Thai Political Beat Goes On

 

 

 

 

 

Our Correspondent   

13 April 2008

Never mind elections, the fate of Thaksin’s proxy party could be decided, yet again, by Thailand’s royalist judges and generals

Thailand’s proxy war between loyalists to deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Bangkok’s royalist elite is stirring once again, with the outcome as uncertain as ever.

Despite the fact that Thaksin’s popularity had soared to record heights in early 2005, royalist generals managed to oust him from power in a 2006 coup. After 15 months of bumbling military rule, Thaksin’s allies in the People Power Party surged back to power with a decisive win in elections last December. Yet their grip is tenuous.

Two cases that could eventually lead to the party’s dissolution will come before Thailand’s Supreme Court ‑ home turf for royalists.  While the PPP – and before that Thaksin’s now-banned Thai Rak Thai Party – have had a trump card in due to unassailable political support in the populous rural northeast, the anti-Thaksin forces have countered with judges and soldiers. If things play out as they have over the past two years, PPP’s election victories will be undermined by coups or court decisions to ban the party, which could in turn be followed by another election victory by friends and relatives of the banned Thaksin loyalists.

The PPP is attempting to break this cycle by seeking quickly to change certain clauses in the military-drafted constitution that make it very easy to dissolve political parties. This has sparked a backlash from the same elements that tried to oust Thaksin a few years ago, including the anti-Thaksin interest group People’s Alliance for Democracy, led by publisher Sondhi Limthongkul.

The options for the anti-Thaksin side also carry risks, as a coup or court decision to ban the PPP could spark social unrest. Any such move would have to be carefully calculated, and the royalists would rather hand governance over to the pro-establishment Democrat Party instead of letting the military take the reins again. The royalists hoped to do this in December’s election, but they couldn’t muster enough votes to unlock Thaksin’s grip over the electorate.

The conflict will simmer under the surface for the time being. The real power brokers ‑Thaksin and the royalists heavyweights ‑ will let the proxy power brokers — Prime Minister Samak Sundarevej and the Democrat Party — trade blows. But when push comes to shove, the big guys will call the shots.

Thaksin spent 18 months in exile but now moves freely in and out of the country. He says he’s out of politics, although he is adept at staying in the public eye.  One week he’s off to England to try and convince Brazilian star Ronaldhino to join his Manchester City Premier League football club, and the next he is back in Thailand greeting top businessmen. This week he hosted an economic forum featuring Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive of steel giant ArcelorMittal.

The PPP has also reinstated Thaksin’s populist programs, helping to firm up his rural base in the event of another unexpected election. In addition, it has realigned elements of the bureaucracy and the police force to fall under its influence. 

But getting through the courts is another story. Like the military, judges in Thailand are traditionally aligned with royalist elements, and previously they played a crucial role in setting the stage for the coup.

This week King Bhumibol Adulyadej named three more people to his 19-member Privy Council: Surayud Chulanont, a former army chief who left the Privy Council after the coup to become the military-appointed prime minister; and two former Supreme Court presidents, Charnchai Likhitjitta and Supachai Phungam. They join Santi Thakral, who was named to the advisory body in 2005, and former top judge Atthaniti Disathaamnari, who joined the council last year. This means that of the last five appointments to the council, four have been former presidents of the top court.

The moves are significant given that Thaksin was once seen to peddle his own influence over the courts, most glaringly in 2001 when the Constitutional Court acquitted him in a narrow 8-7 vote of failing to properly disclose his assets, a move that preserved his premiership. Yet ever since the king instructed judges in April 2006 to clean up the legal mess stemming from a boycotted election earlier that month, the courts have moved in lockstep with the palace, even when legal experts cried foul.

In defending the judiciary’s jump into the political arena, Charnchai said that judges must be focused on “justice” instead of the “letter of the law.”

“But most practitioners of the law tend to lose sight of that and become fixated on what they’ve been taught,” he said, according to local media.

Like judges, privy councilors are supposed to stay “above politics.” But also like judges, that’s not the case in reality. Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, the former army chief and prime minister, was widely credited with orchestrating the coup that brought the military to power in 2006. This belief was furthered when the military appointed privy councilor Surayud as interim prime minister.

“In the past five to six years, the council has moved to a new level of overt political intervention in the context of the tensions that developed between the palace and the Thaksin government between 2001-2006,” Paul Handley, author of the highly-regarded book The King Never Smiles, wrote in an academic paper presented at a Thai Studies conference in January.

The latest appointments reveal that the rift between the palace and Thaksin’s allies remains. Handley writes that Prem has recruited judicial and national security experts to allow an “assertive Privy Council” to go toe-to-toe with the PPP-led government.

The rubber will hit the road later this year. If the PPP can’t change the laws in time, its fate will be in the hands of the Supreme Court. If the past is any prologue, that doesn’t bode well for Thaksin’s allies.

Thailand Election Commission to ask Constitution Court to disband two coalition party partners

Sat, 2008-04-12 01:19

 

Bangkok, 12 April, Asiantribune.com): Thailand’s Election Commission by majority vote on Friday resolved to ask the Constitution Court to dissolve two coalition political party partners — the Chart Thai and Mahachimathipataya parties– charging that they had committed electoral fraud in relation to the December 23, 2007 general election last year.

The five-member poll agency voted 4-1 to passed the ruling after considering the personal judgment made by EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond, in his capacity as registrar of political parties, according to Suthipol Thaveechaikarn, EC secretary-general.

Mr. Apichart’s judgement had been taken into account hours before the assembled commissioners passed their ruling that the two coalition parties be dissolved following the disqualification of their executive candidates for their alleged involvement in rigging the December elections, according to Mr. Suthipol.

The election body will forward its decision to the Office of the Attorney General, which has 30 days to file the case in the Constitution Court.

If prosecutors refuse to take the case, the Election Commission could file the case before the court itself.

The top leaders of both parties testified before the elections’ commissioners with additional information in bids to fight for their political survival Tuesday.

Dissolution would deal a heavy blow for both the 34-year-old Chart Thai party under the helm of former prime minister Banharn Silpa-Archa and the Matchimathipataya party, led by Anongwan Thepsutin, the wife of Somsak Thepsutin, a banned executive of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party, which was formed prior to last year’s general election.

The Chart Thai party, which won 37 seats in the election, is the second largest party in six-party coalition government led by the People Power Party, while Matchimathiptaya won seven seats.

- Asian Tribune -

Thais fight over "Thaksin, Fight" energy drink

Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:59am

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A new energy drink — “Thaksin, Fight” — has led to fisticuffs even before it goes on sale across Thailand next month, the beverage maker said on Thursday.

The drink has been a hit in taste tests with northern Thais who delivered thumping election victories for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2001 and 2005 before he was ousted in a bloodless 2006 coup.

But southerners who back the opposition Democrat Party have shunned the sweet-and-sour drink bearing Thaksin’s name, which is a literal word for south.

“A customer at a grocery store in the south punched our salesman in the face when he offered a sample to a shopkeeper,” drinkmaker Natchapol Supatta told Bangkok’s Business Radio.

“The shopowner decided not to store the drink in his fridge”.

Thailand is home to the globally-known energy drink “Red Bull”, or “Krating Daeng” in Thai, which originally catered to labourers and farmers to help them stay awake.

Natchapol said his drink had nothing to do with politics, but he just wanted to cash in on Thaksin’s popularity since his return from exile in February.

Thaksin, who is fighting graft charges, repeatedly insists his political career is over, but few Thais believe him.

The billionaire tycoon hosted an economic forum in Bangkok on Wednesday where he pledged to use his foreign business contacts to spur investment in Thailand.

Thailand: Port in the Storm?

Eased Controls, Risks
May Help Shares Buck
Broad Asian Selling

By JAMES HOOKWAY
March 4, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand — The end of capital controls in Thailand could help make the country’s stock market one of Asia’s better performers in 2008, some equity analysts suggest.

