Thread: Sirichok concedes meeting Bout but not framing Thaksin

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Again, Jatuporn's reputation hangs on whether a tape, that could prove him right, does exist.

I suspect he achieved the destruction of his own reputation as an MP several months ago in Bangkok

Abhisit lied too. His first claim was that none of his aides went to visit Bout.

Now the excuse is that Sirichoke went there in his capacity as an MP not as an aide. The split personality excuse..

Better than a Thai Tv Drama, lets roll it some more!

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Suthep then voiced his confidence in Thai law which, he said, had the same standard as other countries.

But declined to name those particular countries

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Suthep: No comment

said quite a bit for no comment

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

would not pose any problem because the matter was Mr Sirichok’s personal affairs,

Are Sirichok & Bout buddies than?

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...-t-affect-ties

Sirichoke: Bout's meeting won't affect ties

• Published: 30/08/2010 at 11:14 AM
• Online news: Breakingnews

Sirichoke Sopha, a Democrat Party MP and close aide to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, said on Monday his meeting with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout will not deteriorate Thailand's relations with Russia and the United States.

"I met Mr Bout because I needed to look for facts and I was doing my duty as an MP. The meeting will not affect Mr Bout's case," Mr Sirichoke said.

He said he had not discussed this issue with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, but believed Mr Suthep was well aware of the situation.

Mr Sirichoke said he was ready to clarify his meeting with Mr Bout to all the Democrat MPs.

Mr Suthep, who is in charge of security affairs, said the meeting with the Democrat MP and the Russian arms dealer would not damage the prime minister's image since it did not violate the law.

"The prime minister is a politician with a clear principle. His close aides can do anything and it would not affect have an impact on Mr Abhisit," he said.

He said he was not bothered with Mr Sirichoke's meeting since it would not affect Mr Bout's case.

So, a Democrat politician and personal aide of "PM" Mark has asked an imprisoned 'Merchant of Death' for ways to shoot down ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra's plane. Whilst paying him a visit which he denied doing before the Media, which "PM" Mark denied he did, and which the Corrections Dept said he was not entitled to do anyway. H'mmm.

Nothing to see here Folks, move right along. He is after all a Democrat.

Originally Posted by sabang

"The prime minister is a politician with a clear principle. His close aides can do anything and it would not affect have an impact on Mr Abhisit," he said.

Interesting choice of words by Suthep.

Yes the BJT can take their 30 percent, Suthep can say whatever he likes no matter how ridiculous, the army can take commissons on divining rods and his close aides can do anything. None of it has any effect on Abhisit.

Fuss over Bout visit drags on

MERCHANT OF DEATH
Fuss over Bout visit drags on


By The Nation
Published on September 6, 2010



Democrat MP Sirichoke Sopha's visit to suspected arms trafficker Viktor Bout at the Bangkok Remand Prison in April continues to shadow him.

The visit, revealed by Pheu Thai MP and red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan during a parliamentary session a few weeks ago, re-emerged as a hot issue over the weekend after two members of the House committee on foreign affairs met Bout at Bang Kwang Prison.

Both were Pheu Thai MPs.

Following the hours-long visit on Saturday, the House committee's deputy chairwoman Thitima Chaisang said yesterday Bout suspected the Court of Appeals' decision to overturn the lower court's ruling on his extradition case might have something to do with his decision to not call Sirichoke after their meeting on April 15.

The lower court rejected the United States' request for Bout's extradition.

Thitima said Sirichoke told Bout that he was a close aide of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The House committee's chairman Torpong Chaiyasarn said Sirichoke's attempts to check if Thaksin had links to arms trafficking raised questions about government intentions. Bout has insisted he did not know Thaksin personally and had never done business with him.

Asked whether his visit to Bout partially aimed to help Thaksin, Torpong said, "Personally, I love Thaksin. But in my capacity as chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs, I have an intention to stop something unrighteous and all those allegations."

