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Thaksin demands fresh resistance
Thaksin demands fresh resistance
The protesters want the government to resign and call elections
Thailand's ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has addressed a big crowd of supporters in Bangkok by telephone, urging them to continue protesting.
The crowd cheered as Mr Thaksin, who lives in exile in Dubai, criticised the policies of the current government.
He complained of being lonely and told the crowd not to leave him "dying in the desert", promising to "work for the people" if he could return.
Police estimated more than 25,000 were at the rally - the largest since April.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called a state of emergency in April as the rallies by red-shirted protesters threatened to destabilise his government.
The protest leaders eventually called off their action after days of rioting and clashes with security forces left at least two people dead and more than 100 injured.
'Loathing injustice'
Mr Thaksin told his supporters they had gathered because they wanted to see "true democracy".
Royalists saw Mr Thaksin's popularity as a threat to the monarchy
"We loathe injustice. We loathe double standards. We're here to say if you want us to stop, then return justice and true democracy," he said.
To roars of approval, he said the current government was good for three things: "Borrowing, hiking taxes and hounding Thaksin."
He also entertained the crowd with songs, and begged them to find a way for him to return to Thailand.
"Why do you have to leave me dying in the desert when I can work for our country?" he said.
"I'm a grateful person. When I'm back, I'll work for the people right away."
Mr Thaksin has spent much of his time abroad since he was deposed in a military coup in 2006.
He was convicted of corruption in 2008 - a prosecution he says was politically motivated - and faces jail if he returns to Thailand.
Yellow vs red
Mr Abhisit came to power last December after previous Thaksin-supporting governments were brought down by a concerted street protest by yellow-shirted demonstrators.
He was eventually chosen as leader after several MPs who had previously backed Mr Thaksin were persuaded to change sides.
Analysts say the rift in Thai society - symbolised by the red and yellow shirts - remains strong.
Many Thais in rural areas support Mr Thaksin and ally themselves with the red-shirt cause.
The "yellow shirts" draw their support from Bangkok's urban elite, the middle classes and the conservative royalists.
The protesters want the government to resign and call elections
Thailand's ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has addressed a big crowd of supporters in Bangkok by telephone, urging them to continue protesting.
The crowd cheered as Mr Thaksin, who lives in exile in Dubai, criticised the policies of the current government.
He complained of being lonely and told the crowd not to leave him "dying in the desert", promising to "work for the people" if he could return.
Police estimated more than 25,000 were at the rally - the largest since April.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called a state of emergency in April as the rallies by red-shirted protesters threatened to destabilise his government.
The protest leaders eventually called off their action after days of rioting and clashes with security forces left at least two people dead and more than 100 injured.
'Loathing injustice'
Mr Thaksin told his supporters they had gathered because they wanted to see "true democracy".
Royalists saw Mr Thaksin's popularity as a threat to the monarchy
"We loathe injustice. We loathe double standards. We're here to say if you want us to stop, then return justice and true democracy," he said.
To roars of approval, he said the current government was good for three things: "Borrowing, hiking taxes and hounding Thaksin."
He also entertained the crowd with songs, and begged them to find a way for him to return to Thailand.
"Why do you have to leave me dying in the desert when I can work for our country?" he said.
"I'm a grateful person. When I'm back, I'll work for the people right away."
Mr Thaksin has spent much of his time abroad since he was deposed in a military coup in 2006.
He was convicted of corruption in 2008 - a prosecution he says was politically motivated - and faces jail if he returns to Thailand.
Yellow vs red
Mr Abhisit came to power last December after previous Thaksin-supporting governments were brought down by a concerted street protest by yellow-shirted demonstrators.
He was eventually chosen as leader after several MPs who had previously backed Mr Thaksin were persuaded to change sides.
Analysts say the rift in Thai society - symbolised by the red and yellow shirts - remains strong.
Many Thais in rural areas support Mr Thaksin and ally themselves with the red-shirt cause.
The "yellow shirts" draw their support from Bangkok's urban elite, the middle classes and the conservative royalists.
