Thaksin's Latest Interview: It Is Possible To Come Back This Year

[webfact]

Former Thai PM Thaksin throws down the gauntlet to government

Emerging Markets - 1st May 2010

By Liz Chong and Taimur Ahmad

Thailand’s exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra broke a six-month silence this weekend, and claimed he may return to Bangkok this year, in an exclusive interview with Emerging Markets.

Speaking by telephone, Thaksin warned the government that it was on its last legs, and that further crackdowns on anti-government red shirt protestors – many of whom remain loyal to him – would backfire.

“They want to crack down on the people, but there are a million red shirts”, he said. “The only way forward is to reconcile, but if they want to kill red shirts there are too many. Do they want to kill millions? The red shirts are everywhere.”

Thaksin said the government had run out of options, and should relinquish power or face a mass uprising that could envelop the entire country.

In an earlier interview with Emerging Markets, conducted face to face at his Dubai home last month, Thaksin said: “This is their last chance if they want to reconcile.

That “can happen easily” if parliament is dissolved, but “if [the government] cracks down this time, the red shirt movement will get much bigger. When the first line of leaders has been arrested, there will be a second line and third line.”

Full interview: emergingmarkets.org

-- 2010-05-02

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[deadsnoopy]

This statement should please the Thai government. They've been asking for him to come back for quite some time now.

Maybe they'll get their wish granted just in time for Christmas

[skippybangkok]

"They want to crack down on the people, but there are a million red shirts"

1/60 = % ?

[londonthai]

there might be completely different government at the end of this year.

thaksin within the country has to play according to the old rules, abroad he can do (and does) anything he wants

[jdinasia]

Thaksin's last gasp at threatening the governent!

[deadsnoopy]

Thaksin's last gasp at threatening the governent!

We've had quite a few "last gasps" now, have we?

[elcent]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

[bendejo]

He can dream.

For someone who puts so much into the words of fortune tellers this guy has had some terrible outcomes.

[jdinasia]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

Black and white stripes .. complete with handcuffs and legcuffs?

[deadsnoopy]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

Black and white stripes .. complete with handcuffs and legcuffs?

Its fair to say your statements are nonsense. If and when Thaksin comes back, there will be so many red shirts at the airport to welcome him that there won't be anyone with a handcuff anywhere near Suvarnabhumi. That's just realistic thinking.

[kissdani]

Thaksin's last gasp at threatening the governent!

We've had quite a few "last gasps" now, have we?

And hardly a threat to tell the government that they cannot win with killing Thai people.

[basjke]

Didn't he said in a phone conversation with a reporter just today that he was not behind the current uprise.And only a few hours later he gives a complete opposite statement.I assume he suffers from brain cancer instead of prostate cancer.

[elcent]

The latest latest - hence the last sentence - no happy endings

-- The Nation

With red shirts on back foot, Thaksin re-emerges

By The Nation

Published on May 3, 2010

Former premier claims he's not behind the turmoil in Bangkok and maintains he is very loyal to His Majesty in an exclusive telephone interview with Nation Group reporter Naya Jaikawang

It might have been coincidental, but the timing of Thaksin Shinawatra to return from his "death" was almost perfect. In a flurry of local and international media interviews, he has unceremoniously repelled continual rumours that he had died last week - and given the red shirts much needed breathing space.

The public backlash over the Chulalongkorn Hospital invasion had pinned the red shirts against the ropes, but "Thaksin is alive" may prove sexy enough to distract some from the controversy.

If Thaksin's disappearance from the red shirts' stage - his last video link was on April 9 - was ambiguous, his re-emergence seemed quite out of the blue.

Nation Group reporter Naya Jaikawang did not expect much when she made a phone call to interview Pheu Thai MP Pracha Prasopdee, one of the MPs closest to Thaksin, to ask him about latest reports that Thaksin had ordered Pheu Thai MPs to re-mobilise people to support the anti-government protesters.

Naturally, the topic of "Is Thaksin still alive" came up. Pracha said he just talked to Thaksin on Saturday and, unexpectedly, gave Naya his phone number.

At 3pm yesterday, she called the number, without expecting much, and someone "who sounded undoubtedly Thaksin" answered.

"I'm from Nation Group sir," she said. "Can I talk to you?"

