Exiled Thaksin Inches Closer To Return To Thailand

[Tanaka]

His chief aide, Kwanchai Praipana, a radio deejay who commands Thaksin's vast network of northeastern red shirts and led bloody confrontations with the army in 2009 and 2010, insists Thaksin has officially retired.

"If Thaksin returns it won't be as prime minister," he told Reuters on Tuesday, dressed in red bath towel at his radio station in Udon Thani

is that all he wears at his radio station?

Yes, that is why he is trying to make it a tv station.

I'll be home this year, Thaksin tells supporters

Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra told his 'Red Shirt' supporters on Wednesday that he expects to set foot in his homeland again in 2012.

"With all your support, I'm likely to return home this year. You probably think I've said often I'll come home. If I can't, please come to get me," he said in video address from neighbouring Laos.

Continues:

http://www.straitsti...ory_787700.html

.

quote: If I can't, please come to get me,"unquote. Preferably in a coffin.

[Skywalker69]

1,000 people I thought there was supposed to be in the ten's of thousands, I guess they didn't do to well with every thing he gave them,

Probably he had only small pocket money to pay for only 1000 " supporters "...or maybe were already to drunk from celebrating Songkran

and got lost on the way...555

Could it not be that he isn't as popular as his supporters would have you believe?

Do you mean his TV supporters?

[Skywalker69]

I was under the impression that there is no democracy in Thailand and never was because the elitist establishment would not allow this and the country is run and overseen by the Privy Council and the so called elected government is just a front to keep the rest of the western world happy, and then Thaksin came to power and this threw the elitist in a proper flap, minimum wage, health service, proper housing for the poor. Quick we need a coup get him out and make sure he stays out cant upset the norm establishment..

With all these wonderful knowledgeable posts [excluding all the propaganda crap posts] Who Should govern Thailand ?

A little green man from outer space will do.

[Skywalker69]

Seems a poor turn out for Thaksin in Laos, 1,000 supporters,I wonder if he had to pay per person for his Red Rent a Mob,doesn't seem much in it for Laos?

Out of the 1000 how many are Thais?

[Skywalker69]

"If everything is over and I return home, I don't necessarily have to become prime minister. I can serve people," Thaksin told his supporters in televised remarks.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-04-12

This is the part I don't get...

What's stopping him from doing that now?

He's free to serve people anytime, anywhere with his mega-wealth.

No one is stopping him from sending money to support hospitals, schools, farmers and the poor... He's free to donate and support any cause for the poor and needy of his choosing! But so far I haven't seen this mighty philanthropist, man of the people who loves them all, jump to cause. Instead he prefers to use his mega-billions buying & selling sport teams and developing gold mining operations to further stuff his portmanteau.

I ask his brainwashed lemmings about this every time they start babbling on about how "great" this man is. The truth is he is a man who would not spend even 1 Baht out of his own, much ill-gotten, massive wealth. Man of the People?! HAH!

I can serve pople? I think whats he means is I can serve myself and the Thai people pay the bill.

[MAJIC]

I have only been in Thailand 1 year,please take this in to account when reading this post.I am amazed at the venomous attacks on Mr T has he caused Farangs living here so much pain and misery.I think the best people to decide if and when Mr T returns are the Thai people themselves.If the prospect of living here under a Mr T governments fills farangs with such dread,the only course of action is too cut your loses and run.If the Thai people decide to elect a monkey to govern it"s ok with me,as long as I can have my visa stamped every year and the price of cigarettes stay the same

i Just did!

[MAJIC]

1,000 people I thought there was supposed to be in the ten's of thousands, I guess they didn't do to well with every thing he gave them,

April 10, 2012

Red Shirt Leader Nisit Sinthuphrai said about 50,000 Thaksin supporters are expected to leave for Laos to meet him there as he pays a brief visit to Laos and Cambodia during the festival.

These numbers can't be right. I'm sure our dear member Cagaryll will update us on precise numbers having counted the busses passing. We may have to wait a bit though, C may still be stuck in the traffic jam or moving to Cambodia to do some more counting there.

