The Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the actions of ambassadors of Western nations who sent representatives to observe Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit's reporting to police, accusing them of interfering in Thailand's internal affairs and showing partiality.
A ministry statement posted only in Thai on its website late on Wednesday night said that ambassadors and acting ambassadors of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, New Zealand, the European Union, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States were called in for discussions with the deputy permanent secretary supervising bilateral issues at the ministry on Wednesday and Thursday.
The deputy permanent secretary expressed disappointment and concern on the presence of the embassies' representatives at Pathumwan police station in Bangkok last Saturday, when Mr Thanathorn acknowledged sedition and related charges.
"It creates a picture that can be interpreted as a show of moral support for Mr Thanathorn and siding with a party in the present context of Thai politics," the Foreign Ministry statement said.
"The act is beyond their diplomatic role, is equivalent to interfering with the internal affairs of Thailand and violates diplomatic protocol under Section 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961."
The deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs asked the ambassadors and acting ambassadors to prevent a recurrence of the incident, the ministry wrote.