"Oh.. of course you can. But my plane is taking off any minute now. Can you call again in a few hours?" the voice said. She agreed and the brief conversation ended.

At 6.50pm, she dutifully called again. The same familiar voice answered.

"Are you Thaksin?" she asked. "Yes I am. And I am not a ghost," he replied.

The man acknowledged that there had been rumours about him since he suspended his video contact with his supporters. Thaksin said he did not suffer from any disease. "I'm very healthy and have been travelling a lot. My latest health check only yielded a little high cholesterol because I haven't exercised much," he said.

When asked why his family members were wearing black while travelling overseas, he said he had not seen his ex-wife for two years.

The interview came hot on the heels of his talks with international media. In a brief conversation with The Straits Times on Saturday, Thaksin said he was very much alive and used the same "You are not talking to a ghost" joke. Emerging Markets website on Saturday also published an exclusive telephone interview in which the ousted Thai leader slammed the Abhisit government and said there were too many red-shirts for the Abhisit regime to kill.

Thaksin told Naya he would not propose anything to the government. However, he added: "It would be better if we could change our attitudes and talk together. We should not take advantage of each other and stop treating each other badly."

He also asked the government not to bring the issue of the monarchy into the conflict. "The monarchy is the highest institution for Thai people so the government should not link it to this political fighting," he said.

Thaksin claimed he was not behind the recent bloody turmoil, but he said he was monitoring developments in Thailand closely. He distanced himself from "men in black" blamed for the murder of troops on April 10, saying "If they want to accuse me about this, it will never end."

The political fight was no longer about him, Thaksin reiterated. However, his re-emergence, albeit in the form of telephone interviews, could be what the red shirts need. The movement seems rudderless without him, and it remains to be seen whether the proof that he is still alive can fix the heavy damage caused by their act of insanity at the Chulalongkorn Hospital on Thursday.

For one thing, the hospital incident seemed to give him discomfort. When Naya asked him about it, he said he did not know details and suddenly hung up.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[tombradly]

"Thaksin said the government had run out of options, and should relinquish power or face a mass uprising that could envelop the entire country.

"

Well said Mr. PM

[Jingthing]

For one thing, the hospital incident seemed to give him discomfort. When Naya asked him about it, he said he did not know details and suddenly hung up.

Yes, it was definitely Thaksin. The hero of the so called pro-democracy, pro-freedom movement ... It's basically an insane situation and he's basically the cause of it.

[MisterBeetle]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

Black and white stripes .. complete with handcuffs and legcuffs?

Its fair to say your statements are nonsense. If and when Thaksin comes back, there will be so many red shirts at the airport to welcome him that there won't be anyone with a handcuff anywhere near Suvarnabhumi. That's just realistic thinking.

lol

I would think that there would be quite a few people waiting for Thaksin "if" he ever come back to Thailand. Including some pretty heavily armed people ready to take him into custody.

I really don't think the government would be so stupid to let him just waltz in and drive off with him chums for a little welcome home party.

That's realistic.

Given everything that has happened up to date I really don't think the red shirts would be so stupid??

[tombradly]

It Thailand goes into meltdown and massive violence erupts, where will all the beer drinking farang go?

I know you guys have a fallback plan.

Where?

I predit chaos is coming.

[elcent]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

Black and white stripes .. complete with handcuffs and legcuffs?

Its fair to say your statements are nonsense. If and when Thaksin comes back, there will be so many red shirts at the airport to welcome him that there won't be anyone with a handcuff anywhere near Suvarnabhumi. That's just realistic thinking.

lol

I would think that there would be quite a few people waiting for Thaksin "if" he ever come back to Thailand. Including some pretty heavily armed people ready to take him into custody.

I really don't think the government would be so stupid to let him just waltz in and drive off with him chums for a little welcome home party.

That's realistic.

Given everything that has happened up to date I really don't think the red shirts would be so stupid??

Any plane with him in it would be diverted by the air-force to military airport. Almost for granted.

[NamKAheng]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

Black and white stripes .. complete with handcuffs and legcuffs?

Its fair to say your statements are nonsense. If and when Thaksin comes back, there will be so many red shirts at the airport to welcome him that there won't be anyone with a handcuff anywhere near Suvarnabhumi. That's just realistic thinking.

lol

I would think that there would be quite a few people waiting for Thaksin "if" he ever come back to Thailand. Including some pretty heavily armed people ready to take him into custody.

