Bangkok - Thousands of Thai protestors marched on the
British embassy in Bangkok Tuesday to demand Britain refuse asylum to
former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Pojaman, who
fled to London last week to escape pending corruption cases against
them.
About 2,000 protestors from the People's Alliance for Democracy, a
loose coalition of anti-Thaksin groups, stopped traffic on Ploenchit
Road, a major artery in central Bangkok, as they marched to the
embassy, where they shouted slogans and delivered a letter to the
ambassador.
'We, the People's Alliance for Democracy, feel that Thaksin and
his wife should return to Thailand to face the charges being brought
against them,' the letter said.
'Should they seek political asylum, any democratic country should
not allow them to ignore the law of Thailand,' it added.
Thaksin and Pojaman jumped bail August 11 when they refused to
return to Thailand from Beijing, where the former first couple had
been granted court permission to attend the opening ceremony of the
Olympic Games.
Instead of flying to Bangkok, the couple boarded a plane for
London on August 10, defying a court order that they return to the
kingdom to face charges of abuse of power in a land purchase deal in
2003 when Thaksin was prime minister.
Thaksin, a billionaire former telecommunications tycoon who bought
the Manchester City football club in 2007 and owns properties in
London, has announced plans to live in England although he had not
yet officially sought asylum.
In a handwritten statement after his flight, Thaksin claimed his
life had been threatened and he was a victim of a biased judiciary in
Thailand, claims that might assist him in his search for political
asylum.
Thailand's Supreme Court has issued arrest warrants for Thaksin
and Pojaman, but Thailand has not yet sought their extradition.
Thaksin faced at least four corruption and abuse of power cases
from his controversial premiership while his wife was sentenced to
three years in prison on a tax evasion charge on July 31. Thaksin was
prime minister for two terms from 2001 to September 19, 2006, when he
was toppled by a military coup on charges of corruption, dividing the
nation and undermining democracy and the monarchy.
The Shinawatra's three children - son, Panthongtae, and daughters
Pinthongta and Paethongtan - have joined their parents in London.
Thaksin was in self-exile, mostly in London, for more than a year
after the coup and only returned to Thailand in February to face
several corruption charges.
A former policeman turned tycoon, Thaksin came to power on a
populist platform in 2001. He remains one of Thailand's most popular,
and controversial, political figures.
While Thaksin's populist policies won him the devotion of
Thailand's rural and urban poor, evidence of corruption and
self-serving policies during his increasingly monopolistic rule
turned the Bangkok-based middle class and political elite against him
in early 2006, ushering in his downfall at the hands of the army.
ObserverAug 19th, 2008 - 05:47:09
Thailand, stand up for yourself ! Don't allow a fugitive politician to be above the law by running away from facing justice, just because he has the money to do it. Insist the culprit be handed
over and face the justice that protects Thailand from plunderers such as the Taksins.
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