Thaksin Moving To Australia?!?!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

he is doing an interview tomorrow night (tuesday) on Australian ABCs "foreign correspondent"...

ill get the barf bag ready

Ok great visual here:

ABC: Today we are interviewing Thaksin Shinawatra, good day sir.

Thaksin Shinawatra: Good day.

ABC: Today we have a bit of a surprise for you, I will be giving up the interviewers seat to journalists from Thailand. (In walk several hard hitting journalists from Thailand)

Thaksin Shinawatra: (wispers to ABC) How much money do you want to make them go away?

ABC: We report the news here sir, and the Thai journalists are much more familiar with the issues than I.

Thaksin Shinawatra: I need to use the toilet, I will use the one in my hotel if that is OK with you.

Love it

[Grover]

Can't believe he got past Australian quarantine, being the slimy reptile that he is.

[Grover]

he is doing an interview tomorrow night (tuesday) on Australian ABCs "foreign correspondent"...

ill get the barf bag ready

Ok great visual here:

ABC: Today we are interviewing Thaksin Shinawatra, good day sir.

Thaksin Shinawatra: Good day.

ABC: Today we have a bit of a surprise for you, I will be giving up the interviewers seat to journalists from Thailand. (In walk several hard hitting journalists from Thailand)

Thaksin Shinawatra: (wispers to ABC) How much money do you want to make them go away?

ABC: We report the news here sir, and the Thai journalists are much more familiar with the issues than I.

Thaksin Shinawatra: I need to use the toilet, I will use the one in my hotel if that is OK with you.

he could always pull out the little X sign. That would bring a smile to my face.

[sriracha john]

Tox will join the RSL asap and give the pokies a run

Just need to fill in a few more particulars, Thakky, and you're in....

Thaksin_RSL_Application.doc

[mijan24]

Unfortunately Little Johhny (yes george) will welcome him and his money with welcome arms.

He may not be intending to settle just buy "real estate" which of course will be in his latest maid/butlers name, we should not knock him too much he is just making the best use of our slack rules/regulations.

I must go this is leaving a bad taste in my mouth something similar to the taste one has after a night on the bowl.

[John K]

Thaksin interview / golf. It is a bit easy to see what the real reason was to go to Australia. It seems Thaksin is chasing journalists and not the other way around. However I could be wrong...

[Crow Boy]

Tox will join the RSL asap and give the pokies a run

Just need to fill in a few more particulars, Thakky, and you're in....

Thaksin_RSL_Application.doc

The application was great but Sydney SOUTH AUSTRALIA? Umm you really need to get a better map mate. Sydney is in New South Wales.

[Jai Dee]

Tox will join the RSL asap and give the pokies a run

Just need to fill in a few more particulars, Thakky, and you're in....

Thaksin_RSL_Application.doc

I think you need a lesson in Australian geography SRJ...

[Crow Boy]

Ousted Thai PM seeks Sydney property

Thailand's ousted prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, says he is looking for property to buy in Sydney while visiting Australia.

Mr Thaksin has told the ABC he is interested in real estate while he is in Australia.

"I ask my friend to look for a house in Sydney, especially in the eastern suburbs," he said.

The billionaire former prime minister also says he is finished in Thai politics after September's coup.

"Not just the next election, but for life," he said.

Instead he says he is pondering an academic career focusing on alleviating poverty in the kingdom.

During his six years in office he provided affordable health care for the poorest Thais, as well as funding education and housing programs.

Yet a recent US study has shown that during Mr Thaksin's time in office the gap between rich and poor widened considerably.

Mr Thaksin is also the subject of a number of corruption investigations in Thailand.

He has been in exile ever since the coup in September and has been travelling the region in recent months doing media interviews to combat corruption allegations.