An early indication of Thailand’s potential appeal came yesterday, when the benchmark Stock Exchange of Thailand Index fell 0.3% to 842.92 while other leading Asian markets swallowed substantial losses following Wall Street’s battering last week.

Strengthening consumer confidence following the installation of a new pro-business government allied with popular former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra now looks set to drive Thai stocks higher, analysts say. Despite the political risks still shadowing Thailand — mainly tension between the armed forces and the new civilian government elected in December’s parliamentary polls — most reckon the uncertainty that resulted from the military coup that toppled Mr. Thaksin in September 2006 has lessened.

Mr. Thaksin himself appeared sufficiently confident in the new government’s stability to return from 17 months of self-imposed exile last week to face several corruption charges filed against him following his ouster.

Analysts say banking and property stocks are well-positioned to benefit from Thailand’s nascent economic revival, pointing to accelerating credit growth and a leap in imports in January, which jumped 40% from a year earlier.

Bangkok Bank PCL, for instance, is a favorite pick of many analysts, who are counting on lending growth to increase in line with Thailand’s general economic improvement. Shares of the country’s biggest bank by assets closed up one baht at 131 baht ($4.22) yesterday. Ian Gisbourne, an equity strategist with Phatra Securities in Bangkok, says the stock could reach 167 baht over the next 12 months, up 27% from yesterday’s close.

On the property side, Phatra Securities recommends Quality Houses, which closed one baht higher at 2.50 baht a share yesterday. Mr. Gisbourne expects the stock to hit 2.74 baht over the next 12 months, up 9.6%. “It’s best to buy real assets in Thailand at this point, and that means banks and property,” he says.

Thailand’s financial markets have endured a difficult couple of years, stymied by the conflict between the country’s armed forces and conservative political establishment and Mr. Thaksin, a billionaire populist who parlayed his success in the telecommunications business to become prime minister in 2001. Since the 2006 coup, the index has increased 20%, but it lags significantly behind gains in other Asian markets.

The uncertainty prompted by Mr. Thaksin’s departure deepened in December 2006, when the central bank introduced capital controls, requiring, among other things, foreign investors to deposit 30% of the money they brought into the country with government regulators. The policy was intended to prevent speculation in the Thai currency and slow the rise of the baht against the U.S. dollar, which policy makers feared would make Thai exports too expensive compared with competitors in China and elsewhere.

The move, however, triggered the biggest daily selloff by value in the history of the Thai stock exchange on Dec. 20, 2006. The central bank quickly waived restrictions on foreign capital destined to the stock market, but the broader stigma of the misstep remained, rattling investors who were already concerned about the military’s ability to manage Thailand’s economy and compete with rivals such as China, the Philippines and Vietnam for foreign direct investment.

Friday’s central-bank announcement ending all capital controls, though widely expected, indicates that the new government is bent on changing investors’ perceptions of Thailand, says Phatra’s Mr. Gisbourne.

He expects Asia-based fund managers to increase their weighting in Thailand in relation to the rest of the region’s markets, many of which have slumped severely on the threat of a recession in the U.S. “In that context, the residual political risk in Thailand is not as big an impediment as it was last year,” Mr. Gisbourne says.

Indeed, the situation has changed so much that some local and foreign broking firms are looking at companies that have been widely ignored for months.

For example, Shin Corp., the telecommunications company that Mr. Thaksin founded and was later sold by his family to an investor group led by Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., is getting a fresh appraisal. Shin’s share price slumped sharply after the coup as investors worried that the anti-Thaksin military would try to reverse the Temasek sale. The sale had been widely criticized because it was structured to permit Mr. Thaksin’s family to avoid paying capital-gains taxes on the deal.

Now, Citigroup, among others, is recommending Shin stock as a way to get exposure to the company’s primary asset — market-leading mobile-phone company Advanced Info Service, or AIS — at a bargain price. In a research report released last week, Citigroup analysts Karen Ang and Anand Ramachandran said that at 29.50 baht a share — where it also closed yesterday — Shin was trading at a 39% discount to its net asset value. “With AIS counting for 96% of Shin Corp.’s net asset value, we see Shin as a cheaper proxy to AIS, which we believe is fairly valued,” the analysts said.

Citigroup’s 12-month target price for Shin is 39 baht, 32% above yesterday’s close. Shin’s historic high is 48.50 baht a share, reached on the day when Mr. Thaksin’s family sold their shares.

There are some risks associated with Shin, however, notably its limited liquidity. The company’s free float in the Thai market is 4% of its equity, while the minimum stock-exchange requirement is 15%. Although Shin is likely to be given additional time to meet the exchange’s requirement, it is possible that Temasek or other shareholders could choose to sell their Shin shares on the market at a discounted price in order to meet free-float minimum. Or they might opt, instead, to delist the stock.

FT interview transcript: Thaksin Shinawatra

Published: March 3 2008 21:35 | Last updated: March 3 2008 21:35

Amy Kazmin, the FT’s South-East Asia Correspondent, interviewed Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former prime minister, in Bangkok on Monday, March 3, 2008. Below is an edited transcript of their conversation:

FINANCIAL TIMES: Many people are now looking at Thailand and wondering what is going to happen next. The Thai economy has really seemed to struggle over the last two years. What do you think Thailand needs to do now to revive the economy and restore foreign investor confidence?

THAKSIN SHINAWATRA: Confidence is the key. It’s quite difficult after a coup d’etat, the political uncertainty is going to be a big question for the investor, especially [the] foreign investor [who knows] little about the nature of Thai politics. That will be a big obstacle for bringing back confidence.

FT: Even now?

TS: Even now. We still need to do a lot more. When you go out for [a] road show, the investor will ask the question of political stability. We have to prove ourselves. The Thai has to help each other to bring back real reconciliation. And also, the local press especially, we have to present the news in a more constructive way. If the local press is not constructive how will the foreign press be constructive? They are just following what is happening in the local press.

FT: What do you mean by constructive?

TS: Constructive – it means [bringing] back the reconciliation, trying to avoid small things about having conflict among the Thai. That will create a picture of political stability, and then the confidence will be there. That is the prerequisite to bring back economic confidence. I have been travelling a lot and have met with a lot of investors world wide. And the question of political stability is the prerequisite for economic confidence.

FT: We’ll come back to that, but in terms of economic policy specifically, what do you think needs to be done?

TS: We have to take the opportunities of a strong baht and weaker dollar to import capital goods and machinery to upgrade our production. We have been using old technology for many years. So it is now the time to invest. The government has to facilitate the import of more of the capital goods and machinery to upgrade our production quality. That is what we should do now, not just complain about [a] strong baht and weaker dollar. …We are an export-led growth economy. [The] domestic economy is not that [developed] yet, [domestic] consumption is not that much yet. We import so little, we have [a trade] surplus [and] it adds to the stronger baht. We have to take this opportunity to import and invest. Especially in the mega-projects. It’s time to invest now. We have quite healthy reserves. We should invest now.

FT: How well positioned do you think Thailand is, as an export-oriented economy, now to ride out a US economic slowdown?

TS: Luckily, during my administration we diversified the market, we diversified the [range] of products that we export. But the US is still our major market. [An] economic slowdown in [the] US will definitely affect [us]. But luckily the products we export to US markets, are the ‘basic need’ products, so we should be able to survive. Another thing we have to be careful [of] is that the privileges that we receive on our exports to the US should not be affected. … We also have to watch after the [US] election how the new government will [pursue] free trade agreements [such as the one Thailand is eager to have].

FT: Are you concerned that some of the privileges Thai exports enjoy could be revoked because of Thailand’s compulsory licensing of US pharmaceutical products?

TS: We have to be careful on every move. The US government is really pushed by the private sector. Some big private sector is [the] pharmaceutical [industry] they are a big association pushing the US government a lot. … For compulsory licensing, we have to be very cautious. For compulsory, it means it’s really necessary, not just usual. So we have to be very careful how we move on that.

