THAILAND: Thais closely watch former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, back from exile, for whether he'll stick to his vow to stay out of politics

Record ID: 784095

  • Title: THAILAND: Thais closely watch former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, back from exile, for whether he'll stick to his vow to stay out of politics
  • Date: 29th February 2008
  • Summary: (BN03) BANGKOK, THAILAND (FEBRUARY 29, 2008) (REUTERS) PEOPLE BROWSING NEWSPAPER STAND WOMAN LOOKING AT NEWSPAPER
  • Embargoed: 15th March 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4CS03J3IEVALVG2ZG5PNE93DJ
  • Story Text: Thailand woke up on Friday (February 29), one day after a triumphant and emotional return from exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
    Pictures of the tycoon's return to his homeland were plastered across the pages of every major newspaper with headlines like "Thaksin pays respect back on Thai soil" above a picture of him bowing, his hands respectfully clasped, before a huge crowd that had turned out to meet him at Bangkok's international airport.
    "As a Thai, I feel sorry for him but he needs to prove whether he's guilty or not," said office worker Yaowanat Warathira.
    Within minutes of arriving on a flight from Hong Kong, Thaksin gave himself over to police and headed to the Supreme Court where he was given 8 billion baht ($258,500 U.S. dollar) bail for a corruption charge against him.
    The charge relates to a prime piece of real estate his wife bought during his time in office. Thaksin insists he is innocent.
    Ousted in a September 2006 coup by generals who accused him of rampant corruption and disrespect for the monarchy, Thaksin returned to cheering, emotional crowds.
    Thaksin was the first Thai prime minister to win two landslide election victories, largely because of populist policies that the urban and rural poor believe really improved their lives. He reiterated again on Thursday (February 28) that he was done with politics though few believe that he will not at least play a behind-the-scenes role in advising the new administration, made up of his loyal supporters.
    "If the situation in the country were normal, I would like him to go back into politics," said a Bangkok tuk-tuk driver who did not want to be named. "There is nothing wrong with him returning to politics."
    Thaksin has said his first priority is to spend time with his family.
    But as the focus of intense interest, he is unlikely to be left alone to do so by the Thai media, and his media-savvy PR aides are being kept very busy.
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