Source: ABC Online - 12 February 2007

This is going to get a lot more interesting because Australia has reciprocal deportation agreements with a number of countries including Thailand. If Thaksin is charged under Thai law for corruption it will suddenly pull Australia into the middle of a huge legal and political battle which will have repurcussions here in Thailand and in Australia.

Don't forget that there is also the issue of extrajudicial killings and that would be raised in International Court. Australia would be caught up in that little mine field as well.

The last one is that Thaksin could claim that if he is returned back to Thailand to face charges he would be at risk of being killed and Australia will NOT deport someone who faces the death penalty in another country. Australia has had that battle several times in the past with citizens of various countries including Thailand claiming they will be executed if returned back to their country of citizenship.

Thaksin has deep pockets and would be willing to pay for some very expensive lawers to get out of that.

[sriracha john]

Tox will join the RSL asap and give the pokies a run

Just need to fill in a few more particulars, Thakky, and you're in....

Thaksin_RSL_Application.doc

I think you need a lesson in Australian geography SRJ...

shhhh....

that was an intentional deception....

just so Thakky would feel comfortable with his usual practices.....

Edited February 12, 2007 by sriracha john

[ovenman]

Is this the 27th time he has given up politics ?

like ovenman reported earlier on his 26th time...

He's quit more times than the Rolling Stones have had "Final Farewell Tours"

Well I told you once and I told you twice

That someone will have to pay the price

But heres a chance to change your mind

cuz Ill be gone a long, long time

Well this could be the last time

This could be the last time

Maybe the last time

I dont know. oh no. oh no

Jagger/Richards

[Ozziepaul]

Well, it started out as a penal colony so it may be fitting that this exile decides to immgrate!

Tell the Aborigines that they were 'criminals' and living in a Penal colony before 'white men' set foot upon our great land and I'm sure you'll wake up with a head ache...that's IF you wake up at all...!!

Toxin should fit in just nicely with our own breed of toxins in Government.

Ask em all to take a pay cut and see what happens. Ask them to fly budget as often as they can, or pay full price for meals and grog at Parliament house and watch em laugh.

If you ask me, the bastards are all the same.

I have to wait until I'm 65 to get my superannuation. Those phlem just walk in, peess around and as they walk out, get their super handed to them, along with priviledges for life......FOR WHAT????

Screwing the people????

Different but same same.

Big Paulee.

[sriracha john]

Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives to play golf in Tanah Lot, on Bali island, Indonesia, last Thursday.

Reuters

Thaksin seeks to retire in Sydney

CANBERRA, Australia -- Inspired by a weekend of golf and sun-drenched harbor views, ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is shopping for a seaside mansion in Sydney.

The Bangkok billionaire, deposed in a bloodless military coup last September, said he had asked a friend to find him a waterside home in Sydney's wealthy eastern suburbs, where houses routinely cost A$10 million (261.1 Million Thai Baht).

"Sometimes it's too cold in London. I better stay here in Sydney," Thaksin told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Monday, saying his preferred place was in the upmarket suburbs favored by models, business millionaires and cinema stars.

Thaksin, in Australia for a brief holiday away from his London home, spent the weekend playing golf at the Capital Golf Club in Melbourne and the exclusive The Lakes course in Sydney.

"I think Sydney is very safe and I have friends here. I like Australia. The people are friendly and sincere. The weather is good. It is clean and safe and I can play golf all year round," he told The Australian newspaper.

Thaksin said his ousting and subsequent exile from his homeland had given him time to spend with his family again, ruling out any desire to return to Thai politics.

He said the only thing he was currently considering was stock market investment and charity work in support of rural development backed by Thailand's King.

"It's time for me to compensate for what I've missed in the past. If I think I can live (to) 80 years old, why there are only 9,840 days left. I'm counting already," Thaksin said. :D

"I have to live my life to allow me to have some kind of happiness, because I've been working hard too much for my family, for my country, for the people."

"I feel very disappointed, for what I really did is devote myself for the country, for the people and for the monarch," he said of the accusations leveled by Thailand's military-installed government. "The allegations against me are really the opposite."