Asked whether he acted in defence for Thaksin, he said, "This is an appropriate thing to do. Thaksin could not speak to the public to clear his name himself."

Thitima claimed Sirichoke did not strictly abide by Corrections Department regulations in seeking a meeting with Bout on April 15.

"Bout told us that Sirichoke didn't show up alone. He came with an unidentified man," she said, "Who was that man?"

She also questioned why Sirichoke had to give his telephone number to Bout during the visit.

Torpong said his committee would look into the five-page handwritten document from Bout to proceed further with the case.

The Corrections Department has withheld the document for review.

Chatchai Suttiklom said in line with normal regulations, his department would check the content of the letter first.

"We will need to go through every document inmates plan to send out. For example, we cannot approve letters mentioning jail-break plots," he said.

Chatchai said if Bout's letter did not contain anything inappropriate, it would be submitted to the House committee on foreign affairs in two days.
Sirichoke said he was ready to clarify things with the House committee, if summoned.

"I work for public interest," he said.

Democrat MP Ratchada Thanadirek, who also serves as deputy spokeswoman for the House committee on foreign affairs, said some government MPs were not present at the committee's meeting when it voted to arrange a visit to Bout.

"We were attending the parliamentary session at that time. When we returned to the meeting, the vote on visiting Bout had taken place," she said.

Ratchada said she did not think the House committee should take action in this case.

"We should focus on international relationships and public interest. There's no need to step into such a case. Whether Sirichoke's visit to Bout is lawful or not should rest with the justice system. Whether his visit is appropriate or not should be up to the society to decide," she said.

Democrat MP Nathapol Teepsuwan, who sits on the House committee on foreign affairs, said he would take issue with Torpong at the committee's next meeting.

"It seems he has arranged the visit in response to Jatuporn's suggestion," Nathapol said, "I would like to ask Torpong who he is working for."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...ing-mp-torpong

Sirichoke: Bout fooling MP Torpong

• Published: 6/09/2010 at 11:04 AM
• Online news: Breakingnews

Detained Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout could be using opposition Puea Thai Party MP and house committee on foreign affairs chairman Torpong Chaiyasarn to prevent him from being extradited to the United States, Democrat Party MP Sirichoke Sopha said on Monday morning.

"I believe the documents given to Mr Torpong by Mr Bout accuse the US government of injustice and criticise the Thai justice system since Mr Bout does not want to be taken to the US.

"I don't know why Mr Torpong is acting as Mr Bout's lawyer," Mr Sirichoke said.

The Democrat MP said he did not take anyone else to meet Mr Bout during their meeting on April 15 at the Bangkok Remand Prison and did not give his phone number to the Russian.

"I will explain everything about my meeting with Mr Bout and how Mr Bout is deceiving Mr Torpong," he said.

Mr Sirichoke earlier said his visit was party of his duty as an MP to seek information from the suspect.

This gets more and more interesting....!!

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1034522

Sirichoke and Jatuporn Have Heated Exchange During House Committee Meeting

UPDATE : 8 September 2010

Democrat MP and close aide to the prime minister Sirichoke Sopha appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to answer questions raised about his visit with suspected arms dealer Viktor Bout. Pheu Thai MP Jaturporn Phrompan was also present to listen in and countered some of Sirichoke's claims. Reports indicate the two had a very heated exchange.

Session has ended today, but the committee has asked Sirichoke to appear again tomorrow.

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1034546

PM's Aide Clarifies Meeting with Bout

UPDATE : 8 September 2010

One of the prime minister's close aides today testifies before the House panel on foreign affairs on his visit to an alleged Russian arms dealer, saying his meeting was aimed at seeking information on his possible connection with the weapons seized from a Georgian plane during the red-shirt protests.

Democrat MP for Songkhla Sirichoke Sopa today met with the House committee on foreign affairs to present his side of the story of his controversial meeting with suspected Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout in prison.

Pheu Thai party-list M.P Jatuporn Prompan, a key red-shirt leader, also took part in the meeting.

