MP threatens to sue Thai minister

MP threatens to sue Thai minister

BANGKOK (AFP): An opposition leader has threatened to sue Thai Foreign Minister Prasong Soonsiri after Prasong disclosed details of U.S. drug charges against the MP in a closed-door session of parliament.

The deputy leader of the Chart Thai party, Wattana Asavahem, angrily accused Prasong of raising the drugs charges in an underhanded fashion during a no-confidence debate against the foreign minister and three others, MPs said.

Prasong received the information from U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott on his arrival in Bangkok a few days ago to attend meetings with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an informed source said.

The U.S. information, provided in response to a Thai request for an explanation of the U.S. decision to refuse Wattana a visa, said the opposition MP had been involved in drug trafficking for the past 20 years, the MPs said.

On July 1, the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok said it had refused Wattana a visa on suspicion he had links to the drug trade -- the second opposition MP to face such action in a two-month period.