Profile: Thaksin Shinawatra
Profile: Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin has been convicted of corruption, but protests his innocenceThaksin Shinawatra is one of the most influential - and polarising - characters in Thai politics.
But for a while, at least, it seems he will not be going home.
A telecommunications billionaire, he was the first prime minister in Thailand's history to lead an elected government through a full term in office.
But after more than five years in power, he was ousted in a military coup in September 2006, accused of corruption and abuse of power.
Thaksin went to the UK and bought Manchester City football club.
When his allies won the first post-coup elections in late 2007, he returned to Thailand. There he and his family faced a raft of corruption charges - allegations which the former Thai leader probably expected to come to nothing.
But in July 2008 his wife Pojaman was sentenced to three years in jail for tax fraud, and now the Supreme Court has found Thaksin himself guilty of a corruption charge, sentencing him to two years' imprisonment.
The couple is in self-imposed exile in the UK, and say they plan to stay there indefinitely.
A "continuation of dictatorship" in Thai politics has led to "interference in the justice system", Thaksin has alleged.
Former policeman
Born in 1949 in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin started his career as a police officer.
In 1973, he received a government scholarship to study for a masters degree in criminal justice in the United States.
When he returned he went into business and during the late 1980s began building a successful telecommunications empire.
He founded the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party in 1998, and its rapid emergence transformed Thai politics.
Thaksin swept into office in 2001, soundly defeating the old guard from the Democrat Party.
Poorer voters liked his offers of cheap medical care and debt relief, his nationalist platform and his contempt for the "Bangkok elite".
The military took power while Thaksin was at the UN in New York
But big business also liked him for his CEO style of government and his "Thaksinomics" policies which created a new boom in the country where the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s began.
Thaksin also won support for his handling of the tsunami relief effort after the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster, which devastated parts of south-western Thailand.
Other things were not so easy. He had to face the fallout from his government's suppression of news of an outbreak of bird flu, as well as criticism over the violent deaths of more than 2,500 people during a crackdown on drugs in 2003.
Thailand's Corruption Commission found he had failed to declare all of his wealth, and he was also criticised over the government's handling of the upsurge in violence in the largely Muslim south.
Yet each time he faced pressure, Thaksin appeared to ride out the storm, his backing among his key supporters - Thailand's rural voters - apparently unscathed.
Political turmoil
It was his family's decision to sell its shares in one of Thailand's biggest telecom groups, Shin Corp, that led to Thaksin's downfall.
The early 2006 sale, which netted his family and friends $1.9bn, angered many urban Thais, who complained that the Thaksin family had avoided paying tax and passed control of an important national asset to Singaporean investors.
Amid large-scale street demonstrations, Thaksin called a snap general election for April 2006, effectively telling opponents to "put up or shut up".
But main opposition parties boycotted the polls and many voters chose to register a "no vote".
Faced with the threat of further protests, Thaksin said he would step down. He did for a few weeks, but returned to office in May.
In September, following months of political uncertainty, the military seized power while the prime minister was out of the country.
Thaksin relocated to the UK, where he invested in the premier league football club, Manchester City. But his popularity among Thailand's rural poor remained sky-high.
In the first post-coup polls, his allies won by far the most votes and formed a coalition government - paving the way for his return home.
This came in February 2008. Thaksin swore he had no wish to return to front-line politics, but his opponents did not believe him.
The courts - greatly empowered by a new military-backed constitution - pursued the cases against him and his family with new vigour.
Like his wife, Thaksin has now been sentenced to jail, so he is unlikely to want to return to Thailand any time soon.
Thaksin has been convicted of corruption, but protests his innocenceThaksin Shinawatra is one of the most influential - and polarising - characters in Thai politics.
But for a while, at least, it seems he will not be going home.
A telecommunications billionaire, he was the first prime minister in Thailand's history to lead an elected government through a full term in office.
But after more than five years in power, he was ousted in a military coup in September 2006, accused of corruption and abuse of power.
Thaksin went to the UK and bought Manchester City football club.
When his allies won the first post-coup elections in late 2007, he returned to Thailand. There he and his family faced a raft of corruption charges - allegations which the former Thai leader probably expected to come to nothing.
