Thaksin's family to lead party

A sibling will lead each of three regions as a symbol of party's connections with ousted PM

		Thaksin's sister Yaowapa Wongsawat will lead the Puea Thai in the north.
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BANGKOK: Thailand's opposition Puea Thai party has embarked on a new strategy to strengthen internal solidarity, appointing members of the Shinawatra family to lead members in each of the three regions where the party has influence.

An executive from the party told the Bangkok Post that the party wanted a Shinawatra family member to lead each of the three regions as a symbol of the party's close connections with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin's sister, Ms Yaowapa Wongsawat, who is also the wife of former premier Somchai Wongsawat, will lead Puea Thai members in the north. Brother Payap Shinawatra will lead the north-east, while Thaksin's youngest sister, Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, will lead the central region and Bangkok.

The presence of the Shinawatra siblings in itself will be a message to the constituents that the party has a clear goal to 'bring Thaksin back home', the party executive said. However, the three will not replace the party's existing regional presidents. They will only oversee the party's overall policies as well as support the party's activities in each region.

Puea Thai MP for Nong Khai province, Mr Pongpan Sunthornchai, speaking at the party's seminar on Sunday, said that Mr Payap's appointment would enable north-eastern MPs to relay their views and decisions straight to the 'big boss'. In the past, north-eastern MPs did not have access to core leaders to express their opinions privately.

Mr Pongpan said north-eastern Puea Thai MPs have also agreed to merge their factions to reduce faction-related problems.

Thaksin reportedly spoke to his supporters by phone in Thailand's poor and rural north-east, where he remains immensely popular, on Monday via a phone-in from an undisclosed location abroad.

'I want to tell you now that I am ready to return to the political arena once again,' he was quoted as saying in the Bangkok Post. 'I will fight on, no matter what happens. I'm ready to be prime minister again if people support me.'

Mr Pormpong Noparit, spokesman for Puea Thai, which organised Monday's phone-in, said Thaksin's remarks had been intended to boost the morale of his political allies.

'He said he's ready to come back. He cannot come back openly, but he wants to slip into the north-east so he can die in his homeland,' Mr Pormpong said.

Despite being toppled in a coup in 2006, Thaksin remains an influential but divisive figure in Thai politics - and one who has cast a long shadow over every subsequent government.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban accused Thaksin of trying to stoke tensions in the kingdom with his latest comments.

He said the government found the situation 'very difficult', adding that Thaksin will be dealt with under Thai law and must serve his prison term.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has given his assurance that Thaksin would be treated fairly if he returned. 'I hope that Thaksin will have the national interests as his first priority, although I understand his situation. The government will give him justice, but only if he re-enters the judicial system,' he told reporters.

Thaksin was toppled in a September 2006 coup, with the military claiming that corruption and abuse of power under his two terms as premier had damaged the country. They also questioned his loyalty to the revered Thai monarchy.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE