Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will not return to
Thailand to face corruption charges this week as ordered by police
because he fears for his safety, his lawyer said yesterday.
Thai officials said they will issue an arrest warrant for
Thaksin if he does not have a valid reason for failing to appear in
person by this Friday to hear the charges against him. He is
accused of concealing his ownership of millions of dollars worth of
shares from the Thai stock exchange.
"He will not return to answer the charges because of safety
concerns and other reasons," said Noppadol Pattama, Thaksin's
lawyer and de facto spokesman in Thailand. Thaksin was ousted while
abroad, and has divided his time since then between a residence in
London and travel around Asia.
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Earlier at a news conference, Noppadol said Thaksin would not
return until after an election expected to be held in December
because "the country is under the rule of the military who got
power in an undemocratic way" and the investigations targeting him
are unfair.
The military deposed Thaksin in a bloodless coup on September 19
last year after protests accusing him of corruption and abuse of
power. One of the coup leaders' first acts was to initiate probes
against Thaksin.
They installed an interim government, but retain power behind
the scenes, while promising an election by December.
Personal security was another of Thaksin's concerns, Noppadol
said. The military has repeatedly warned Thaksin that he should not
return until after the polls, saying his presence could trigger
political instability.
Earlier this month, army commander General Sonthi Boonyaratglin
- who led the coup against Thaksin - said the former prime minister
might be harmed by his enemies if he returned to Thailand now.
But Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told reporters that the
government would ensure Thaksin's safety if he returned.
"He will not return to the country even though the prime
minister guarantees his safety because even Surayud is unable to
guarantee the safety of people in the three southern provinces,"
Noppadol said, in an indirect criticism of the government for its
failure to end a Muslim insurgency in Thailand's southernmost
provinces.
The legal process against Thaksin will proceed regardless of
whether he returns, said Sunai Manomaiudom, director-general of the
Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's equivalent of the
US' FBI.
"If Thaksin demonstrates evasive behavior, we will have to issue
an arrest warrant," he said. When the case is forwarded to state
prosecutors, they can seek his extradition.
Extradition is generally a complicated legal procedure, and most
Western countries are reluctant to agree to it in cases where there
are political overtones that suggest the suspect is being unfairly
persecuted.
(China Daily via agencies June 27, 2007)