Sirichoke said his move was aimed at finding out whether fugitive prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had anything to do with the Georgian aircraft that was seized last year and found to be carrying firearms as Sri Lanka's opposition party claimed Thaksin secretly provided weapons to Tamil rebels while he was in office.

Sirichoke said he was concerned that the firearms found on the plane might have been used in violent incidents during the red-shirt protests.

He also disclosed that the aircraft was owned by one of Bout's companies and the pilot was also his close aide

The meeting became tense as Jatuporn argued that those types of seized firearms are only used in a war, not at a people's gathering.

Meanwhile, the committee also invited the Saudi charge d'affaires to meet with them to hear the country's stance concerning the promotion of Police Lieutenant General Somkid Boonthanom to assistant national police chief.

Somkid is a defendant in the abduction and murder case of a Saudi businessman that has soured relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi diplomat urged the government to handle the case transparently as it could dampen the relationship between the two countries.

The committee will also question representatives of the National Police Office and the government on this case.

Bangkok Post : War of words erupts over Viktor Bout case

War of words erupts over Viktor Bout case

• Published: 9/09/2010 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The house committee on foreign affairs meeting yesterday degenerated into a bitter war of words between Democrat MP Sirichoke Sopha and Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Prompan over the Viktor Bout issue.



Democrat MP Sirichoke Sopha shows the flight plan of the Russian-made cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of missile parts and illegal weapons seized at Don Mueang airport last December. Mr Sirichoke testified yesterday before the house committee on foreign affairs about his visit on April 15 to suspected Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout where he raised the arms shipment. PATTARACHAI PREECHAPANICH

The committee summoned Mr Sirichoke for questioning over his controversial visit to the Russian, who is accused by the US of being an arms smuggler, in a Bangkok prison on April 15.

Harsh words were exchanged when Mr Sirichoke accused the committee of faulting him for visiting Mr Bout and bluntly told the members they should focus on their duty of digging for the truth in the case. He said he visited Mr Bout as a member of parliament responsible for verifying the facts after Sri Lanka's opposition leader claimed ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra might have been involved with the weapons that were seized at Don Mueang airport on Dec 11 last year.

• See also: Aussie red shirt says he was beaten in jail

A Russian-made cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of missile parts and illegal weapons was held. It had stopped in Bangkok on Dec 11 for refuelling while reputedly on its way from Pyongyang to Ukraine.

It was reported the aircraft's schedule would include a stopover in Sri Lanka on Dec 12, the same day Thaksin was due to visit the country.
"I just wanted to check if the information was factual and check whether the plane flew to several places where Thaksin had been staying, although I was not accusing him of being involved," Mr Sirichoke said.

He said he found the plane's ownership had been transferred several times, the latest to a Russian arms dealer who had a connection to Mr Bout and lives in Montenegro.

"The problem stems from groundless information that Mr Jatuporn has picked up from a local newspaper and brought to the debate in the House."

Mr Jatuporn attacked Mr Sirichoke in the House, claiming that he was trying to interfere in the judicial system in respect of the Bout case on behalf of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Mr Jatuporn angrily retorted that Mr Sirichoke's attitude that linked the aircraft's cargo with Thaksin was "idiotic".

He said all Mr Sirichoke had done was cause trouble for the country in respect of foreign relations.

"You're destroying the faith in the Thai courts and that is the reason why Russia thinks politics is interfering in the country's juridical system," Mr Jatuporn told Mr Sirichoke.

Angry words were then exchanged between the two men.

"Someone made unethical comments about a woman at Ramkhamhaeng University," Mr Sirichoke said to Mr Jatuporn who is a graduate of the university.

"I dare you to mention my name. I will file a lawsuit against you," Mr Jatuporn shouted back.

Both men quietened down after Democrat list MP Charoen Kanthawong, an adviser to the committee, begged them to stop turning the meeting into a vendetta.