- Reuters

[Tony Clifton]

[sriracha john]

Legal reasons behind a Thaksin home in Sydney?

News that former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra is looking for a home in Sydney has spurred speculation as to whether he has other motives for wanting to live Down Under.

Indeed, there may be legal reasons behind his supposed interest in buying a home in Australia's biggest city.

Aside from the fine beaches, golf courses and a warmer climate than, say, London, Australia does not have a formal extradition treaty with Thailand.

The former premier and his family appear to face the difficult prospect of many years of litigation - with court cases potentially looming over a raft of corruption charges, tax evasion and, possibly, inciting Thai police and local officials to kill at least 2,500 alleged drug dealers during the highly controversial "War on Drugs" in early 2003.

If the coup leaders refuse to allow Thaksin to return home to fight such charges - or he opts to fight them from abroad - Sydney could easily become one of his foreign bases, along with Hong Kong, Beijing or London.

Thaksin flew down to Melbourne late last week before skipping up to Sydney on the weekend. He told reporters on Sunday he had hired a real-estate agent to find him a home overlooking the city's picturesque harbour.

Buying a home with harbour views in Sydney, especially in the select belt he mentioned, is not cheap. A waterfront mansion could set him back $25 million to 30 million Australian dollars (Bt692 million to Bt831 million).

The former PM would need to get a business or retirement visa to live in Australia, but that also is unlikely to be a major hurdle for a man whose family has assets of several billion US dollars.

The former PM could end up being a serious political embarrassment for any country where he sets up camp, depending on the charges he eventually faces and whether he seeks asylum.

Ferdinand Marcos settled in Hawaii, but Thaksin is not quite in the same category as the former Philippine president - the crimes he is accused of are less serious. *only because he wasn't allowed to commit his crimes over an equal amount of time* And some say he has covered his tracks better, for despite widespread corruption during his term in charge, investigators from the Assets Examination Committee have yet to charge him personally. *YET... it takes time*

But if Thaksin opted to live in Sydney and then faced the prospect of being extradited back to Thailand for a court trial or to serve a jail term, then the matter would probably be settled in the Australian courts.

Given the good and ever-growing relations between the two countries, the former premier would need to present a strong case to prevent himself being flown home.

One Australian official suggested yesterday that Thaksin "would need to do a Saxena" - claim he faced the possibility of being killed if sent back, in order to prevent a court ordering him to be returned - if an extradition request was ever dealt with by an Australian court.

Rakesh Saxena is a former Thai businessman who has been living in Vancouver, Canada, fighting efforts by Bangkok to have him returned to face charges of embezzlement relating to deals undertaken at the time of the financial crisis almost a decade ago.

But some view Thaksin's trip to Sydney and his comments to the Australian media as potentially nothing more than grandstanding and highlighting his case abroad - as his American public-relations strategists may well have advised.

Thaksin said on Sunday he had no political or business interests in Australia and was merely holidaying in the country.

"We have sold the family business," he was quoted as saying. "All we have now is some real estate. I want my children to grow their own businesses from the beginning. I may just advise them.

"I think the [Thai] government is too concerned about my activities, which are actually very private," he said. "Every time I speak to the media, I try to be very conservative as a former prime minister. No matter how bitter you are, you have to be very faithful to your country, to your people and to your monarch."

The Nation

[Artisi]

Interesting how any normal Thai has to jump through hoops to get an Aust. visa - but seems Toxin just arrived- did he get a 30 day visa and is he subject to total of 90 days in 6 months just like LOS.

Just wish I was able to get into Thailand and buy property as easy as this.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Tox will join the RSL asap and give the pokies a run

Just need to fill in a few more particulars, Thakky, and you're in....

Thaksin_RSL_Application.doc

the 10,000 AUD cheque with the application form will get him straight to committee level.

