Fugitive Thai leader a virtual voice in sister's government

Analysts worry former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's return home would spark a new wave of civil unrest among his red shirt supporters. Photo: Reuters

Lindsay Murdoch
The Sydney Morning Herald
September 24, 2011

FUGITIVE former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra spent two hours lecturing Thailand's cabinet ministers during a Skype call from Cambodia in his most defiant act since his younger sister Yingluck was swept into power at elections in July.

Mr Thaksin's critics seized on the call to accuse him of being the power behind Ms Yingluck, a 44-year-old political novice.

The telecommunications billionaire, a divisive figure in Thailand who has been sentenced to two years' jail for corruption, lectured ministers on a range of topics, including flood relief, an election pledge to raise the minimum daily wage and the government's rice mortgage scheme.

Thai journalists reported that some ministers sat ''uncomfortably'' in their seats during the call.

Ms Yingluck played down the intervention, saying the gathering of ministers on Wednesday was not a formal cabinet meeting and that her brother only wanted to provide moral support for the government's work and to ''exchange viewpoints''.

But opposition chief whip Jurin Laksanawisit told reporters it was now clear that Ms Yingluck was her brother's puppet.

For almost a week, Mr Thaksin has been taunting his critics from across the border in Cambodia, where he has been photographed embracing Prime Minister Hun Sen, to whom he was once an economic adviser.

In speeches Mr Thaksin described Cambodia as ''like my home'' and called for the speeding-up of integration of the economies of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Since the July election, Mr Thaksin has played down his influence in Ms Yingluck's government as it has made key appointments and overseen a reshuffle of the military, which removed him from power in a 2006 coup.

But senior ministers have made no secret of their support for the return of Mr Thaksin to Thailand without his having to serve time in jail.

The government is seeking pardons for a large number of Thailand's more than 230,000 prisoners on the December 5 birthday of the country's revered King Bhumibol, a move that could include Mr Thaksin, government officials said.

Governing party MP Korkaew Pikulthong said a petition by Mr Thaksin's ''red shirts'' for him to be pardoned would be sent to the King's principal private secretary before December 5.

The petition, shelved by the previous government, is being vetted by a government-appointed panel.

Thailand's Foreign Minister, Surapong Towichukchaikul, also wants to return Mr Thaksin's Thai passport, which was revoked by the previous government two years ago.

Mr Thaksin, who has a base in Dubai, usually travels on a passport issued by Montenegro but also carries passports from countries including Nicaragua and Uganda.

''A passport is like an identity card. Even prisoners in Thailand still hold their ID card,'' Mr Surapong said in New York, where he is leading a delegation to the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr Surapong said the world was aware that the charges against Mr Thaksin were politically motivated.

Analysts say Mr Thaksin's return to Thailand could stoke renewed political unrest in the country of 61 million people.