Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Potjaman Shinawatra (back) wade through an army of photographers at the criminal court in Bangkok July 31, 2008. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang- Thaksin claims family received death threats
- Fears for Manchester City as tycoon's assets frozen
Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok and Duncan Campbell
The Guardian (UK)
The former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra skipped bail yesterday and fled to exile in Britain, claiming he could not expect a fair trial on corruption charges because of political interference.
Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, who was sentenced to three years in prison two weeks ago for fraud, said they flew to Britain because they had received "death threats" in Thailand.
Rumours were rife that the couple would flee after Pojaman, 51, was convicted of evading millions of pounds in taxes in connection with a 1997 shares transfer deal. But family aides had scotched the suggestion.
Immediately after Pojaman was sentenced, along with her stepbrother, Bhanapot Damapong, and former secretary, Kanchanpana Honghern, on July 31, Thaksin left for a speaking engagement in Japan before travelling to China for the Olympics opening ceremony. Last Thursday the trio boarded a flight for Beijing to meet Thaksin.
But when Thaksin and his wife, who were due to appear before the supreme court in Bangkok, failed to return to Thailand arrest warrants were issued and the court ordered the forfeiture of £195,000 bail bond. The tycoon's son Phantongtae and daughters Pinthongta and Paethontan, also face corruption allegations.
In a handwritten statement faxed from London and read on Thai state television, Thaksin, 59, said he travelled to Britain rather than board a flight he had booked to take him back to Bangkok on Sunday. No mention was made of seeking political asylum in Britain.
The tycoon, who held office for five years, said he would remain in Britain indefinitely, but hoped that he would be able to return to his homeland one day. "My wife and I have travelled to reside in England," he said in the statement.
"If I still have luck, I would come back to die on Thai soil like every other Thai person. What happened to my family is like fruit from a poisonous tree - the fruit will also be poisoned.
"There is a continuation of dictatorship managing Thai politics ... which is followed by interference in the justice system. These are my political enemies.
They do not care about the rule of law, facts or internationally recognised due process," he added. Thaksin lived in exile in Britain for two years after he was ousted in a 2006 military coup. He returned to Thailand this year to face corruption charges against him after his political allies won new elections and formed a coalition government.
But just five months after returning to a hero's welcome, Thaksin railed against the Thai judicial system that he said was stacked against him, despite his allies in the People Power party winning the election in December.
The swift action against the pair yesterday suggested that almost £1bn of Thaksin's assets frozen in Thai bank accounts could be at risk, though he is believed to have significant funds salted away in banks outside the country.
Chris Baker, Thaksin's biographer and a political analyst, said of the statement: "Clearly Thaksin is very angry by the way things have turned out. He is obviously extremely emotional. There's a fighting tone; he's not given up completely."
But after Pojaman's conviction Baker said the writing was on the wall for the former leader. He said Thaksin did not want to take any chances with the verdict of a corruption case about an allegedly dubious land deal, due in September, because the verdict, for which there would be no appeal, would be decided by the supreme court.
The arrival in London of the telecoms tycoon could present the British government with a diplomatic dilemma. Thailand has had an extradition agreement with the UK since a 1911 bilateral treaty.
The Thai authorities could apply to have their former prime minister extradited, although it would be a lengthy procedure and one which Thaksin would resist on the grounds that the judiciary were allegedly leading a witch-hunt against him.
The legal proceedings also raised questions about the tycoon's ownership of Manchester City football club and what effect his departure may have on his financing of it.
Thaksin bought Manchester City for £81.6m during his 17-month exile in the UK. It is thought that the Premier League must now ascertain whether he remains a "fit and proper person" to run the club.
Fans have also questioned whether the tycoon's latest move and the freezing of his assets could put in jeopardy the funds he had hoped to make available for the purchase of new players.
The club, which kicks off its premiership season this weekend, declined to comment on Thaksin's status yesterday.
Backstory
Thaksin Shinawatra, 59, a former policeman from Chiang Mai who made a fortune in telecoms, was the first Thai prime minister to win two terms of office. He went into politics in 1994, becoming foreign minister, and then founded the Thai Rak Thai party in 1998. He became premier in 2001 backed by the rural poor but soon faced allegations of authoritarianism and corruption. He was ousted by the army in a bloodless coup in 2006. After refusing to face trial, he sought exile in Britain and bought Manchester City football club. Vowing to clear his name, he returned to Thailand but fled after his wife was sentenced for tax evasion.
Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, who was sentenced to three years in prison two weeks ago for fraud, said they flew to Britain because they had received "death threats" in Thailand.
