Why did the Thai PM's personal aide meet with Viktor Bout? | Asian Correspondent
Why did the Thai PM's personal aide meet with Viktor Bout?
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Aug. 25 2010 - 03:15 pm
First, some background. BP has blogged many times about the arrest in Thailand of suspected arms dealer Viktor Bout in Thailand in 2008 (see here, here and here) and the unusual decision by the lower court in Thailand in August 2009 not to extradite Bout. That lower court decision was overturned by the Appeals Court last week. Bout will now be extradited to the US. The situation regarding Bout has been subject to claim and counter-claim. Before the lower court decision last year the Americans took mostly a hands-off approach whereas the Russians were lobbying furiously. The Americans were surprised by the lower court ruling and then went the offensive - as an example of this lobbying by the US they summoned the Thai Ambassador in Washington to emphasize that the case was "of the highest priority to the United States". BP also understands that behind the scenes the Americans have been lobbying like-minded countries to raise the extradition of Bout during bilateral discussions with Thailand. Then, you had the extraordinarily bizarre letter (PDF) signed by: Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairman and ranking Republican, respectively, on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Reps. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman and ranking Republican, respectively, on the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade; Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs; and Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science
BP: Don't want to get to sidetracked, but have a read of the letter. It complains that the legal proceedings have not been fair and legal and describes the Thai appeals process as "extremely opaque". It then states they only learned of the decision through "Viktor Bout's lawyer and the Russian press" although Philip J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary, in a State Department briefing then contradicts the US lawmakers:
QUESTION: Congressman Royce says that he was distressed to learn that the State Department found out about this hearing tomorrow only by reading Russian media accounts that cited Mr. Bout’s lawyers. Is that correct?
MR. CROWLEY: No.
QUESTION: How did you find out?
MR. CROWLEY: As I said, we have maintained regular contact with the Thai Government, and obviously, we’ve been supporting the Department of Justice effort to present the necessary evidence to justify his extradition.
BP: The Americans have not been shy about their lobbying either. Newsweek with the headline "Obama Administration Wins One in Thailand": The Obama administration is being so heavily hammered politically—with declining poll numbers and out-of-control debates on Manhattan mosques—that officials appeared stunned when the administration scored a foreign policy coup early Friday.
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Over a period of months, numerous senior U.S. officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder personally lobbied Thai authorities on the matter, and their efforts appear to have produced a major diplomatic success.
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An Obama staffer confirmed that administration officials had been putting their own high-level pressure on the Thais to move ahead with the extradition. “Senior administration officials have been actively engaged with their counterparts in Thailand on this issue for many many months,” the official said. Both State Department and Justice Department officials were involved in discussions with the Thais, including Secretary of State Clinton and Attorney General Holder. At the White House, National Security Adviser James Jones and counterterrorism czar John Brennan also appear to have taken a close interest in the case.
UPI on the Russian response: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the "illegal, political decision" against Viktor Bout -- subject of a book titled "Merchant of Death" -- and said Moscow would still seek his return to Russia, The New York Times reported Friday.
"Based on the information we have at our disposal, the decision was made under very strong outside pressure," Lavrov said. "This is lamentable."
BP: Fancy that thinking a Thai court could come under pressure to decide a case in a particular way..... However, then you have the royal connection to the case which added another level to show it was not an ordinary extradition case. Just before you thought that this case could not get more unusual, well you are wrong.
The latest is that Puea Thai MP and red shirt leader Jatuporn claimed that Sirichoke, a Democrat MP and a close aide to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, had gone to visit Viktor Bout in prison to ask him whether Thaksin was the person behind ordering the weapons from North Korea to Thailand for use with the red shirts (the plane with North Korean weapons is another unusual case with supposed Bout links - see posts about it here and here).
BP: BP's first thought that was just more bluster by Jatuporn, who often makes extravagant claims. The thought of an aide of the PM visiting Bout in prison just sounded so ridiculous.
Then, Abhisit denied this - the headline of the official statement from the PM's office is "Prime Minister affirms that no close aide went to to visit Viktor Bout as Jatuporn claims" ( นายกรัฐมนตรียันไม่มีคนใกล้ชิดไปพบนายวิคเตอร์ บูท ตามที่นายจตุพรฯ กล่าวอ้าง).
BP: So an official denial, but then....
