Thai Military Leader Confident Thaksin Won't Return Soon

[george]

Thai military leader confident Thaksin won't return soon

BANGKOK: -- The return to Thailand of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is not expected anytime soon, the principal coup d'etat leader said on Monday.

"I'm confident that he (Mr. Thaksin) won't decide to return at this time because there are many factors that make me believe so," Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS) said. The CNS is the military group previously known as the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR) which conducted the coup which toppled the Thaksin government last September 19.

Gen. Sonthi, who also is Royal Thai Army commander-in-chief, made his remark when asked about an 'appropriate' time for the deposed premier, now believed to be in self-imposed exile in China, to be allowed to return to Thailand.

Mr. Thaksin, according to his legal adviser, stressed his wish to return home to defend his family and himself against many allegations suggesting that he himself, his family and close aides were allegedly involved in corruption cases.

Among many cases, the CNS-installed Assets Examination Committee (AEC) in December ruled that the ousted premier was involved in irregularities in procurement of the baggage handling system and 26 CTX 9000 bomb scanners for Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi airport, as well as a land purchase in which his wife won a Bt772 million tract of land in a bidding process allegedly manipulated to her benefit while her husband was prime minister.

Gen. Sonthi said the prosecution against Mr. Thaksin and his aides following the AEC probes will be carried out according to legal procedures.

He said the CNS, while undecided on this issue, is not worried Mr.Thaksin's return will ignite mass protests and stir chaos in the country.

Rumours spread last week that Mr.Thaksin secretly returned from China to Thailand overland last week, a few days after the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok, an incident which the CNS and the interim government initially claimed "politicians who lost power" were behind the actions.

The rumours were later denied by Shinawatra family legal advisor Noppadol Pattama who had earlier denied that Mr. Thaksin had any role in the bomb incidents.

The ousted premier will return to his homeland in a dignified manner by an aircraft landing at Suvarnabhumi airport which he helped establish, his lawyer said.

--TNA 2007-01-08

[Tony Clifton]

Thaksin won't return soon

Dirty soi dogs used to hang out around our house, they haven't returned as well but we're still infested with the fleas and ticks they left behind.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Tox is silly but he's not mad.

[yoshiwara]

Thaksin won't return soon

Dirty soi dogs used to hang out around our house, they haven't returned as well but we're still infested with the fleas and ticks they left behind.

to continue the theme........a dog always returns to its vomit.