Rumours were rife that the couple would flee after Pojaman, 51, was convicted of evading millions of pounds in taxes in connection with a 1997 shares transfer deal. But family aides had scotched the suggestion.
Immediately after Pojaman was sentenced, along with her stepbrother, Bhanapot Damapong, and former secretary, Kanchanpana Honghern, on July 31, Thaksin left for a speaking engagement in Japan before travelling to China for the Olympics opening ceremony. Last Thursday the trio boarded a flight for Beijing to meet Thaksin.
But when Thaksin and his wife, who were due to appear before the supreme court in Bangkok, failed to return to Thailand arrest warrants were issued and the court ordered the forfeiture of £195,000 bail bond. The tycoon's son Phantongtae and daughters Pinthongta and Paethontan, also face corruption allegations.
In a handwritten statement faxed from London and read on Thai state television, Thaksin, 59, said he travelled to Britain rather than board a flight he had booked to take him back to Bangkok on Sunday. No mention was made of seeking political asylum in Britain.
The tycoon, who held office for five years, said he would remain in Britain indefinitely, but hoped that he would be able to return to his homeland one day. "My wife and I have travelled to reside in England," he said in the statement.
"If I still have luck, I would come back to die on Thai soil like every other Thai person. What happened to my family is like fruit from a poisonous tree - the fruit will also be poisoned.
"There is a continuation of dictatorship managing Thai politics ... which is followed by interference in the justice system. These are my political enemies.
They do not care about the rule of law, facts or internationally recognised due process," he added. Thaksin lived in exile in Britain for two years after he was ousted in a 2006 military coup. He returned to Thailand this year to face corruption charges against him after his political allies won new elections and formed a coalition government.
But just five months after returning to a hero's welcome, Thaksin railed against the Thai judicial system that he said was stacked against him, despite his allies in the People Power party winning the election in December.
The swift action against the pair yesterday suggested that almost £1bn of Thaksin's assets frozen in Thai bank accounts could be at risk, though he is believed to have significant funds salted away in banks outside the country.
Chris Baker, Thaksin's biographer and a political analyst, said of the statement: "Clearly Thaksin is very angry by the way things have turned out. He is obviously extremely emotional. There's a fighting tone; he's not given up completely."
But after Pojaman's conviction Baker said the writing was on the wall for the former leader. He said Thaksin did not want to take any chances with the verdict of a corruption case about an allegedly dubious land deal, due in September, because the verdict, for which there would be no appeal, would be decided by the supreme court.
The arrival in London of the telecoms tycoon could present the British government with a diplomatic dilemma. Thailand has had an extradition agreement with the UK since a 1911 bilateral treaty.
The Thai authorities could apply to have their former prime minister extradited, although it would be a lengthy procedure and one which Thaksin would resist on the grounds that the judiciary were allegedly leading a witch-hunt against him.
The legal proceedings also raised questions about the tycoon's ownership of Manchester City football club and what effect his departure may have on his financing of it.
Thaksin bought Manchester City for £81.6m during his 17-month exile in the UK. It is thought that the Premier League must now ascertain whether he remains a "fit and proper person" to run the club.
Fans have also questioned whether the tycoon's latest move and the freezing of his assets could put in jeopardy the funds he had hoped to make available for the purchase of new players.
The club, which kicks off its premiership season this weekend, declined to comment on Thaksin's status yesterday.
Backstory
Thaksin Shinawatra, 59, a former policeman from Chiang Mai who made a fortune in telecoms, was the first Thai prime minister to win two terms of office. He went into politics in 1994, becoming foreign minister, and then founded the Thai Rak Thai party in 1998. He became premier in 2001 backed by the rural poor but soon faced allegations of authoritarianism and corruption. He was ousted by the army in a bloodless coup in 2006. After refusing to face trial, he sought exile in Britain and bought Manchester City football club. Vowing to clear his name, he returned to Thailand but fled after his wife was sentenced for tax evasion.
22 comments:
no coup in Thailand would succeed without the approval from Phumibol Adulyaday.
Phumeatballs Adulyaday keeps power for all his family.
Why don't he ask his buddy HUN SeN for help?
LOL, you think he would trust HUN SEN?
Noway!!
What kind of this man? As he is a good friend of Hun Sen, therefore, Huen Sen is the same kind of bad guy like Thaksin.
Ah Hun will be next but no country will let him in only HELL welcome this bastard.
Hun Sen won't go and can't go anywhere because He is true Khmer without multiple citizienship coward bastard like Sam Rainsy who would flee faster than a bullet when his life is in danger or supposedly lol. Is that what you call patriot? Someone who would flee like a coward? A real patriot is the one that stays with Khmer through and good and bad times. Sam Rainsy will only be with you idiots through the good times. When things get tough, his ass would be on flight back to France lol.
