Related News
Thailand's PM owns up to his British citizenship
Source: Agencies |
February 25, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THAILAND'S prime minister has a confession to make: He is also a British citizen.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva publicly acknowledged his dual nationality yesterday for the first time during a debate in Parliament.
Abhisit automatically holds British citizenship because he was born in Newcastle to parents from a Bangkok family. He would have to specifically renounce it to lose it.
Abhisit's political foes have highlighted the matter. They claim that as a British citizen, he can be sued in the International Criminal Court over alleged abuses during his administration's crackdown on anti-government protests last year.
Opponents like to tweak Abhisit for his Oxford University education, and typically refer to him in speeches by his English name, Mark.
"I admit I have not given up British nationality because it is understood legally that ... if the nationality laws are conflicting, Thai law must be used," Abhisit said in response to an opposition lawmaker's question.
"My intention is clear. I was born in England but I consider myself a Thai. I studied in England but I intended to return to work and live in Thailand, to work for the country's interest, and didn't think of anything else." He also said he didn't hide that he supports the Newcastle football club.
The 46-year-old prime minister had been evasive about the citizenship question since it was raised about a month ago.
The matter became an issue through a complicated point of international law raised by a lawyer for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Abhisit's political enemy.
The lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, is seeking to bring Abhisit and colleagues to court for alleged human rights abuses committed when the Thai military forcibly put down anti-government protests in Bangkok last year. About 90 people were killed over the course of two months of demonstrations and unrest.
Amsterdam is seeking to bring to case to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, but Thailand is not a signatory to the treaty empowering the court. Amsterdam asserts, however, that Abhisit, as a British citizen, can be held liable by the court because Britain is a signatory to the treaty.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva publicly acknowledged his dual nationality yesterday for the first time during a debate in Parliament.
Abhisit automatically holds British citizenship because he was born in Newcastle to parents from a Bangkok family. He would have to specifically renounce it to lose it.
Abhisit's political foes have highlighted the matter. They claim that as a British citizen, he can be sued in the International Criminal Court over alleged abuses during his administration's crackdown on anti-government protests last year.
Opponents like to tweak Abhisit for his Oxford University education, and typically refer to him in speeches by his English name, Mark.
"I admit I have not given up British nationality because it is understood legally that ... if the nationality laws are conflicting, Thai law must be used," Abhisit said in response to an opposition lawmaker's question.
"My intention is clear. I was born in England but I consider myself a Thai. I studied in England but I intended to return to work and live in Thailand, to work for the country's interest, and didn't think of anything else." He also said he didn't hide that he supports the Newcastle football club.
The 46-year-old prime minister had been evasive about the citizenship question since it was raised about a month ago.
The matter became an issue through a complicated point of international law raised by a lawyer for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Abhisit's political enemy.
The lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, is seeking to bring Abhisit and colleagues to court for alleged human rights abuses committed when the Thai military forcibly put down anti-government protests in Bangkok last year. About 90 people were killed over the course of two months of demonstrations and unrest.
Amsterdam is seeking to bring to case to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, but Thailand is not a signatory to the treaty empowering the court. Amsterdam asserts, however, that Abhisit, as a British citizen, can be held liable by the court because Britain is a signatory to the treaty.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