But in July 2008 his wife Pojaman was sentenced to three years in jail for tax fraud, and now the Supreme Court has found Thaksin himself guilty of a corruption charge, sentencing him to two years' imprisonment.
The couple is in self-imposed exile in the UK, and say they plan to stay there indefinitely.
A "continuation of dictatorship" in Thai politics has led to "interference in the justice system", Thaksin has alleged.
Former policeman
Born in 1949 in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin started his career as a police officer.
In 1973, he received a government scholarship to study for a masters degree in criminal justice in the United States.
When he returned he went into business and during the late 1980s began building a successful telecommunications empire.
He founded the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party in 1998, and its rapid emergence transformed Thai politics.
Thaksin swept into office in 2001, soundly defeating the old guard from the Democrat Party.
Poorer voters liked his offers of cheap medical care and debt relief, his nationalist platform and his contempt for the "Bangkok elite".
The military took power while Thaksin was at the UN in New York
But big business also liked him for his CEO style of government and his "Thaksinomics" policies which created a new boom in the country where the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s began.
Thaksin also won support for his handling of the tsunami relief effort after the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster, which devastated parts of south-western Thailand.
Other things were not so easy. He had to face the fallout from his government's suppression of news of an outbreak of bird flu, as well as criticism over the violent deaths of more than 2,500 people during a crackdown on drugs in 2003.
Thailand's Corruption Commission found he had failed to declare all of his wealth, and he was also criticised over the government's handling of the upsurge in violence in the largely Muslim south.
Yet each time he faced pressure, Thaksin appeared to ride out the storm, his backing among his key supporters - Thailand's rural voters - apparently unscathed.
Political turmoil
It was his family's decision to sell its shares in one of Thailand's biggest telecom groups, Shin Corp, that led to Thaksin's downfall.
The early 2006 sale, which netted his family and friends $1.9bn, angered many urban Thais, who complained that the Thaksin family had avoided paying tax and passed control of an important national asset to Singaporean investors.
Amid large-scale street demonstrations, Thaksin called a snap general election for April 2006, effectively telling opponents to "put up or shut up".
But main opposition parties boycotted the polls and many voters chose to register a "no vote".
Faced with the threat of further protests, Thaksin said he would step down. He did for a few weeks, but returned to office in May.
In September, following months of political uncertainty, the military seized power while the prime minister was out of the country.
Thaksin relocated to the UK, where he invested in the premier league football club, Manchester City. But his popularity among Thailand's rural poor remained sky-high.
In the first post-coup polls, his allies won by far the most votes and formed a coalition government - paving the way for his return home.
This came in February 2008. Thaksin swore he had no wish to return to front-line politics, but his opponents did not believe him.
The courts - greatly empowered by a new military-backed constitution - pursued the cases against him and his family with new vigour.
Like his wife, Thaksin has now been sentenced to jail, so he is unlikely to want to return to Thailand any time soon.
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra (help·info) (Thai: ทักษิณ ชินวัตร, IPA: [tʰáksǐn tɕʰinnawát]; Chinese: 丘達新; pinyin: Qiū Dáxīn, nicknamed Maew แม้ว by the media) (born July 26, 1949) is a Thai businessman who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was deposed in a military coup and convicted in absentia for a conflict of interest. He was born in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand and started his career in the police. He later became a successful telecom entrepreneur and one of the richest people in Thailand.
He entered politics in 1994 and founded the populist Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. After a landslide election victory in 2001, he became prime minister, the country’s first to serve a full term.[4] Thaksin introduced a range of partly effective and highly popular policies to alleviate rural poverty.[5][6] He launched the country's first universal healthcare program,[7] the 30-baht scheme, as well as drastic social order and drug suppression campaigns.[8]
His re-election in 2005 had the highest voter turnout in Thai history. [9][10][11] His main support base is in the north and northeast of Thailand.
The Shinawatra government also faced allegations of corruption, authoritarianism, treason, conflicts of interest, acting non-diplomatically, and muzzling of the press.[12] Thaksin was accused of tax evasion, lèse majesté and selling national assets to international investors. [13][14] Independent bodies, including Amnesty International, criticized Thaksin's human rights record.