FT: How much damage do you think was done to the Thai economy by the last two years of political turbulence?

TS: Confidence is very expensive economically. When it’s gone it will cost a lot of money to bring it back – and time, not just money. People don’t understand well enough the worth of confidence.

FT: What can be done to bring back confidence in Thailand?

TS: We have to start with the consumer confidence. You have to inject the money down to the grassroots levels, so their spending will start to turn. When consumer confidence starts, we will have to bring local investor confidence – then the foreign investor will come. Tourism, or service industry, is one of the main income streams, and we have to revive it.

FT: You don’t think just the fact that Thailand has had an election and installed an elected government is enough?

TS: Not enough! Not enough! Not enough!

FT: [Finance Minister] Surapong Suebwonglee has said he would like you to advise him on the economy, and you clearly have strong ideas about what needs to be done about the economy. …

TS: You know, giving advice – it may create obligation on both sides. … I am more senior to him. If I give advice and he [doesn’t] take my advice, I will feel bad. And if he didn’t take my advice, he will feel bad as well. Why don’t I be a lecturer instead of advisor? I can be a lecturer not just for him, but for the investors, or the business sector, or the economic teams of the government. If they think I can give some lecture about the global economy, and how its’ linked to the Thai economy, those things, I can give the lecture. After I give the lecture there is no obligation on both sides. They don’t have to do whatever I [say], they can think on their own and mix their ideas.

FT: So are you turning down his request to be an advisor?

TS: I don’t think I should be. I don’t want to get involved in politics. When I don’t want to get involved in politics – why should I take the advisory position?

FT: You talked about the importance of political stability in a factor restoring confidence. How do you assess Thailand’s prospects for political stability?

TS: I think it will be better now. I have started to talk with my former opponents, especially military people, and they all now – especially myself, we forgive everything, we don’t feel any antagonism to others. …. I forgive everyone – and I am not involved in politics. So don’t worry about me. And I would ask the press – don’t worry about where I am going, what I am doing. I am not a public figure any more.

FT: Many people were very shocked at the September 2006 military coup because they thought that Thailand had put the era of military coup behind it. Do you feel now that there is a risk of military coup in the future? Or do you think this was the last coup?

TS: I believe always that democracy is the best. There should not be any hiccup in democracy development in any country. When you start the democratic process, you should continue until it matures. If you take it back, it’s difficult to bring back confidence. During my administration, I believe there should not be any coup. But still it can happen. So Thailand is different. When there is a coup it is not that bad in terms of the impact both domestically and internationally. Even if we have a coup, the Thai monarchy is very strong, very well respected domestically and internationally. So that is different than other countries. We have some impact definitely but it’s not that much when compared with other countries. It’s difficult to predict there will be no coup in the future. But I cannot think about the near future. It might be later on. But it will be quite many years, not now.

FT: Why do you feel it is unlikely to happen now? Some of your political allies are concerned that there is still a risk…

TS: The country is quite fragile now.

FT: Fragile?

TS: If you were to have another coup, it will cost the country too much. …If it were to be a near future coup, the country is still very fragile. … That is dangerous…

FT: Do you think the military has learned any lessons from this coup?

TS: What [do you] mean by military? Military means the whole group of soldiers. … It [did] not really benefit the military. …Subordinates just [did] whatever their boss said. It depends on the top people – a few of them.

FT: And those who led this coup?

TS: Some have retired; some are about to retire. So they will enjoy their lives with their families.

FT: Do you think the balance of power between civilian politicians and the military has changed as a result of the coup?

TS: No. This constitution [introduced by the military-backed government last year] … has to be changed. Otherwise the respect of the people’s rights is not there. You don’t regard democracy as the people power. …The constitution is like the plan to build a house. Before you build a good house, you have to have a good plan. The good plan should start with the wish of the tenants who are going to live there. You have to ask them, talk to them. What do they want? How many bedrooms? How many bathrooms? En suite or not en suite? You have to talk to them. And secondly, you have to have a professional architect. But this [constitution was not done by] a professional architect. [They wrote] a plan without asking the tenant – the owner of the house.

FT: This constitution does give the military greater power than in the 1997 constitution, when the military was clearly under civilian control, doesn’t it?

TS: If this parliament does not do anything to amend this constitution, I think the whole parliament is not really faithful to their people. They come from them as democracy – they have to amend this constitution.

FT: Are there specific things you think need to be amended?

TS: So many things. …. The major one is the respect of the people’s power. You form a company – shareholders are supposed to have the most power. … Now the people have less power, the structure is wrong. …Those key people who were involved in drafting the constitution are not the democratic men. When the non-professional architects write a plan without asking the owner, when the house is finished, its not the house that you want to live in.

FT: You say are you are out of politics, and don’t want to be politically active any more. But many Thai voters definitely associate the People’s Power Party with you, and they voted for the PPP because they thought it would be voting for you. So what responsibility do you feel for the successful performance for the PPP government?

TS: If you remember on the day that they dissolved the Thai Rak Thai party (Mr Thaksin’s former ruling party), I wrote a letter to the people, and I urged the former TRT politicians to pack together and continue their political work for the benefit of the country and the people. They did whatever I told them to do. [So] I felt obliged. … They wanted me to support them because they said the people still loved me and [they] wanted me to support them. So I supported [them]….But [in] a personal capacity – not anything about politics. They wanted to continue the TRT ideology, so I felt obliged to support them.

FT: And now that they are in power don’t you still feel some obligation to support them?

TS: No, it’s finished. It’s their new party, new ideology. There might be some root from Thai Rak Thai. But they have new leaders, new executive board, new Cabinet. I am not involved. … If you need me to give a lecture on my experience during my administration, or my experience after being ousted and touring around the world, I can do it.

FT: But what about voters who voted for the PPP thinking that they were somehow voting for you?

TS: Voters voted for the PPP because I had been bullied too much, and they [didn’t] believe one man can be that bad – [that] the man that they had respected and loved can be that bad. … They just wanted to give me some justice, that’s it.

FT: You don’t feel that you have some obligation to help the government?

TS: If I were to help the government, I’d probably create more problems than [I solved.] Unity of command is very important. The prime minister, and the leader is there. Wherever the formal structure has been superseded by the informal structure, that will be bad for that organisation to run perfectly. …I will concentrate on fighting my court case.

FT: You picked Samak [Sundaravej, the prime minister] and asked him to lead the PPP. How much contact do you have with him?

TS: Seldom, just as a good friend.

FT: The military froze your family’s $1.9bn in profits from the Shin Corp sale. But so far there has been no case brought in connection with that deal. What do you see as the prospects for getting that money back?

TS: It’s really unlawful [what they did.] But under [a] dictatorship you can do anything you want. That might be the purpose of preventing me from using my money to help the PPP in the election. Another thing is they don’t want me to move around. But its very unlawful, and we will file a case definitely [seeking the return of the assets].

FT: Do you feel confident you will get it back?

TS: It’s the asset we own before we enter politics! In 1994, when I voluntarily declared my assets, [Shin Corp] was there.

FT: Do you ever regret deciding to sell Shin Corp at the time you did?

TS: It belonged to my children. … They may want cash for some other business; it’s their right to sell it. We already gave it to them.

FT: Maybe I should rephrase and ask you, do regret that your children sold Shin Corp at the time that they did?

TS: You know, in our family, we are always looking ahead, looking forward. Things in the back are just the lesson.

FT: When you do look back at your tenure in power, many people put their trust in you, but a lot of them, over time, turned away. Do you have any regrets from your tenure in office?

TS: No [elected Thai prime minister] has ever stayed in office continuously as long as myself. And when you stay long enough you make decisions every day. Some decisions this group likes, or does not like. It may affect some groups. In my case, I tried to build the country from the foundation, from the grassroots. But those on the top, they always enjoy the benefit of weak government. … They never build anything basic or [lay] foundations. But we want to stay longer to build the whole nation from the foundations [up]. They may think, ‘when are you going to come to me? Not yet.’ So they may not like it. But actually when the foundation is strong, the top will be very, very strong. But they cannot wait.

