Thai junta ‘not concerned’ about ousted PM Thaksin’s Asia tour
The Shinawatras have dominated Thai politics for nearly two decades and wield significant clout
Thailand is not concerned about the movement of fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister, also an ousted former leader, after recent visits by the pair to several Asian cities and meetings with members of their party.
The Shinawatras have dominated Thai politics for nearly two decades and wield significant influence through allies and relatives despite both living in self-exile. They are likely to be a significant factor in a general election the junta has promised for November.
Critics say the military, which took power in a 2014 coup that removed Yingluck Shinawatra’s government, wants to end the family’s political influence — something that is reflected in a new, militarybacked charter, party laws and restrictions on political parties.
Thaksin and Yingluck visited China and Japan this month and met at least 30 members of parliament from their Puea Thai party in Hong Kong on the weekend, party members said after returning to Thailand.
The two were spotted in a Singapore hotel on Tuesday, meeting a group of unidentified men, and were in the city state yesterday, party sources said, adding they were having “business meetings”.
Political observers say their Asia tour is a sign that their party is gearing up for the election.
A spokesman for the junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order, said it was not focused on the two Shinawatras. “Monitoring those who have an arrest warrant is the job of relevant agencies. We are not concerned about this,” the spokesman, Piyapong Klinpan, told Reuters.
Former telecommunications tycoon Thaksin was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 when he was overthrown in a military coup supported by the Bangkok-based establishment.
He left Thailand in 2008, shortly before a court convicted him of corruption and sentenced him to a two-year jail term. He said the conviction was politically motivated.
Yingluck was elected prime minister in 2011 but was forced from office by a 2014 court ruling, shortly before the military ousted her government.