Thai government rejects former exiled PM proposal

BANGKOK, February 23 (TNA) - The military government has rejected exiled ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's proposal on a joint discussion on the content of the country's new Constitution draft, asserting that the fugitive premier has no credibility for talks with the military government. Rebuffing Thaksin's proposal, Government Spokesman Major General Sansern Kaewkamnerd stressed on February 22 that Thaksin should return to Thailand to receive a jail sentence first, as he has no credibility left if he continues to escape the law. "Thailand suffered from corruption and bloody violence in the past because of certain prominent politicians; so, Thaksin's demand is considered 'sick joke' which is unacceptable”, said the spokesman. "The new Thai Constitution draft is meant to suppress corruptors and these corrupt people should not be invited to join in shaping the new Charter,” the spokesman added. Spokesman of the Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), told journalists, in the meantime, that criticisms made by Thaksin should be considered as opinions expressed by himself only. Refuting Thaksin’s charges, the NCPO spokesman pointed out that accountable mechanisms on check and balance, as well as duty frameworks of all parties should sustain national economy and security in the long run. In his interview with foreign media, which was published online on February 22, Thaksin called for talks with the incumbent military Thai government, saying he had no conditions for the proposed dialogue. Thaksin criticised the new Thai Constitution draft as being harmful to the Thai economy, while allowing the military to prolong power in the country. Ousted in a military coup in 2006, Thaksin was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders in 2008 on a conflict of interest charge. NCPO toppled the elected government of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's younger sister, in a bloodless military intervention on May 22, 2014. (TNA)