FT: Looking forward, what are your plans?

TS: I have Manchester City, and have the Thaicom Foundation, and I might be chairman of the [already established] Shinawatra University.

FT: Are you able to leave the country?

TS: I can just ask the permission from the court. … I [would not run away] from the case. I could not come [back to Thailand before last week] because I did not want to create turmoil in the country, and the court knows that. [But once] I come, I will obey whatever the court said.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

 

Abhisit: Thaksin should stop blaming coup makers

 

(BangkokPost.com) - Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday countered Thaksin Shinawatra’s attack on coup makers and the previous government that they are responsible for economic slowdown.

Mr Abhisit said that is just Mr Thaksin’s personal opinion.

He called on Mr Thaksin to stop blaming others, adding that it is the responsibility of the current government to solve economic problems as they promised to voters prior to the Dec 23 general election last year.

He said it is now time to move on, and every party should help solve national problems.

Thailand’s Thaksin says has turned down adviser role

Mar 4, 2008

BANGKOK (AFP) — Deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra has turned down an offer to advise the new government on economic issues, he told the Financial Times in an interview published Tuesday.

Speaking to the paper shortly after his dramatic return from self-imposed exile last week, Thaksin said he had declined the offer from Finance Minister and confidant Surapong Suebwonglee.

“If I were to help the government, I would probably create more problems than (I would) solve,” he said.

Thaksin was toppled in a military coup in September 2006 and banned from politics for five years by a junta-appointed tribunal.

He returned to Thailand for the first time last Thursday, where he faces corruption charges.

Since his homecoming, Thaksin has kept an unusually low profile, cancelling several planned appearances.

His allies won elections in December last year, and Surapong said Thursday that Thaksin’s experience and knowledge as a self-made billionaire could help the kingdom.

While Thaksin has insisted he will stay out of politics, he told the FT he thought the new government should exploit the soaring baht and invest in new technologies from abroad.

“We need to take the opportunities of the strong baht and weaker dollar to import capital goods and machinery,” he said.

Thaksin said Thailand’s reputation with investors had been bashed by more than a year of military rule.

“It’s quite difficult after a coup d’etat — political uncertainty is going to be a big question for the investor,” he said.

Thailand’s central bank announced Friday that it had lifted tough currency control measures imposed by the military government, and which sent the baht plummeting in December 2006.

The move had little impact on the Thai bourse, but the baht closed at a new 10-year high of 31.60-61 against the dollar.

 

Thaksin return raises hopes of Thai fans

BANGKOK (AFP) — Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s dramatic return to Thailand last week sparked controversy across the country - except on the football field, where fans believe his homecoming could mark a new era in the sport.

During his nearly 18 months in exile, the billionaire politician bought the English Premier League side Manchester City for 162.6 million dollars.

He had tried and failed to purchase Liverpool in 2004, and his success in taking over City has delighted fans in this football-mad country.

His critics say that Thaksin only dabbles in the sport to distract the public from his political problems and to stay in the spotlight after the coup.

If that’s the case, it worked.

 

After the military toppled Thaksin’s government in 2006, the junta banned Thai television from broadcasting his picture.

Once he took over Manchester City, Thaksin appeared at many of the matches, getting his image broadcast back to viewers in Thailand, where the Premier League is hugely popular.

“Mr Thaksin really helps promote sports for the Thai people,” Krittidech Chaisinharn, chairman of Thailand’s official Manchester City Supporters’ Club, told AFP.

“We hope he will help raise the level of football in Thailand.”

On his homecoming last Thursday, Thaksin flew into Bangkok with two City players on his flight - goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and striker Kelvin Etuhu.

On Friday the two players led a clinic for young footballers.

Thaksin, who has kept a low profile since his return, did not attend the clinic, but the players were splashed across the sports pages all weekend.

Thaksin has said he wants to make Manchester City “the team Thais are proud of,” and boasts of his plans to raise its stature to equal that of cross-town rivals Manchester United.

Schmeichel, the son of legendary Denmark and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, said Thaksin is “a nice guy, he’s genuine, and he’s very generous. He’s very passionate and he wants the club to progress”.

During the 2006-2007 season, Manchester City finished in 14th place.

But when Thaksin purchased the team, he gave new coach Sven-Goran Eriksson substantial funds to acquire new players.

As a result, the club has enjoyed a strong start to the current season, and while they’ve seen a dip in form of late, they sit in the top half of the table and also secured their first victory over United at Old Trafford since 1974.

Some City fans hope that Thaksin’s return to Thailand will help him win his legal battles and free up his money to build the team.

Military-backed authorities have frozen more than two billion dollars worth of Thaksin’s assets pending a corruption trial that starts next week.

Thaksin’s long-term goal, says Manchester City spokesman Paul Tyrrell, is to help boost the game in Thailand at large.

“His objective is to raise the bar for football in Thailand,” Tyrrell told AFP.

Manchester City signed several Thai players last year, but the club is trying to loan them out to a lesser team so they can gain more experience.

Thaksin also brought the Thailand national team to England to train ahead of their 2010 World Cup qualifier last month in wintry conditions in Saitama, Japan.

But Japan won 4-1.

Thailand next plays Oman in another qualifier in Bangkok on March 26.

The Thailand team has never qualified for a World Cup, and although they are a force

 

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Thaksin returns to Thailand

 

Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s ousted prime minister, has returned to Bangkok after 17 months in exile saying he intends to restore his reputation after he was ousted in a 2006 coup.   Thousands of supporters and senior government officials greeted the former leader following his arrival on a flight from Hong Kong on Thursday. Thaksin, 58, was immediately taken into custody at the airport and was then driven directly to the Supreme Court in the Thai capital where he and his wife Pojaman face corruption charges.   He is expected to ask for bail and then proceed to the department of special investigations where he is charged with allegedly concealing ownership of shares in a family business.   Thaksin has vowed to fight the charges and seek the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen assets seized after the military coup 17 months ago.   He expressed confidence in seeing justice through the Thai court system before boarding his flight in Hong Kong.   “Normally in justice systems everywhere, a person is innocent until proved guilty,” he said.   Security concerns   Hundreds of supporters were bussed in from across Thailand to welcome Thaksin’s return He said he was a “little bit” concerned about his safety once in Bangkok, but did not think his return would spark violence.   “I used to say when I was prime minister that there were attempts to assassinate me,” he said.   “Normally I would have some concerns but I hope that everyone is thinking of national reconciliation and they will prepare [security measures] for me well.”   About 3,000 had gathered at Bangkok’s airport since before dawn, dancing, beating drums, singing and carrying signs that read “We love Thaksin”, most of them brought in from nearby provinces on chartered buses.   Police Lieutenant-General Prung Bunpadung said about 1,000 police officers had been deployed at the airport, along Thaksin’s route of travel and places he was expected to visit during the day.   The billionaire-politician and his wife, Pojaman, each face up to 13 years in jail over two corruption charges alleging she used her husband’s political influence to buy prime Bangkok property from a government agency at about one third of its estimated value.   Thaksin denies any abuse of power.   The two also face separate charges of making fraudulent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the 2003 listing of a property company.   No surprise   Thaksin kissed the ground after returning from 17 months in exile  Thaksin’s opponents say his return is no surprise, coming soon after his political allies in the People Power party (PPP) formed the government after wining the general elections in December.   Critics say his return could re-ignite deep political divisions that led to his downfall.   Chamlong Srimuang, a former Bangkok governor, said Thaksin’s pledge to stay out of politics was a “political game”, and that he had continued playing an important role in Thai politics while in exile.   “Thaksin will plunge the country into a greater crisis that people will not be able to tolerate any longer,” said Chamlong, a one-time Thaksin ally.   Thaksin’s opponents have also threatened to mobilise protesters and stage demonstrations if the new government tries to intervene in the legal process against him.   On Wednesday, the country’s newly-elected prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, who heads the PPP which is regarded as Thaksin’s proxy, said he was happy to welcome the former premier back and gave assurances that he would be given a fair trial.   Thaksin’s party, Thai Rak Thai, was outlawed after the bloodless military coup in September 2006, and he has been banned from politics for five years.   Thaksin’s rise and fall Thaksin was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2006 [GALLO/GETTY] Thaksin Shinawtra was born in 1949 into a family of Chinese silk merchants.   Joined police force before winning a scholarship to study criminal justice in US.   Started computer dealership in 1987, which evolved into Shin Corp telecoms conglomerate, making him one of Thailand’s richest and most powerful men.   Entering politics he won landslide victories in 2001 and 2005, backed by Thailand’s rural and urban workers.   But corruption scandals and alleged abuses of power eroded his popularity among Bangkok’s middle classes.   His family’s tax-free sale in 2006 of their $1.9bn stake in Shin Corp triggered street protests.   In an effort to defuse growing anger, Thaksin called snap elections which were later annulled.   In September 2006, with Thaksin in New York to address the UN, Thailand’s armed forces moved to oust him in a bloodless coup.

