US embassy under flak for media meet - Bangkok Post, May 22, 2005
The Democrat party yesterday lambasted the United States embassy in Bangkok for its "disgraceful" action regarding the controversy over the CTX bomb detection equipment to be installed at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Kiat Sitthi-amorn, one of the party's economic team, was referring to Friday's press conference at the US embassy, in which an embassy official who addressed the media asked that his identity not be revealed. Nor did he allow his picture to be taken.
" I don't want to criticise him. As far as I know he is in charge of trade and commerce and his job is to sell. But I cannot accept it when he made himself an `invisible man' like that,'' he said.
The embassy official affirmed that the US investigation did not find any Thai officials had received kickbacks in the baggage screening equipment scandal.
...Mr Ong-art also urged the embassy to clarify a report that the official in question was close to certain Thai cabinet ministers.
The Democrat MP also said that the contents of the press conference remained ambiguous and urged the public to make a distinction between "no corruption was found'' and "there was no corruption''...
SCANNER SCANDAL: Kraisak wants official’s name - The Nation, May 23, 2005
The Senate committee on foreign affairs will urge the United States Embassy to disclose the identity of the official who called a press conference to clear bribery allegations against Thai officials involved in the explosives-detection machines scandal, the panel’s chairman said yesterday...
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