The Nation
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has no plan to travel to Cambodia during the upcoming New Year's festival, his legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said yesterday.
Noppadon dismissed as groundless news reports that the fugitive ex-premier would spend the festive New Year period in the neighbouring country.
"I asked Thaksin about this and he said that he would not travel to Cambodia during the New Year period. It was not a cancellation. He never had a schedule to go [to Cambodia at this time]," Noppadon said.
"Whoever planned to meet him in Cambodia, please be informed that you should cancel your plan," he said.
Thaksin will spend the festive period with his children in Europe, according to Noppadon.
In a related development, a red-shirt group announced yesterday that more than 8,700 "red shirt villages" have been set up over the past year and the number is expected to reach 30,000 by the end of next year.
Prasong Boonpong, chief adviser to the Federation of Red Shirt Villages for Democracy, held a press conference at a hotel in the northeastern province of Udon Thani to announce the latest developments and future plans for the group.
He said the first red-shirt village was set up in Udon Thani's Muang district on December 15, 2010. Now there are 8,702 such villages, with as many as 3,807,520 members, in all regions of the country, mostly in the Northeast.
The group plans to increase the number to 30,000 within 2012 in all districts of the country, according to Prasong, who also said red shirt villages would also be established in the three southernmost border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Court yesterday granted a request by red-shirt leader Yoswalit Chooklom's lawyer for a postponement of a court hearing on the list of witnesses and evidence provided by the defence.
The new schedule is February 27 next year. The lawyer, Winyat Chatmontri, told the court that he was busy with another case in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Yoswalit, a comedian whose stage name is Jeng Dokjik and who is now assistant secretary to the deputy interior minister, is accused of lese majeste in connection with his speech during a red-shirt protest in March 2010.
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