Source: Agencies

Thaksin taken into police custody

 

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was taken into police custody Thursday after arriving on Thai soil and ending 17 months of exile to face corruption charges, police said.

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at Hong Kong International Airport earlier Thursday.

 

Thai authorities took the 58-year-old billionaire politician into custody after his arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on a Thai Airways flight from Hong Kong, said police Maj. Gen. Thaweesak Toochinda, the head of airport immigration police.

Two arrest warrants were issued for Thaksin after the September 2006 coup that ousted him. He faces corruption charges in two separate cases that date to his time in office from 2001-2006 and could receive a maximum of 15 years in prison.

His return to Thailand to fight charges of corruption and abuse of power ends 17 months of self-imposed exile Thursday, returning to Thailand to fight charges of corruption and abuse of power.

Upon touchdown from Hong Kong, he was expected to report to the country’s Supreme Court.

A pro-Thaksin Web site on Tuesday urged supporters to greet the former prime minister at the airport at 9 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), and thousands were expected to congregate.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy, which in the past has staged numerous demonstrations denouncing Thaksin’s rule, told CNN on Tuesday that it did not have any plans to protest on Thursday.

If that decision stands, it will null the possibility of clashes between the two camps on Thursday. Watch what can be expected on Thaksin’s return »

In December’s parliamentary elections, Thaksin’s allies, the People Power Party, won nearly half the seats in the lower house and paved the way for his return.

The 58-year-old billionaire is accused of abusing the country’s system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family’s business.

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• Talk Asia: Interview with Samak Sundaravej

Thaksin and his wife Pojamarn face charges stemming from a Bangkok land deal and an alleged stock concealment plan. In the real estate transaction, the wife is accused of purchasing undeveloped land for about a third of its estimated value.

She has pleaded not guilty and is free on five million baht (about $168,000) bail and is under orders not to leave the country.

Thaksin faces separate charges of concealing assets.

Thaksin also owns the English Premier League Manchester City Football Club.

 

His party won two landslide victories before he was deposed in a bloodless military coup in September 2006 while traveling abroad. He has never returned to Thailand since.

Thaksin has said he would not re-enter politics when he comes home. He said that he and his family had “suffered enough” but that he wanted to face the charges against him and prove his innocence.

 

Last Updated: Thursday, 28 February 2008, 00:09 GMT

Former Thai PM Thaksin flies home

Supporters are waiting for Thaksin in Bangkok

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is flying home from Hong Kong after 17 months away.

He said he would defend himself against unfair accusations and said he had faith in the Thai justice system.

Mr Thaksin faces allegations of corruption in Thailand, brought by the leaders of the September 2006 coup which removed him from office.

Large crowds of his supporters are waiting at Bangkok airport to welcome him back to the country.

He still has strong popular support in Thailand and analysts fear his return could prompt further political unrest.

“Nobody can push him out. He is a good guy. Thai people love him,” said one supporter, quoted by the AFP news agency.

Mr Thaksin told reporters that he was confident of his innocence and was ready to prove he had done nothing wrong.

He said he would report to the authorities on his arrival.

Current Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said he welcomed his former ally’s return.

“It’s normal that he must defend himself in the court and my government will not interfere,” Mr Samak said.

‘Normal citizen’

Mr Thaksin’s party, Thai Rak Thai, was outlawed following the coup and he was personally banned from politics for five years.

Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in September 2006

But many of his followers went on the form the People Power Party (PPP), which won elections in December last year.

Mr Thaksin has insisted that he does not plan to get involved in politics on his return, but the BBC’s Jonathan Head in Bangkok says that as the PPP’s main financier, Mr Thaksin has great authority.

Mr Thaksin said: “I just want to be going back as a normal citizen and would like to live my life peacefully with my family.

“Democracy returned to Thailand. So, it is time for those who are democratic advocates to go back.”

Our correspondent says Mr Thaksin’s millions of supporters will see his return as final proof that the coup leaders failed to destroy his political career.

There is expected to be heavy security surrounding Mr Thaksin’s arrival.

————————————————-

Last Updated: Thursday, 28 February 2008, 04:17 GMT

 

 

Former Thai PM Thaksin back home

A large crowd of supporters was waiting for Thaksin in Bangkok

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been released on bail shortly after his arrival in Thailand after spending 17 months in exile.

He said he would beat what he called politically motivated corruption charges from the years he was in power.

The 58-year-old billionaire businessman was briefly detained by police on his arrival at Bangkok airport.

He was removed from power in a military coup in September 2006 and has lived outside the country since then.

At the airport he was greeted by a huge roar from thousands of flag-waving supporters.

Some of the key figures from the new government were there to meet him before he was whisked away to the Supreme Court where he was granted bail.

He is allowed to travel abroad, but only with the court’s permission.

Opponents’ fears

“I have to restore my reputation which has been tarnished by the coup,” he told reporters with him on the plane from Hong Kong.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Harding on the flight, Mr Thaksin said he wouldn’t be seeking revenge against the coup bosses who forced him out of power after five years in office.

He said he had mixed feelings about returning to home, but that he had finished with politics and wished to focus on his football interests - he owns Manchester City and was travelling with two of the British club’s players.

His party, Thai Rak Thai, was outlawed following the coup and he was personally banned from politics for five years but his opponents fear he has returned to influence events from behind-the-scenes.

Many of Mr Thaksin’s followers formed the People Power Party (PPP), which won elections in December last year.

Thaksin heads home to Thailand

Pro-Thaksin websites have urged supporters to turn out to welcome the former PM’s return [EPA]

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister, is flying home to Bangkok ending his self-imposed exile 17 months after he was ousted in a bloodless coup.

Supporters and opponents have promised a noisy welcome when he lands at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport on Thursday morning and security has been tightened ahead of his arrival.

Thaksin has said he intends to fight corruption charges and unfreeze hundreds of millions of dollars in business assets seized after the September 2006 coup.

Speaking to reporters before departing Hong Kong on a Thai airways flight, he said he was a “little bit” concerned about his security, but he added he did not think his return would spark violence.

“I used to say when I was prime minister that there were attempts to assassinate me. Normally I would have some concerns but I hope that everyone is thinking of national reconciliation and they will prepare (security measures) for me well,” he said.

Thaksin has spent most of his time in exile living in the UK, where he owns Manchester City football club.

His wife Pojaman, who returned to Thailand last month, also faces corruption and conflict of interest charges from when her husband was prime minister.

The charges were brought by the previous government installed by the Thai military after the 2006 coup.

Thaksin’s return was secured by Thailand’s newly-elected leader, Samak Sundaravej, whose People Power Party (PPP) is regarded as a proxy for Thaksin.

