LAOS: Former Thai Prime Minister visits Vientiane, near the border of Thailand, greeting supporters, as legal moves to bring him home a free man gather steam in Thailand's parliament

Record ID: 572986

  • Title: LAOS: Former Thai Prime Minister visits Vientiane, near the border of Thailand, greeting supporters, as legal moves to bring him home a free man gather steam in Thailand's parliament
  • Date: 13th April 2012
  • Summary: VIENTIANE, LAOS (APRIL 12, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF TAT-LUANG TEMPLE CARS ARRIVING AMONGST RED SHIRT SUPPORTERS RED SHIRT SUPPORTERS CHEERING VARIOUS OF THAKSIN BEING GREETED BY SUPPORTERS SUPPORTERS THAKSIN SPEAKING ON MEGAPHONE THAKSIN WALKING INTO TEMPLE (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) 82-YEAR-OLD THAKSIN SUPPORTER FROM UDON THANI, BOONSRI MADLIEM, SAYING: "It's not fair for him to live in exile. He's Thai and I want him to return to Thailand. He has the right to return to Thailand because he didn't do anything wrong and he helps a lot of people." PEOPLE LISTENING TO MONK PRAYING THAKSIN LIGHTING CANDLE MONK HOLDING HOLY STRING VARIOUS OF THAKSIN DURING CEREMONY SUPPORTERS WALKING IN FRONT OF TEMPLE
  • Embargoed: 28th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • Country: Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA155U6UND7015S3HDQUSO5IYXN
  • Story Text: Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra took some small but symbolic steps towards the fringes of his homeland on Wednesday (April 11), after five years in self-exile and at the heart of a bitter and bloody power struggle.
    The tycoon arrived on his personal jet in the Lao capital Vientiane and waited seven hours before greeting a crowd of 1,000 of his cheering "red shirt" supporters, who crossed the nearby border to greet the populist hero as legal moves to bring him home a free man gather steam in Thailand's parliament.
    "I want to pray and meet my supporters who I haven't met for a while, so I'm there to meet them. Some people are concerned about my health, there are many rumours," said former Prime Minister, referring to the cancer rumours that swirled a few years back.
    With his 44-year-old sister Yingluck Shinawatra installed as prime minister and backed by three-fifths of parliament, Thaksin's return, whitewashed of his graft conviction, is looking increasingly likely, but could be anything but smooth.
    But while his homecoming might unnerve his powerful and uncompromising enemies among the military and establishment elite who might try to thwart him, those who elected him in 2001 and 2005 landslides are counting down the days.
    On Thursday (April 12), around 800 red shirt supporters gathered in Tat Luang temple, with many hoping for his return.
    "It's not fair for him to live in exile. He's Thai and I want him to return to Thailand. He has the right to return to Thailand because he didn't do anything wrong and he helps a lot of people," said Boonsri Madliem, an 82-year-old supporter from Thailand's Udon-Thani province.
    Thaksin's visit to Vientiane, just 20 km (12 miles) from Thai soil, is the closest he has been to home since fleeing into exile for a second time in August 2008.
    He was evading a two-year jail term for a conflict of interest case levelled by graft-busters appointed by the military junta that toppled him in a 2006 coup.
    He pleads innocence and insists he wants to stay out of the limelight and has no political ambitions.
    Commentators see trouble brewing and warn of a return of devastating "yellow shirt" street protests or even a coup if Yingluck's "parliamentary dictatorship" - as the anti-Thaksin camp calls it - moves to rescue the multi-millionaire.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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