[Plus]

"I think the [Thai]government is too concerned about my activities, which are actually very private," he said. "Every time I speak to the media, I try to be very conservative as a former prime minister. No matter how bitter you are, you have to be very faithful to your country, to your people and to your monarch."

If his activities are so private why does he speak to the media everywhere he goes?

"I love the king, I love the country" - new strategy suggested by his PR handlers?

[kiakaha]

Interesting how any normal Thai has to jump through hoops to get an Aust. visa - but seems Toxin just arrived- did he get a 30 day visa and is he subject to total of 90 days in 6 months just like LOS.

Just wish I was able to get into Thailand and buy property as easy as this.

Are you a billionaire ? An entirely different world of options presents itself when you have that much financial clout.

[0Mix1up]

Toxin is on ABC Australia now .

He says, they "The powers now" do many bad things AND he says "even worse than me".

"I cannot pay tax on shinncorp because law say cannot"

More on ABC Asia Pacific Focus on sunday

They are putting it(tonites interview) up on the web and said it will be interesting to see if they block it

Edited February 13, 2007 by 0Mix1up

[Grover]

Toxin is on ABC Australia now .

yes just saw the interview. The interviewer started off soft and Thaksin generally responded well in the beginning but when her tone hardened and the questions got a bit tougher, he flustered and gave some dodgy responses. The interviewer was forcing a knowing smile during his dodgy responses.

I'm not sure if Thaksin should keep allowing interviews, he reveals himself too much.

[John K]

Toxin is on ABC Australia now .

yes just saw the interview. The interviewer started off soft and Thaksin generally responded well in the beginning but when her tone hardened and the questions got a bit tougher, he flustered and gave some dodgy responses. The interviewer was forcing a knowing smile during his dodgy responses.

I'm not sure if Thaksin should keep allowing interviews, he reveals himself too much.

That is great, he is beginning to discover that the international media will not be so forgiving and they really don’t care about he little X sign. I certainly would love to see the media rip some big holes in him.

Plus I think Thaksin and his PR handlers will be at odds soon, he does not listen to anyone. I am sure there advise to him is to keep your mouth shut.

[causticme]

He does seem to get around, doesn't he? but it sounds like he's wanting to put down stakes this time.

Wonder if he is homesick?

[sriracha john]

Ex-Thai PM could call Sydney home

Deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has no plans to return to politics and may consider setting up a temporary home in Sydney.

He has not returned to Thailand since he was overthrown while he was out of the country. While he believes he could go home, he says he has no plans to return - for the moment at least.

"I'm not considering going back yet because I will have to worry about my safety and also I should not add any more confusion to the situation now in Thailand," Mr Thaksin told ABC TV's Foreign Correspondent program.

The former leader - whom the military accused of corruption - plans instead to set up house in a number of countries, including Australia.

"For example, I ask my friend to look for a house in Sydney, especially the eastern suburbs," Mr Thaksin said.

For now he is considering his future but politics doesn't feature in his plans. "You will not see me in politics, not just in the next generation but for life," Mr Thaksin said. As a politician, he said he had devoted himself to the country and the people but had been misunderstood.

"I try to help the people in the poor, in the rural areas and the working class people," Mr Thaksin said.

"The divisive (sic) has been created not by me, (but) by those who want to topple me." The former leader denies allegations of corruption, saying his accusers are guilty of much worse behavior.

Some suggest construction faults at Bangkok's new airport, which have forced the re-opening of the closed Don Muang airport, are a result of corruption. Mr Thaksin admitted there may be some defects in construction but they could be corrected. He said he couldn't be expected to keep an eye on every detail as prime minister. *that certainly wasn't the impression he tried to portray at the time*

"Anyway, you know there might be some corruption but ... I cannot go in everything in detail as a prime minister," Mr Thaksin said.

AAP

-------------------------------------

The more the talking, the more the hole gets deeper....

