CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REJECTS SENATORS' BID TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 000959

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV TH
SUBJECT: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REJECTS SENATORS' BID TO
DISQUALIFY THAKSIN FROM OFFICE OVER SHINCORP

REF: (A) BANGKOK 922 (B) BANGKOK 788


1. (SBU) Summary: On February 16, The Constitutional
Court rejected a petition that had been submitted the day
before by 28 senators seeking to have Prime Minister Thaksin
disqualified from office for allegedly violating the
Constitution through his involvement in the sale of Shincorp
to a Singapore company. This represents a serious setback
for Thaksin's opponents who have tried to capitalize on the
widespread criticism of Thaksin over the sale. This
decision, coupled with the political opposition's failure to
garner support for a no-confidence vote from disgruntled Thai
Rak Thai members, will move the focus of anti-Thaksin
activities back to the streets. End summary.

SENATORS CHARGE BASED ON SHINCORP SALE


2. (U) On February 14, 28 senators sent a petition to the
Thai Constitutional Court calling for Prime Minister
Thaksin's disqualification from office on the grounds that he
violated constitutional provisions against holding office in
or being a shareholder of a firm or business while holding a
minister-level office. The suit was based on the recent sale
of Shincorp stock worth some 1.8 billion dollars to the
Singapore firm Temasek by the Thaksin family. (ref. B)
Thaksin maintains that he divested himself personally of ties
with Shincorp before taking office as Prime Minister and that
his children were in charge of the decision-making. The
senators charge that Thaksin in fact directed the sale of the
Shincorp sales in direct violation of Sections 208 and 209 of
the 1997 Constitution of Thailand.

WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS


3. (U) The operative sections of the Constitution of
Thailand concerned with the senators' suit are:

Section 208. A Minister shall not hold a position or perform
any act provided in section 110, except the position required
to be held by the operation of law, and shall not hold any
other position in a partnership, company, or any organization
which engages in a business with a view to sharing profits or
incomes or be an employee of any person.

Section 209. A Minister shall not be a partner or
shareholder of a partnership or a company up to (note: in
violation of)the limit as provided by law. In the case
where any Minister intends to continue to receive benefits in
such cases, such Minister shall inform the President of the
Counter Corruption Commission within thirty days as from the
date of the appointment and shall transfer his or her shares
in the partnership or company to a juristic person which
manages assets for the benefit of other persons as provided
by law.

SENATORS CHARGE THAKSIN DIRECTED SHINCORP SALES


4. (U) In short, the senators maintain that the Shincorp
sale demonstrated that Thaksin never truly transferred his
shares prior to the actual sale and will cite his trip to
Singapore in the weeks before the sale of the Shincorp shares
to Temasek as evidence that he was directly involved in the
decision. If the Court found that the charges were true,
Thaksin's ministership would be "terminated."

BUT CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REFUSES TO CONSIDER THE CASE


5. (U) The Court ruled on February 16 that the suit lacked
adequate evidence to be considered and formally rejected the
senators' bid. The vote was 8-6. According to its
announcement, the Court stated that "since the petition
failed to evidently prove that any act of the Prime Minister
was an act of his having been involved in shareholding or in
businesses of a partnership or a company, or his being a
partner or shareholder of a partnership or a company up to
(note: in violation of) the limit as provided by law, or 2)
his failure to inform the President of the National Counter
Corruption Commission in the case where he (the Prime
Minister) intends to continue to receive benefits in the
above cases, the Court therefore ruled that it shall not
accept the petition for consideration."

SO BACK TO THE STREETS FOR THAKSIN'S FOES?


6. (SBU) Comment: This decision is a blow to Thaksin's
opponents and narrows their options. The Constitutional
Court option has been denied and though the Court left room
for possible further action if new evidence is uncovered, the
initiative is for now dead in the water. The main opposition
Democrat Party's (DP) recent attempt to pry away enough
disgruntled TRT MPs to allow a no-confidence vote against
Thaksin foundered when disaffected TRT faction leader Sanoh
Thienthong declined to join in the DP's effort. A week-long
campaign to gather 50,000 signatures to catalyze an
impeachment procedure is moving along slower than expected
and could stretch on for months as names are counted,
identities verified and residencies established. The
Constitutional Court's decision will now move the focus of
anti-Thaksin activities back to the streets (ref. A)
BOYCE