The PPP, comprising mostly of Thaksin allies, won nationwide elections in December and forms the core of Thailand’s new six-party coalition government.

Thaksin himself has repeatedly said he has no plans to return to politics, although supporters and opponents both doubt his claims.

Senior officials from the PPP are expected to be at Bangkok airport to welcome Thaksin as he returns on Thursday – as are court officials who will present the corruption charges to him.

Chalerm Yoobambrung, the country’s newly-appointed interior minister and a long-time Thaksin ally, said he will personally welcome the former prime minister with open arms.

“I will be there as the old friend … who promised voters that if they chose the People Power Party we would bring Thaksin back with full honours.”

Thaksin is being accompanied on his return by two Manchester City players who have said they plan to hold soccer clinics with Thai children and work out the national team.

Warning

Thaksin, seen with his wife Pojaman, has lived
in exile since the 2006 coup [GALLO/GETTY]

On Tuesday Samak Sundaravej, the Thai prime minister, warned activists not to take to the streets during Thaksin’s return.

A spokesman for Samak quoted him as saying: “It’s normal that he must defend himself in the court and my government will not interfere.”

Thai officials have said that protesters could be charged with obstruction of justice if they try to prevent Thaksin from reporting to court.

Critics fear Thaksin’s homecoming could plunge the country into another political crisis.

His opponents have threatened to mobilise protesters and stage demonstrations if the new government tries to intervene in the legal process against him.

Thaksin and his wife each face up to 13 years in jail over two corruption charges alleging she used her husband’s political influence to buy prime Bangkok property from a government agency at about one third of its estimated value.

Thaksin denies any abuse of power.

The couple also face separate charges of making fraudulent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the 2003 listing of a property company.

Following the coup, Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai [Thais Love Thais] party was disbanded for electoral fraud and more than 100 senior party officials including him were banned from politics for five years.

Thaksin Says He Doesn’t Plan Return to Thai Politics (Update4)

 

 

 

By Nipa Piboontanasawat and Anuchit Nguyen

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Thaksin Shinawatra said he doesn’t plan a return to politics in Thailand, as the former premier returned home to face corruption charges almost 18 months after being ousted in a military coup.

“I quit politics, I have other roles to play,” Thaksin told reporters at Hong Kong airport today before leaving for Bangkok. “Enough is enough.” On the plane ride, he said he would “never ever” return to politics.

The former premier and his wife Pojamarn, who returned to Thailand last month, face charges over their involvement in purchasing land from the central bank. The junta’s failure to make the corruption charges stick, and missteps including the imposition of capital controls, allowed Thaksin’s political allies to win a December general election that restored democracy.

“The coup failed to achieve its objective of driving Thaksin from the Thai political scene,” said Michael Montesano, who specializes in Thai politics at the National University of Singapore. “He will face the charges against him in the hope he will be vindicated, and then restart his political career.”

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s People Power Party won the Dec. 23 election by pledging to bring Thaksin back from exile and follow his policies.

Supporters and Opponents

Airport authorities in Bangkok were bracing for crowds of both Thaksin supporters and opponents, who held months of public protests against his government before the military takeover.

Thousands of his supporters gathered in front of the airport’s VIP arrival hall today, some holding banners that read: “Welcome Back to the Motherland.”

“I caught a bus late last night as soon as I heard the news that Thaksin was coming back,” Thanom Srisook, 42, a rice farmer from Nakhon Ratchasima, said in an interview. “ Thaksin did so much for the poor, like the health-care program, village fund and rice intervention program. The coup made things worse. His return gives us hope that things will be much better.”

Thaksin plans to fight the corruption charges. He told reporters on the plane trip he will go to court after his arrival. “The allegation against me are empty,” he said. “I can prove my innocence easily.”

“I will follow him everywhere today,” rice farmer Thanom said, “from the airport to the supreme court.”

`Like a King’

“Thaksin has every right to come back as a Thai citizen,” said Sondhi Limthongkul, a media company owner who led months of protests against Thaksin in 2006, in a telephone interview. “But the way he is making his comeback is like a king arriving in his homeland, given the massive security.”

Thaksin has been living mainly in Hong Kong and London in self-imposed exile since the coup and bought the U.K.’s Manchester City soccer club last year.

“I am the chairman of Manchester City, I still have to go back and forth,” Thaksin said this morning in Hong Kong, adding he plans to attend the club’s home game against Tottenham Hotspur on March 16.

Thaksin said he has “mixed feelings” about his return to Thailand and is a “little bit” worried about his security. He didn’t elaborate.

“I’d like to urge all people concerned that it’s time to push the country forward,” he said en route to Bangkok. “We should not waste the time to frown at each other. There is no need, especially when I am out of politics.”

Prosecutors allege Thaksin and Pojamarn breached a law that bans a spouse from entering into a contract with a government department under the direct supervision of a partner.

Not Guilty Plea

Pojamarn allegedly purchased land from the central bank’s Financial Institutional Development Fund in 2003 for 772 million baht ($25.8 million). She pleaded not guilty on her return in January and was freed on bail.

The new government this month removed Sunai Manomaiudom from his job as director general of the Special Investigation Department. Sunai had handled a case in which Thaksin was alleged to have concealed his ownership in SC Assets Corp., a property company.

It hasn’t yet dismantled the Asset Examination Committee, an anti-graft agency that froze more than 60 billion baht of assets belonging to Thaksin and his family. The agency was set up less than a week after the Sept. 19, 2006 coup to probe Thaksin, his family and other Cabinet members.

Noppadol Pattama, a former lawyer of Thaksin’s who is now foreign affairs minister, said in December that investigations by the committee would be taken over by another agency.

Shin Corp. Sale

While Thaksin’s 5 1/2-year reign as prime minister was marked by the fastest growth in a decade, opponents attacked the 2006 tax-free sale of his mobile phone business Shin Corp. to Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings Pte.

The junta-backed government’s economic record was less successful. Currency controls imposed by the central bank in December 2006 triggered the stock market’s steepest slide in 16 years and were reversed a day later.

A government proposal to limit international control of businesses in Thailand was also withdrawn amid criticism it would deter investors.

Thaksin Returns to Thailand

By AMBIKA AHUJA – 1 hour ago

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived home Thursday after 17 months of exile, prepared to face charges but saying he had faith in Thailand’s justice system.

Thaksin flew first class on Thai Airways from Hong Kong to Bangkok, where thousands of supporters had gathered at Suvarnabhumi International Airport before dawn to await his return. They danced, beat drums, sang and carried signs reading “We love Thaksin.”

The 58-year-old billionaire politician was deposed in a September 2006 coup and had lived abroad ever since. He was expected to face arrest after arriving at the airport. He is accused of graft and abuse of power during his 2001-2006 time in office.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

HONG KONG (AP) — Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006 amid corruption allegations, flew toward home from exile Thursday to face charges and vowed to stay out of politics forever.

He said he was slightly worried about his safety but expressed faith in Thailand’s justice system.

“I believe in the Thai justice system, especially the court system,” Thaksin, 58, said at Hong Kong’s airport, surrounded by about 40 supporters. His plane left Hong Kong a short while later on the final leg of his journey to Thailand.

His return was seen as a test of the country’s political stability, with critics warning that the populist billionaire’s homecoming could plunge the country into renewed crisis.

Thaksin repeated his pledge that he wouldn’t seek to regain his political post. “I’m finished,” he said.

He also played down the possibility of any upheaval, saying was little chance his return would spark violence. “The Thais are very peaceful,” Thaksin said.

Dressed in a black suit and matching tie, he was allowed to use the airport’s diplomatic entrance while passing through immigration. He smiled and appeared relaxed as he strolled through the airport with a big entourage before settling into the Thai Airway’s VIP lounge.

“The country has returned to democracy, so I want to go home … I miss my motherland,” he said Wednesday, speaking to Thai Public Broadcasting Service television from a Hong Kong shopping mall.