Massive protests occurred in 2006, and on 19 September 2006 a military junta overthrew Thaksin's government in a bloodless coup while he was abroad. The CNS-appointed constitutional tribunal dissolved the Thai Rak Thai party for electoral fraud, banning him and TRT's executives from politics for five years.[15] The CNS-appointed Assets Examination Committee froze 76 billion baht ($2.2 billion) of his assets in Thailand, claiming he had become unusually wealthy while in office.[16][17] Thaksin and his family have declared assets totaling 15.1 billion baht when he took office in 2001.[18] To date, no legal judgments have yet been made about his wealth.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on 28 February 2008, after the TRT's successor party won the post-coup elections.[19] But after visiting Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics, he did not return to hear charges and applied for asylum in the United Kingdom. In October, the Supreme Court found him guilty of a conflict of interest and sentenced him in absentia to 2 years in jail.[20] In late 2008, Arabian Business reported after an exclusive interview that the UK froze $4.2 billion of his assets in the UK. However, the UK government has not confirmed or denied this claim.[21]
In April 2009, Thaksin supported anti-government protests by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship in their 2009 protests against the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, demanding true democracy.[22] Following violent clashes between the UDD and military forces in April 2009, Thaksin's passport was revoked.[23][24][25] Thaksin denied leading the UDD, claiming he only gave them "moral support."[26]
Thaksin married Potjaman Damapong in 1980. They have one son, Panthongtae and two daughters, Pintongtha and Peathongtarn. They divorced in 2008.
He entered politics in 1994 and founded the populist Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. After a landslide election victory in 2001, he became prime minister, the country’s first to serve a full term.[4] Thaksin introduced a range of partly effective and highly popular policies to alleviate rural poverty.[5][6] He launched the country's first universal healthcare program,[7] the 30-baht scheme, as well as drastic social order and drug suppression campaigns.[8]
His re-election in 2005 had the highest voter turnout in Thai history. [9][10][11] His main support base is in the north and northeast of Thailand.
The Shinawatra government also faced allegations of corruption, authoritarianism, treason, conflicts of interest, acting non-diplomatically, and muzzling of the press.[12] Thaksin was accused of tax evasion, lèse majesté and selling national assets to international investors. [13][14] Independent bodies, including Amnesty International, criticized Thaksin's human rights record.
Massive protests occurred in 2006, and on 19 September 2006 a military junta overthrew Thaksin's government in a bloodless coup while he was abroad. The CNS-appointed constitutional tribunal dissolved the Thai Rak Thai party for electoral fraud, banning him and TRT's executives from politics for five years.[15] The CNS-appointed Assets Examination Committee froze 76 billion baht ($2.2 billion) of his assets in Thailand, claiming he had become unusually wealthy while in office.[16][17] Thaksin and his family have declared assets totaling 15.1 billion baht when he took office in 2001.[18] To date, no legal judgments have yet been made about his wealth.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on 28 February 2008, after the TRT's successor party won the post-coup elections.[19] But after visiting Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics, he did not return to hear charges and applied for asylum in the United Kingdom. In October, the Supreme Court found him guilty of a conflict of interest and sentenced him in absentia to 2 years in jail.[20] In late 2008, Arabian Business reported after an exclusive interview that the UK froze $4.2 billion of his assets in the UK. However, the UK government has not confirmed or denied this claim.[21]
In April 2009, Thaksin supported anti-government protests by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship in their 2009 protests against the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, demanding true democracy.[22] Following violent clashes between the UDD and military forces in April 2009, Thaksin's passport was revoked.[23][24][25] Thaksin denied leading the UDD, claiming he only gave them "moral support."[26]
Thaksin married Potjaman Damapong in 1980. They have one son, Panthongtae and two daughters, Pintongtha and Peathongtarn. They divorced in 2008.
CNN interview ousted Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra
CNN interview ousted Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra
SINGAPORE (CNN) -- CNN's Dan Rivers spoke to ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The following is a transcript of the interview. Rivers began by asking Shinawatra about his alleged involvement in New Year bombings in Bangkok. Shinawatra: It's...
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