alter Bau fight still on, says Abhisit

alter Bau fight still on, says Abhisit

    Published: 3/08/2011 at 12:00 AM
    Newspaper section: News

The government has vowed to continue fighting the commercial dispute with Walter Bau AG to save His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn the trouble of paying the surety for the release of his private jet impounded in Germany.

Outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva made the statement yesterday after an audience with the Crown Prince.

He said the Crown Prince had not yet made any payment to secure the release of his private jet because the government had asked to press ahead with the case.

"The government will try to resolve the problem in a manner that will not cause the Crown Prince any trouble," Mr Abhisit said.

He said the government will ensure the dispute does not hurt bilateral ties between the two countries and does not affect the royal institution, according to the wishes of the Crown Prince.

Mr Abhisit said a Thai legal team will travel to Berlin today and will try to ensure the dispute is resolved this month.

He stressed that the government will not pay the surety for the release of the jet and at the same time will take steps to prevent any adverse repercussions stemming from the issue.

A highly-placed source at Government House said the government has decided to further pursue the matter because it wanted to save the Crown Prince the trouble of paying for the return of his jet.

A statement released by the Office of HRH the Crown Prince's private secretary said the Crown Prince wanted to ensure the dispute does not affect bilateral relations between Thailand and Germany and that the dispute is resolved quickly.

The Crown Prince has offered to pay from his own pocket to secure the release of his private jet impounded in Germany as a result of a commercial dispute between the Thai government and German contractor Walter Bau.

A German court ruled on July 20 that the jet could be released upon payment of a 20 million euro (846 million baht) deposit. The Thai government rejected this deal, maintaining the jet is not its property but that of the Crown Prince.