PAD urges UK to extradite Thaksin

T he People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will tomorrow gather in protest outside the British Embassy to call on the United Kingdom not to harbour former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, who have escaped trial on corruption charges.

A PAD statement said Thaksin was not a political-asylum seeker but a criminal fugitive who escaped the arms of the law after corruption charges were pressed against him.

It called on Thaksin to show political courage and return to the country and "accept the consequences of his karma".

It called on the Attorney-General, the Foreign Ministry and other agencies to revoke all types of passport issued to Thaksin and make all-out efforts to put him on trial. The PAD vows to take action against officials who fails to carry out their duties to secure Thaksin.

The PAD said it opposed any move to pardon Thaksin or his cronies. The group said it would support changes that led to political, social and economic reform, but not to a path that paved the way for vested interests of any group.

Meanwhile People Power Party (PPP) spokesman Kudep Saikrachang called on people to respect the rights of Thaksin who, he said, had decided to seek exile so the country could move on.

"The country's political climate would be better and politics can move ahead. If Thaksin were still here, the country would continue to be stuck in a political impasse,'' he said.

He called on Sondhi Limthongkul, a leader of the PAD, not to humiliate Thaksin and his wife by distributing their arrest warrants, urging him to leave the matter to the judiciary.

"As the saying goes, 'Do not cross over people who stumble','' he said.

PPP MP for Roi Et Sakda Kongpet said party members would today sign their names in a letter asking Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to explain why he did not help save Thaksin and his wife from the humiliation of having their arrest warrants announced across the country.

PPP MP for Nakhon Phanom Paijit Srivorakan, a leader of the Isaan Pattana faction, called on all groups in the PPP to sign their names after reports some factions, such as the Gang of Four, would not endorse the signature campaign, citing the sensitive nature of the issue.

Responding to the move by the PPP MPs to take Samak to task for his failure to help Thaksin, Kudep said Samak would be able to explain to the party and he believed the PPP MPs still supported him.