the panel that drafted the document said the annex stated that if Thaksin formed a government in exile in Cambodia, the government would sever ties and use military force against the country.
He said he might today reveal a second set of documents, comprising nine pages, unless Abhisit made a statement to his satisfaction.
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