10:29 AM
Stop it. So tragical. Brings tears to my eyes.
Snif, snif.
Dear Khmer Poster
Toh yoeung niyeay khmer kom ouy pouk siem deung chea piseh pel yoeung che khmer knea eng. heiy yoeung niyeay english pel yoeung sor sei khmer and pel che siem only.
Example: Fuck Siem! Good Khmer! but me dek noim yoeung yab dal heiy. Oun kbal oiy siem choin.
soum meta kit mel tao.
General Dy
Hun Sen a patriot???
Hmmmm...
Here is a translation for General Dy above... Hell is waiting for all thais who do bad thing to Khmer.
Dear General Dy
kgnom koim tro. kom oiy siem meil ngiay khmer. hey young chei siem oiy klaing klaing.
Guide Siem reap
General Dy
Kgnom ok. Our troop is very brave and alway hungry to kill all thai army from our soil. but Hun xen yab choy mray heiy. mindeng vea chang twe eiy.
poi pet.
10:29am!
Because the fucking court in Cambodia is not independence and it belong to CPP that why Mr SAM RAINSY has to get aways from it .If the court is neutral and not biased,Mr SAM RAINBSY will not flinch and you can bet your life on that.Same thing if this court is biased toward SRP, your fucking one eye P.M will also flee faster than bullet too.
11:19 AM , LOL , that absolutely right , HUN SEN is patriot ?? , SUCK my dick after I finish fucking YOUNS whores you stupit 10:29am .
The coup that ousted PM Thaksin was signaled from Washington. The PAD's neo-Nazis was just created to terrorize every one whom they may see as powerful or causes threat to them.
All behind by the dictator King in Thailand.
Hun Sen can let Thaksin stay but Bhumibol has more money than Hun Sen, and Khmers are too corrupted, Hun Sen cannot protect his friend Thaksin.
Bhumibol and his family especially his only son is a criminal, he killed many, but as we know they have power.
Bhumibol's wife is too powerful.../
The Thaksins will be protected by China. Don't worry about them just like China protects King Father from the Viet strong military who tried to assassinate him.
Thaksin is a pro-China and the money he used to do the business was from China to invest in Cambodia as to watch the US who built a giant embassy in Cambodia for China and to break the US from South East Region.
Hun Sen may be told by Hanoi to let Thaksin do the business because Hanoi wants to know China how far she goes.
China has always wanted to take Vietnam, but Vietnam has a huge and strong military who hold Hun Sen on the throat, and today China prefers to make war with the business instead of bringing war that may cause more lives. Besides China also wants to do the business with the US.
People in the region, stop insulting but concentrating with the unity, and build the country. The Community leaders need to help the former gangnsters and Khmer teen pregnacy to go to school to be educated people.
Blaming on Hun Sen alone is not working, because Hun Sen too can be killed by Hanoi any time.
Hanoi has 4 million army, please use your brain wisely. Talking too much crap in here is bringing only pain to all Khmers.
" Your Languague/Speech reflex your bahaviour, Moral, Culture, experiences and level of education.... and your family's as well..."
12:50 PM
Thaksin can not compare to our beloved king father. no use for China to protect him.
When will this country learn to adopt fairness and law as judgement tools but not beautiful words or bullshits barking just confuse peopel so that those barking people can legitimate their actions????
You are smart and believe me folks those bad people can bark and produce millions of bullshits and nonsense to hide the facts behind, and the only way to beat them is to convey the real news and real happening to all low-educated cambodians. We here can understand the cunning methods of the so-called intellectuals, but not people at the countryside and people living in hand-to-mouth situation.
Cut and paste the real news, the real happening and forward to the khmers everywhere and do not forget to compromise level of complexity; this way all the so-called talking bullshit intellectuals cannot forge the news anymore!!!!!!
Do not let them confuse and distract people from the real happening!!
Hun Sen will be the next guy to be prosecuted for trial of hiring hitman to kill Chea Vichea, Pisith Polika, Touch Sreynitch etc..
HUN SEN going down, cause there is a prediction that HUN SEN will be hung.
Hun Sen won't go down any time soon, as long as more investors come to invest in Cambodia, more people have jobs and have better life. Don't have a high hope on prosecuting Hun Sen. Building the community and help those Khmer teen gangsters to stop being deported. Many teen girls having babies with no father, and some are in gangs. Please build our community and go step by step.
We cannot get all everything at one time.
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