Matichon reported Sirichoke wants Viktor Bout to state the truth to prove that Jautporn was lying that he went to visit Bout to malign Thaksin, but then states "I visited the prison in accordance with the regulations of the Department of Corrections in order to carry my duties as a legislator to look into claims and not for the purpose of defaming or negotiating with anyone" ("ผมเข้าไปในเรือนจำเป็นไปตามกฎระเบียบของกรมราชฑัณฑ ์ เพื่อทำหน้าที่ในฐานะฝ่ายนิติบัญญัติ ตรวจสอบข้อมูลข้อเท็จจริง ไม่ได้มีการใส่ร้ายป้ายสีหรือต่อรองกันเลย")
In regards to the claim by Jatuporn that as once he could no longer negotiate with Bout anymore that then the Appeals Court decision was handed down and Bout was to be extradited to the US Sirichoke then responded "This is a lie by Jatuporn and Bout's lawyer is my witness affirming that there was no negotiation" (เมื่อถามว่า นายจตุพรกล่าวอ้างว่าการพูดคุยไม่สามารถต่อรองไ ด้ จึงเป็นที่มาของคำพิพากษาของศาลอุธรณ์ ให้ส่งตัวไปดำเนินคดีที่ประเทศสหรัฐ นายศิริโชค กล่าวว่า "นี่คือการโกหกของคุณจตุพร และวันนี้มีทนายของนายวิคเตอร์ บูท เป็นพยาน ยืนยันว่าไม่ได้มีการต่อรองอะไร"). When Sirichoke was asked whether there was any connection with Bout's case and Sri Lanka, Sirichoke responded "Viktor Bout is believed by the US to be a large smuggler of weapons and the plane that came to Thailand had a connection with Viktor Bout's company. The destination of the plane was Sri Lanka and there is a connection with Thaksin because on the same day Thaksin was in Sri Lanka according to [ Sri Lankan?] opposition MPs" ("นายวิคเตอร์ บูท ได้รับการเชื่อจากประเทศสหรัฐ ว่าเป็นผู้ค้าอาวุธรายใหญ่ ซึ่งเครื่องบินที่มายังประเทศไทย มีความเกี่ยวพันกับบริษัทของนายวิคเตอร์ บูท ซึ่งเป้าหมายของเครื่องบินอยู่ที่ประเทศศรีลังก า และยังเกี่ยวโยงกับพ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ เพราะวันเดียวกันพ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ อยู่ประเทศศรีลังกา ด้วยความที่เป็นส.ส.ฝ่ายรัฐบาล"). I then had to check out this information.
When asked if Bout had referred to his relationship between Bout and Thaksin, Sirichoke responded stating that Bold told he knows Thaksin well (เมื่อถามว่า นายวิคเตอร์ บูท ได้ระบุว่าความสัมพันธ์กับพ.ต.ท.ทักษิณหรือไม่ นายศิริโชค กล่าวว่า เขาไม่ได้บอกว่ามีความสัมพันธ์ บอกเพียงว่าเขารู้จัก พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ ดี).
Sirichoke then states that Bout told him that the seized plane was connected with another country who was trying to capture him. When he was asked whether Abhisit knew of his visit he said "no" stating that while he a personal aide to Abhisit, he was also legislator. He said he told Abhisit that he had found some interesting information, but that Abhisit didn't pay much attention to this.
BP: So we have confirmation that Sirichoke visited Bout although he stated he did it in his capacity as a legislator and not as an aide to the PM although he admits he discussed what he found out with the PM. By Sirichoke's own words Thaksin was discussed, but the doesn't provide any more details.
In addition, well-known Thai Rath columnist Nitipoom blogs stating he spoke to Viktor Bout directly. He states that Bout told him that a person went to visit him and told him that he would be safe if he testified in court that Thaksin as an expert witness stating was the person behind the red shirt operation to import weapons from North Korea to Thailand. ( มีผู้มาพบบูทที่เรือนจำพิเศษกรุงเทพ และบอกว่าถ้ายูจะรอดปลอดภัย ยูจะต้องเป็นผู้เชี่ยวชาญ expert ไปให้การในศาล ว่าพันตำรวจโท ดร. ทักษิณ ชินวัตร เป็นผู้ทำ operation ดำเนินการทั้งหมดทั้งปวงในการขนอาวุธจากเกาหลีเหนือม ายังประเทศไทย และอาวุธดังกล่าว จะมาใช้กับพวกเสื้อแดง). Nitipoom states that Bout expressed confusion about who the "red shirts" were and denied the story (นายวิคเตอร์ บูทแกก็งง ว่าอะไรคือ เสื้อแดง แกก็ปฏิเสธ).
BP: It should be noted that Nitipoom is not a Thaksin fan (in the words of The Nation he was a "anti-Thaksin columnist") and it was widely viewed he was elected to the Senate in 2006 with the support of the PAD for his anti-Thaksin stance.
So was Sirichoke the person who visited Bout that Nitipoom was referring too? If not, then who? And with all these new revelations, do many still believe there is no political connection to the case?
h/t to many on twitter for some of the links.