I really don't think the government would be so stupid to let him just waltz in and drive off with him chums for a little welcome home party.

That's realistic.

Given everything that has happened up to date I really don't think the red shirts would be so stupid??

He did before and coming back to Thailand a country where you can buy the police or rent a army he should not have any problem.

[jdinasia]

He wasn't a fugitive before and he hadn't fomented insurrection before. He won't be back.

[hextac]

Cross the border at Aranyaprathet and get 30 day visa on arrival in his Montenegrin PP?

[elcent]

NEW YORK TIMES - today

Message Battle Heats Up in Thai Crisis

By THOMAS FULLER

Published: May 2, 2010

BANGKOK — Viewers of Thai soap operas now have a choice: they can follow the over-dramatized acting and weepy plot lines of shows like “The Glass Around the Diamond” or they can read pro-government political messages scrolling on the bottom of the screen.

“The Thai people love peace but when we go to war, we are not fearful,” reads one of the dozens of messages broadcast on two government channels exhorting people to oppose the protest movement that has paralyzed parts of Bangkok for more than seven weeks.

“Sometimes the Thai people have to fight bad Thai people,” says another.

Thailand’s political crisis is playing out on the streets here, where antigovernment protesters, who are demanding new elections, are defending their fortified encampment in the commercial heart of the city. But political battles are also being waged through television, Facebook, community radio stations and Internet chat rooms.

After a failed crackdown on the so-called red-shirt protesters last month, the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is leading a two-pronged campaign it hopes will strangle support for the protest movement. The government is sharpening its public relations message while trying to shut down the opposition’s media, a plan that in some parts of the country appears to be backfiring.

A constant crawl at the bottom of television screens, which started running in March on two government-owned stations, makes the case that “malevolent” protesters are hurting the country and should go home. And an advertisement implores: “Thais should love each other because we all live in the same country.”

At the same time the government has shut down an opposition television station and at least 420 Web sites affiliated with the red shirt movement.

Officials are also accusing red shirts of trying to overthrow the monarchy, an incendiary charge that protest leaders reject.

In an interview with foreign correspondents on Sunday, Mr. Abhisit suggested that the government would try to shut down community radio stations, which have multiplied throughout the country in recent months, especially in the populous red-shirt stronghold of the northeast.

He accused the radio stations of being “command centers” for the red shirts and playing a “coordinating role” in the unrest.

“We are trying to restore order,” he said. “I’m not going to say that no media is allowed to attack or comment on the other side. But certainly no media should be allowed to play the role of inciting violence.”

The prime minister also said he had not ruled out using force to end the stand-off in Bangkok. “We are now in the process of cutting off support and sealing the area off before we actually move in,” he said.

But a crackdown does not appear imminent, especially after 25 people died and 800 were injured in the botched attempt to clear protesters on April 10.

Mr. Abhisit said Sunday that he remained patient and that the “best solution is one that does not involve violence or confrontation or conflicts.” An aide said the prime minister would soon release a “political roadmap” that could bring reconciliation to the country after four years of turmoil.

The overarching strategy for the government appears to be demonizing the protesters and hoping that public opinion swings against them, a process that could take months. Mr. Abhisit and his advisers warn of “terrorists” among the protesters.

So far, the public relations campaign has had mixed results. In Bangkok there is growing anger at the red shirts over the barricaded streets and their incursion last week into a hospital, which caused panic in the wards. But there is also deepening frustration over the government’s inability to drive out the protesters.

“The government is good at building up their image from these messages on television, but no one is taking any action to solve the problem,” said Yont Klomkleaw, a manager for a market research company in Bangkok.

On Sunday, the prime minister’s Facebook page had about 600 comments, many of them supportive; “fight! fight!” was a common refrain. But there were also critical postings. “Sometimes, words alone may not be enough,” wrote one commenter, Anyarporn Tansirikongkol.

In the provinces, especially the red shirts’ base in the north and northeast, the government’s efforts may be backfiring, with many villagers rejecting the messages as spin and propaganda, a view encouraged by the movement’s leaders.