Thaksin was stripped of power 17 months ago when the army staged a coup during one of his trips abroad, and he has since lived in exile. He returns home several weeks after a government sympathetic to him replaced a military-appointed interim regime.

The People’s Power Party, which is packed with Thaksin allies, won Dec. 23 general elections and now leads a six-party coalition government. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who heads PPP, won widespread support by campaigning as Thaksin’s proxy and pledging to clear his name.

Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, face corruption and conflict of interest charges in connection with her purchase of prime Bangkok real estate from a state agency in 2003, while he was prime minister. Pojaman returned to Thailand in January and was released on bail pending trial.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications magnate, also faces separate charges of concealing assets.

Speaking to journalists in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Thaksin called the charges against him “unjust, unfair allegations” that were “cooked up by my political enemies.”

Police will detain Thaksin on arrival and “they have to bring him to court,” said Rakkiat Wattapong, the Supreme Court secretary-general.

The chief of Thaksin’s legal defense team, Pichit Chuenban, said Thaksin would surrender to police and seek his release on bail.

An anti-Thaksin group has said it will mobilize protesters if the government intervenes in the legal process against him.

Thaksin supporters have said they will arrange transportation for hundreds of people to welcome him at the airport, the Bangkok Post reported.

“The party and government want his return to be quiet, but we cannot stop people who love him from greeting him at the airport,” Supamas Isarapakdi, a top aide to Samak, told The Associated Press, adding that she, too, planned to greet Thaksin at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport.

Rakkiat, however, warned that Thaksin’s supporters would be held in contempt of court if they cheer and shout and give him flowers in the Supreme Court compound.

On Tuesday, Thaksin’s Web site posted a picture of the deposed prime minister with his right hand raised giving the victory sign, superimposed over an image of Bangkok’s international airport as fireworks explode overhead. It urged supporters to greet him at the airport.

“Welcome home Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom we love, miss and have been waiting to return for over a year,” the Web site said.

On the Net:

• Thaksin’s Web site: http://www.hi-thaksin.net

Thaksin detained in Thailand after returning from exile

 

The Associated Press

Published: February 28, 2008

 

BANGKOK, Thailand: Deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned Thursday from 17 months in exile to face corruption charges, saying he hopes to restore his reputation following his ouster in a coup. Police immediately took him into custody.

Thai authorities took the 58-year-old billionaire politician into custody after his arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on a Thai Airways flight from Hong Kong, said police Maj. Gen. Thaweesak Toochinda, the head of airport immigration police.

Two arrest warrants were issued for Thaksin after the September 2006 coup that ousted him. He faces corruption charges in two separate cases that date to his time in office from 2001-2006 and could receive a maximum of 15 years in prison.

“I have to restore my reputation which has been tarnished by the coup,” he told reporters on the plane shortly before landing.

Thousands of supporters had gathered at Suvarnabhumi International Airport before dawn to await his return. They danced, beat drums, sang and carried signs reading “We love Thaksin.”

Surrounded by 40 followers before boarding the plane in Hong Kong, Thaksin told reporters, “I believe in the Thai justice system, especially the court system. Normally in justice systems everywhere, a person is innocent until proved guilty.”

He said that he was a “little bit” concerned about his security. But he added that there was little chance his return would spark violence.

“I used to say when I was prime minister that there were attempts to assassinate me. Normally I would have some concerns but I hope that everyone is thinking of national reconciliation and they will prepare (security measures) for me well,” he said.

Thaksin repeated his pledge to stay out of politics — something neither his fans nor foes believe.

“I’m finished,” he said.

He was traveling with two players of Britain’s Manchester City soccer club, which Thaksin owns. The players — goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and midfielder Kelvin Etuhu — said they planned to hold some soccer clinics with Thai children and work out with the national team.

Police Lt. Gen. Prung Bunpadung said about 1,000 police were being deployed at the airport, along Thaksin’s route of travel and places he is expected to visit during the day.

The former prime minister inspires fear and loathing among his critics, and his return could re-ignite the deep political divisions that led to his downfall.

“Thaksin will plunge the country into a greater crisis that people will not be able to tolerate any longer,” said former Bangkok governor and onetime Thaksin ally Chamlong Srimuang. He said Thaksin’s vow to stay out of politics was a “political game,” and that he has played a key behind-the-scenes role in Thai politics while in exile.

Officials said Thaksin would be escorted from the airport to the Supreme Court where he and his wife Pojaman face corruption and conflict of interest charges in connection with her purchase of prime Bangkok real estate from a state agency in 2003, while he was prime minister. Pojaman returned to Thailand in January and was released on bail pending trial.

Thaksin was also expected to ask for bail.

He was then to proceed to the Department of Special Investigations where he is charged with allegedly concealing ownership of shares in a family business.

Altogether, he could face up to 15 years in jail for the cases already in progress against him.

Thaksin has said the charges were cooked up by his political enemies.

Thaksin enjoys support among rural people, who appreciated his financial and social welfare policies. But he is deeply resented by the urban elite for his autocratic ways and allegedly mass corruption under his regime.

Some of his old opponents are threatening new protests against him. Months of strident anti-Thaksin demonstrations in Bangkok culminated in the Sept. 19, 2006, military coup that toppled him while he was abroad.

His return marks an impressive comeback. His London-based exile was eased by his fortune, earned in telecommunications, and he kept himself in the spotlight by buying Britain’s Manchester City soccer club.

The forces that helped unseat Thaksin — the military, Bangkok’s educated middle class and the country’s elite, including people associated with the country’s monarchy — worked hard to erase Thaksin’s political legacy.

They changed the constitution to limit big parties’ power and sought to demonize him as a corrupt destroyer of democracy, in addition to launching various criminal investigations.

But Thaksin’s path back was eased by the victory of a pro-Thaksin party in last December’s general elections, the first since the coup.

An uneasy truce awaits Thaksin

By Amy Kazmin

Published: February 28 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 28 2008 02:00

With loyalists to Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted former Thai prime minister, installed in power and Mr Thaksin himself poised to return to Thailand today after 17 months in exile, the Thai military has shuffled quietly off the political stage after what might appear to be an ignominious defeat.

Yet far from retreating to the barracks empty-handed, Thailand’s army has claimed some significant prizes from its political adventurism, including a more than 50 per cent increase in its budget, enhanced powers and greater autonomy.

The opposing military and political sides have exhibited restraint but tensions remain. As does the personal hostility between Mr Thaksin and those who drove him from power - which could flare up and be exacerbated by his return.

“These two can box well and can be quite lethal, but are not willing to confront each other yet,” says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a security and defence expert at Chulalongkorn University. “But it’s a matter of time.”

Mr Thaksin, who made no secret of his desire to return home, and General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, the army chief who led the coup, have in recent weeks struck highly conciliatory tones about burying the past.

After his loyalists in the People’s Power party won the December elections, Mr Thaksin said he would play golf with those who ousted him to show he harboured no grudge, while Gen Sonthi declared his “brotherhood” with Mr Thaksin intact.

Whatever the true state of relations between the two, Sunai Phasuk, a Human Rights Watch political analyst, says he believes Thailand’s vying powers have reached a “super deal” to ensure at least short-term political stability.

Upon his return, Mr Thaksin is first expected to plead not guilty to corruption charges against him. Any plans he has to tour the country could prove provocative and irritate the army.

Mr Sunai predicts that the elected administration will yield to the military in an upcoming reshuffle of senior officers, rather than promote Thaksin loyalists, while the army will take no action to undermine the government.

“All sides have come to their senses,” he says. “What we will see is a practical collusion between the rival powers, with an aim to prevent another coup, and secure stability for a year, or year-and-a-half.”