[Tony Clifton]

The Thaksin interview will be airing on ABC Australia, Friday evening (Feb 16) at 8:30 pm, BKK time.

[sriracha john]

Australian Foreign Minister: No property restrictions on Thaksin

Australia has no special restrictions on former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's plan to buy a property in the country, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday. Speaking during his stopover in Bangkok yesterday, Mr Downer said that foreign investment rules in Australia are the same for everybody, including Mr Thaksin, who is reportedly planning to buy a property there. However, Mr Downer said he did not know about Mr Thaksin's plan.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/14Feb2007_news11.php

-----------------------------------------------

Good to know that Thailand has reciprocal policies regarding property purchasing.

[Plus]

I don't know about being more cheerful but the country is more peaceful now than in pre-coup days. The pro-anti Thaksin conflict has been diffused.

It's not the only issue facing Thailand, of course, but at least that one has been dealt with.

[A_Traveller]

Interview with Thaksin Shinawatra

Broadcast: 13/02/2007 Programme Foreign Correspondent ABC Australia

Reporter: Helen Vatsikopoulos

Transcript

VATSIKOPOULOS: Dr Thaksin Shinawatra, welcome to Foreign Correspondent.

THAKSIN: Thank you Helen.

VATSIKOPOULOS: You’ve been in a travelling exile since the coup last September. Given that you’re not allowed to return to Thailand just now, what are your plans for the future?

THAKSIN: I have full my right to go back to Thailand as a Thai citizen. But I’m not considering going back yet because I will have to worry about my safety, and also I should not add any more confusion to the situation now in Thailand.

VATSIKOPOULOS: It must get a bit tedious getting from hotel to hotel, are you looking at making one place your base?

THAKSIN: Yes. I think.... I like to buy houses in different countries - for example I ask my friend to look for a house in Sydney, especially in the Eastern Suburbs.

VATSIKOPOULOS: Ultimately though would you like to go back to Thailand and live there?

THAKSIN: Oh yes, definitely. I love my family, I love my homeland, I want to be there. I want to do some charitable activities.

VATSIKOPOULOS: You’re not planning to re-enter politics at any time in the future?

THAKSIN: You will not see me in politics, not just in the next election, but for life.

VATSIKOPOULOS: It seems as if the experience of the coup had a big impact on you personally.

THAKSIN: Oh yes, yes. You know what happened to me now, it’s very, you know, I feel very disappointed on what I really devote myself for the country, for the people, and for the monarch. But the allegation against me is really in opposite. Maybe they misunderstood me, or maybe they’re trying to misunderstand me because they want to overthrow me, I don’t know. I’m 57 now, I think I can live about 80. So I have 9840 days to, for them to understand me better. For myself to re-think about what should I do, but not in politics anymore, definitely.

VATSIKOPOULOS: Well the Thai government has been monitoring your every move. The CNN interview you gave was blocked from being broadcast into Thailand, and when you recently met Singaporean officials, Thailand had very harsh words with Singapore. Is the government flexing its diplomatic muscle to restrict your movements?

THAKSIN: Do you know I would urge every party concerned that don’t worry about me, you have to worry about 63 million people in Thailand. I’m not going to have, I’m not going to create any problems. As a former prime minister I’m mature enough. I have to be very constructive to my country.

VATSIKOPOULOS: The coup shattered 15 years of democracy and although most countries condemned it, Thailand is not an international pariah today and hasn’t been punished with harsh sanctions. Are you disappointed that most countries have taken a pragmatic approach?

THAKSIN: Well I will not happy if my country has been punished, because of, it’s not really punish the country but punish the whole people of Thailand. So Thailand need more investment. Thailand need more trade. Thailand need more tourists. Democracy in Thailand has been developed from baby to adolescence, to teenagers. It’s growing to be a mature person. But it's happened to fall down. When you fall down at that age you're strong enough. When you come back you can you can stand back and you can move forward. You are not turning back to baby again because you are strong enough. So I think after this year the regime have to return the power back to the people, because you know Thai people love democracy, love freedom and liberty. And Thailand has gone too far that they cannot be returned, that democracy cannot be returned. So democracy will prevail back in Thailand again.