“The government is just lying to the people,” said Jarungkiat Chatchawat, who runs a food stall in the northeastern city of Khon Kaen. “It doesn’t have any influence on me.”

One military intelligence officer described the red shirt movement as spreading “like a virus” in the northeast.

The red shirts broadcast their message using community radio stations and, until recently, the satellite television station PTV, which was shut down by the government last month.

Their public-relations campaign has focused on a few key words, notably the “double standards” in Thai society applied to the poor compared with the rich and well-connected. They also call the Abhisit government illegitimate because it came after court decisions that barred two prime ministers from the opposition camp.

The red shirts say they want to bring genuine democracy to Thailand, a message that sells well in the north and northeast, where many farmers and villagers feel their voice was muted by the 2006 military coup.

In Bangkok there is more skepticism about the protesters’ motives.

“This is not about democracy, it’s about thuggery,” Voranai Vanijaka, a columnist for The Bangkok Post, wrote in the Sunday edition of the newspaper. “It’s about nothing less than forcing the government to bend to their every whim and every will.”

Mr. Voranai suggested the red shirt movement was a vendetta by Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire who was removed as prime minister in the 2006 coup, after a court in February ordered a large share of his assets seized by the state.

Although the references are often oblique, Mr. Thaksin and his allies appear to be the target of many of the government’s messages. One message running on the bottom of television screens warns:

“Don’t become a tool, don’t be naive and don’t hurt the country for the sake of only one person.”

Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting.

[Basil B]

He wasn't a fugitive before and he hadn't fomented insurrection before. He won't be back.

Pity, he should be guest of honour at a neck tie party.

[monkfish]

He will be back of that i am sure

but i do not think he will want PM's job any more

[Jingthing]

Shutting down community radio stations? If they are indeed coordinating a violent insurgency intent on overthrowing the government, why shouldn't the government ethically be able to shut them down? I am not sure if they are or they aren't, but I do know even in the US which has very good levels of freedom of speech and the press, a communication vehicle actively coordinating the violent overthrow of the US government would indeed be shut down, and legally so, even if millions of people supported the insurgency. Again, if they are guilty as charged, the better question is why is it taking so long to stop these violence inciting communication organs?

Edited May 2, 2010 by Jingthing

[deadsnoopy]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

Black and white stripes .. complete with handcuffs and legcuffs?

Its fair to say your statements are nonsense. If and when Thaksin comes back, there will be so many red shirts at the airport to welcome him that there won't be anyone with a handcuff anywhere near Suvarnabhumi. That's just realistic thinking.

lol

I would think that there would be quite a few people waiting for Thaksin "if" he ever come back to Thailand. Including some pretty heavily armed people ready to take him into custody.

I really don't think the government would be so stupid to let him just waltz in and drive off with him chums for a little welcome home party.

That's realistic.

Given everything that has happened up to date I really don't think the red shirts would be so stupid??

Given the government's and military's inability to enforce the arrest warrants on the red shirt leaders and their inability to control the situation at Rajprasong and elsewhere in the country, I highly doubt that those "pretty heavily armed people" would be able to arrest Thaksin. Lots of smoke, but no fire.

[enginerevision]

hmm, wonder how he comes back. Served on a silver tray with a red tomato in his mouth?

Black and white stripes .. complete with handcuffs and legcuffs?

Its fair to say your statements are nonsense. If and when Thaksin comes back, there will be so many red shirts at the airport to welcome him that there won't be anyone with a handcuff anywhere near Suvarnabhumi. That's just realistic thinking.

And it might come true soon

[ETatBKK]

He can dream.

For someone who puts so much into the words of fortune tellers this guy has had some terrible outcomes.

wow . . . his dream highly possibility comes true !

( one likes it or doesn't like it, that is another discussion :-)

Jul, 90 days countdown of Abhisit government

Aug, new election ( in between Mr T buys some . . . )

Sep, new government setup new parliament

Nov, new government adjusts some legislation systems

Dec, Mr T returns !

remember under what conditions he came back in 2008 ?

[ETatBKK]

He will be back of that i am sure

but i do not think he will want PM's job any more

of course NOT ! he will be 'demoted' : PM minus 'M' = P Thaksin :-)

[enginerevision]

Now imagine a sea of red shirts...........