Samak Sundaravej, the new prime minister, was handpicked by Mr Thaksin as PPP leader but he is an old conservative who has cordial relations with the army as a whole. “He was chosen by Thaksin to serve as a solid bridge between the PPP leadership and the old establishment,” Mr Sunai says. “He will not be the one to rock the boat.”

Mr Samak, analysts say, is unlikely to tamper with a new internal security law, which gives the army strong powers, or a law passed just before the handover that gives army leaders greater autonomy than the 1997 constitution, which put the elected administration in charge of army promotions.

While Mr Samak might avoid any challenge to military prerogatives for the time being, many unresolved issues, including civilian control over the army and national security, are likely to re-emerge in the future.

“Security forces should be controlled by elected representatives . . .but for now, they are quite independent,” says Mr Panitan. “With the democratisation process, it’s inevitable that the civilian and military will have to confront each other again. But whether it is violent or not is a different issue; it could be peaceful.”

Chaturon Chaiseng, a former deputy prime minister, banned from politics for five years after the recent coup, says it is not just attacks on army prerogatives that could trigger military intervention.

Thai society remains deeply divided and the country’s influential elites are still vehemently antipathetic towards Mr Thaksin. Mr Chaturon says the army - steeped in the notion it must protect the nation from corrupt politicians - could again step into politics.

Supporters and critics ready as Thaksin returns to Thailand

 

Thaksin Shinawatra at the Thai foreign ministry. Photograph: Barbara Walton

Seventeen months after Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed in a bloodless military coup, the former Thai prime minister is preparing to make a triumphal return from self-imposed exile early this morning.

Thaksin - who in the intervening time bought up Manchester City football club - is due to step off a Thai International Airways flight from Hong Kong shortly before 10am to be greeted by faithful followers and government ministers.

The 58-year-old billionaire tycoon, who has spent most of his exile in London, will also be met at Bangkok’s international airport by Thai police, who are due to serve an arrest warrant on corruption charges.

Thaksin reiterated his pledge to quit politics for good hours before his return. “I’ve had enough,” he said. “The country has returned to democracy, so I want to go home … I miss my motherland.”

However, opponents of the divisive former prime minister, who still commands fierce loyalty among the rural poor, fear his return could propel the country into fresh uncertainty as Thaksin vies with his proxy, the prime minister Samak Sundaravej.

But Thailand’s royalist-military elite, which staged the September 2006 coup to get rid of Thaksin while he visited the UN in New York, remains chastened by the experience of watching its popularity evaporate. The government drifted and its anointed party took a drubbing in last December’s polls when the People Power party, the successor to Thaksin’s disbanded Thai Rak Thai party, took charge of a six-party coalition.

The widely rumoured corruption allegations used as the imperative for bringing down Thaksin failed to materialise in any significant way despite an exhaustive inquiry by government committees.

Loyalists envisage a tumultuous homecoming with crowds of up to 10,000 supporters expected. But Rakkiat Wattapong, the supreme court secretary general, said Thaksin would be arrested on arrival on a warrant issued last September. Thaksin’s chief legal adviser, Pichit Chuenban, said he would surrender and seek bail.

Thaksin is jointly charged with his wife, Pojaman, who returned in January. Both face up to 13 years in jail over corruption charges relating to Pojaman’s purchase of a piece of Bangkok land at a favourable price from a government agency while Thaksin was in office. It is the only charge to be brought so far, but the couple could also face allegations over fraudulent filings to Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission over the 2003 listing of a property company.

Samak, who openly campaigned as Thaksin’s proxy, has played a cautious game, welcoming Thaksin’s return but warning activists not to take to the streets. But political analysts fear that Thaksin’s return will see him drawn into the mire of Thailand’s murky powerbroking.

“We will have two prime ministers working at the same time - one officially and the other unofficially,” said analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak.

Thailand Braces for Thaksin’s Return

By HANNAH BEECH/BANGKOK

Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008

A supporter of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at a rally in Bangkok, June 11, 2007

When Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport opened in September 2006, the gleaming structure was supposed to serve as the triumphant showpiece of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s rule in Thailand. Plans for the new airport had been mulled over for decades, but only the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician appeared to have the wherewithal to get the project finished. One small problem: Nine days before Suvarnabhumi opened for flights, Thaksin was deposed in a bloodless military coup.

 

On Thursday the former PM, who has been living in self-imposed exile for the past 17 months, is expected to finally return home — landing at the very airport whose inauguration he was unable to attend. Upon his return to Bangkok, however, the 58-year-old Thaksin must face charges of corruption and abuse of power and will likely head to court to request bail soon after his arrival. (Thaksin’s wife, who also faces criminal charges, did the same when she returned home last month.) The legal troubles aren’t Thaksin’s only woes: Local authorities have frozen an estimated $1.9 billion his family made from selling its stake in a Thai telecom firm to a Singaporean conglomerate. And while some of Thaksin’s former allies have clawed their way back into power, recent political missteps and a vote-buying scandal threaten to undermine what stability has returned since the military junta allowed for general elections last December.

While the junta dissolved the former PM’s political party, Thai Rak Thai (TRT), and banned over a hundred of its senior officials from politics for five years, Thaksin has remained a powerful political force. In December, the People’s Power Party — widely seen as a proxy for the disbanded TRT — won the most seats in the post-coup polls. Earlier this month the PPP’s coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, unveiled a cabinet chock-full of Thaksin loyalists: the Foreign Minister is Thaksin’s former lawyer and spokesman, while his brother-in-law has been named Education Minister. On Tuesday, Samak, whose government reinstated a diplomatic passport to Thaksin that the military junta had taken away, characterized his predecessor’s imminent return as “a good thing.”

But just weeks into its tenure, the PPP-led government is embroiled in controversy. Samak, a 72-year-old right-wing politician and former Bangkok governor, outraged many Thais when he insisted in a couple of recent interviews that only one person had been killed during a military massacre of leftist students in 1976. Considered Thailand’s Tiananmen, the crackdown resulted in at least 46 deaths according to official records; many former activists blame Samak for fanning the flames of anti-Communist sentiment that provided ideological cover for the bloodbath. Then, on Tuesday, Thailand’s election commission found PPP deputy leader and parliamentary speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat guilty of bribing local officials to campaign for the party prior to last December’s polls, charges that he denies. The ruling could eventually lead to the entire party being dissolved because Thai electoral law states that if a top party official is convicted of an electoral crime, the party itself could be disbanded.

With the PPP’s survival at stake, Samak called an emergency meeting of party leaders on Tuesday; meanwhile, some rural Thais, who are among Thaksin’s most faithful supporters, took the day off to celebrate their hero’s anticipated arrival. Last weekend, one fan group, called the Thaksin Loyalists’ Club, organized a “We Miss Thaksin” day in the northern city of Chiang Rai that was attended by hundreds of people. Hats and pins emblazoned with Thaksin’s face were passed out, while some supporters choked back tears. Another support group promised to hold a lavish welcome-home ceremony in Thaksin’s hometown, Chiang Mai.

But anti-Thaksin forces have promised to flood the streets, too. Hundreds of thousands of Thais rallied in Bangkok in the summer of 2006 to call for Thaksin’s resignation, furious over his family’s tax-free windfall from the sale of its telecom stake and the perception that Thaksin was burnishing his reputation at the expense of Thailand’s revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Now, with Thaksin’s planned return, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) — a coalition of mostly middle- and upper-class Bangkok residents — promises to agitate on the streets once more. On Monday, one PAD leader described Thailand’s current pro-Thaksin ruling coalition as “the ugliest government in history.”

In response, PPP representative Pracha Prasopdee boasted that the ruling party would mobilize 10 million supporters to overwhelm any anti-Thaksin protests. The ex-PM’s flight is expected to land at Suvarnabhumi Airport around nine in the morning — a lucky number in Thailand, as one pro-Thaksin website noted. But with thousands of people threatening to spill on to the streets, both in support and condemnation of Thailand’s most polarizing political figure, the hours after his arrival may not feel quite as auspicious.