VATSIKOPOULOS: Well Thailand was bitterly divided in the lead up to the coup. There was a belief that you were the divisive character that caused these divisions and that’s why a coup had to happen.

THAKSIN: You know, that’s a good excuse that created before, because maybe because I’m too strong in terms of getting support from the people.

VATSIKOPOULOS: Why did the elite dislike you so much?

THAKSIN: Because I’m too strong and I try to help the people in... the poor, in the rural areas and the working class people. The divisive has been created not by me, by those who want to topple me. They create the divisive. It’s now they should forget the past because they’ve been control the power already. Please bring unity back to Thailand. Thailand has to move forward. So let’s look forward, forget the past.

VATSIKOPOULOS: But with the benefit of hindsight you say that you - your government was strong, was it perhaps too heavy handed, was it perhaps too autocratic?

THAKSIN: It’s not really a heavy hand. I’m very result oriented leader.

VATSIKOPOULOS: Your critics say that you abused your power, that you oversaw a crony capitalist culture; you stacked the bureaucracy with your own people. And now they’re investigating all of this and allege corruption. Will they find anything?

THAKSIN: I don’t think so. I’m the prime minister at 51, you know, and and and ousted at 57, six years, so my classmate, my families that are serving in the government official they happen to grow up and they age. Those who allege me they do, they have done more than than they allege me, even worse. But, but anyway just forget the past, look for the future.

VATSIKOPOULOS: Well your critics point to the airport, which is today an international embarrassment, as an example of the sort of culture of corruption that you fostered.

THAKSIN: There might be some defect, defect of a construction, that is normal in every construction, but it can be corrected.

VATSIKOPOULOS: But these are big defects.

THAKSIN: No, not that much. I think, I don’t know, I am not... I’m not monitor it, I just forget, when... when I out, I'm really out so I don’t know what is really the matter. But anyway you know there might be some corruption but it’s... I cannot go in everything in detail as a prime minister.

VATSIKOPOULOS: You and your family were criticised when they didn’t pay tax on the $2.5bn sale of Shin Corp to a Singaporean company. With the benefit of hindsight should you have just paid the tax and led by example?

THAKSIN: There is... there are two points. The first is that any transaction that should’ve been done through the stock exchange is tax exempted by law. So everyone that trades stock in the stock exchange in Thailand don’t have to pay tax. You cannot pay tax because of tax exempted by law. The second part is the transaction of my children and the BVI company, the transaction has been done outside of Thailand and internally outside of Thailand, so Thai cannot collect tax on the activities outside of Thailand. They may ask the family to pay, but if they ask to pay we’ll pay but we have to protect our right that by law we don’t have to pay. Why we have to pay?

VATSIKOPOULOS: And how do you think the new government in Thailand is faring?

THAKSIN: Well you know I... like I said, I would like to urge them to looking after the people because they take away the power from them. Don’t worry about me, don’t worry about me, let me spend my 9840 days with my families, with myself, with all kind of charitable activities.

VATSIKOPOULOS: Dr Thaksin Shinawatra, thank you very much.

THAKSIN: Thank you very much Helen. Thank you for interviewing me, thank you.

Link to transcript of Foreign Correspondent programme

http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2007/s1847557.htm

[Plus]

"The divisive has been created not by me, by those who want to topple me. They create the divisive."

Old dictator excuse - those who oppose me are unpatriotic and want to damage the country.

[sriracha john]

the transaction has been done outside of Thailand and internally outside of Thailand

I know he's supposed to obtained an English-language PhD, but Thakky might want to consider hiring a Thai -> English translator for these English-language interviews. Perhaps his old thesis writer is still available.