Saturday, 24 October 2009

Thailand angry at offer of refuge to former PM


http://www.theage.com.au/

BEN DOHERTY, HUA HIN
October 24, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

FUGITIVE former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be jailed if he sets foot in neighbouring Cambodia, the Thai Government has warned.

The warning came in response to an extraordinary offer from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to build the exiled Mr Thaksin a house in Phnom Penh.

Mr Hun Sen described Mr Thaksin as ''an eternal friend'' and said the former prime minister was a ''political victim''.

''Though I'm not Thai, I'm hurt by what has happened to him. My wife even cried on knowing about it and has an idea to build a home for Thaksin to come and stay honourably,'' Mr Hun Sen said.

Mr Thaksin, forced from power in Thailand in a 2006 coup, thanked Hun Sen in a Twitter message, but stopped short of accepting the offer.

In August last year, Mr Thaksin was convicted in absentia of corruption over a land deal and sentenced to two years' jail.

He has not returned to Thailand since. Instead, he travels the world on a number of passports, including one from Nicaragua, spending most of his time in Dubai.

But the self-made telecommunications billionaire still commands enormous loyalty within Thailand, particularly in the poorer, rural north.

Mr Thaksin addressed a rally of his red-shirted followers last Saturday by phone, but would not disclose his location. A base in Cambodia would allow him to more easily co-ordinate a political comeback.

But Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has warned that if Mr Thaksin sets foot in Cambodia, Thailand would immediately seek his extradition.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told an ASEAN press conference: ''Were he to move to Cambodia, surely that will have some effect on relations. We have an extradition agreement and procedures should be followed. Both sides should follow their obligations.''

Thailand's Foreign Minister and Mr Hun Sen have history. Mr Hun Sen was believed to be deeply offended when Mr Kasit reportedly called him a ''gangster'' recently. Mr Hun Sen's offer has completely overshadowed the first day of the ASEAN conference, which in itself is being seen as a test of the fragile Abhisit Government.

This is the third attempt for Thailand to host this summit. The first was abandoned in December 2008, when yellow-shirted anti-Thaksin protesters loyal to the Thai king took control of both of Bangkok's airports.

In April this year, with the summit moved to Pattaya, red-shirts rioted, storming the conference centre where the summit was being held. This weekend's summit in the beachside city of Hua Hin is being conducted under extraordinary security.

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