Let me finish with wishing you all good people get a 'wee bit' wet

CalgaryII is busy,he had to go,and help make up the numbers,in Laos

[siampolee]

I have only been in Thailand 1 year,please take this in to account when reading this post.I am amazed at the venomous attacks on Mr T has he caused Farangs living here so much pain and misery.I think the best people to decide if and when Mr T returns are the Thai people themselves.If the prospect of living here under a Mr T governments fills farangs with such dread,the only course of action is too cut your loses and run.If the Thai people decide to elect a monkey to govern it"s ok with me,as long as I can have my visa stamped every year and the price of cigarettes stay the same[/u]

Come back and post your views concerning Thaksin when you've been here a bit longer. I've been here 21 years and seen the corruption, the manipulation of laws, the sudden disappearance of Thaksins opponents, nepotism and his megalomania ways.Tak Bai, Democracy is not my aim comment , the list is endless.Thasksin is about as democratic as Joe Stalin , Mao Tse Tung .

Your comments concerning your visa, your cigarettes certainly indicates that you are indeed very naive and have a great deal to learn.

[rixalex]

I am amazed at the venomous attacks on Mr T has he caused Farangs living here so much pain and misery.

Do you need to be personally affected in order to dislike or be disgusted by someone? When you look at what Mugabe has done to the people of his country, does the fact that it hasn't actually caused you any pain or misery, somehow disqualify you from having any feelings on the man?

I think the best people to decide if and when Mr T returns are the Thai people themselves.

Thai people have nothing to do with the decision. It's entirely up to Mr T. Nobody is stopping him returning, and nobody is forcing him. Up to him.

If the prospect of living here under a Mr T governments fills farangs with such dread,the only course of action is too cut your loses and run.

Forget about how authorities consider foreigners, Thailand is what i consider my home now. Why should i run from my home because of him?

[bristolgeoff]

he just having a meeting with buddies and when he may return.also a chat about how his sister is doing under his guidance

[Skywalker69]

1,000 people I thought there was supposed to be in the ten's of thousands, I guess they didn't do to well with every thing he gave them,

April 10, 2012

Red Shirt Leader Nisit Sinthuphrai said about 50,000 Thaksin supporters are expected to leave for Laos to meet him there as he pays a brief visit to Laos and Cambodia during the festival.

These numbers can't be right. I'm sure our dear member Cagaryll will update us on precise numbers having counted the busses passing. We may have to wait a bit though, C may still be stuck in the traffic jam or moving to Cambodia to do some more counting there.

Let me finish with wishing you all good people get a 'wee bit' wet

CalgaryII is busy,he had to go,and help make up the numbers,in Laos

But he has been quite active on TV today.

[hyperdimension]

Instead he prefers to use his mega-billions buying & selling sport teams and developing gold mining operations to further stuff his portmanteau.

He also spends plenty on the Red Shirt movement and propaganda channels such as newspapers, magazines ("Voice of Taksin"), Red Shirt radio stations, and satellite TV channels ("Asia Update"). If you watch Asia Update there are often music videos showing how great and loving Thaksin is.

[Yunla]

Its actually quite incorrect to say phrases like 'you are foreign and therefor this is none of your business' regarding State-level fraud and embezzlement & jaw-dropping corruption.

In the years when Thaksin was committing macro-scale financial crime within the Thai govt. & building a family nest at the top - giving prominent government & business jobs to his family members rather than to people best qualified for the jobs, and stealing state assets etc.

The amount of tourist and expat money funnelled into Thailand means that you do actually have the right to *opinions* about where your money going, and the right to feel unhappy about the money you are paying in general living taxes / land-office taxes / road tolls / visa-charges etc.etc. is going to a private bank acc. in Dubai as opposed to the Thai road-building programme or water/food-safety programmes. If money is not spent on those things, or the top jobs for those critical govt. departments is given to somebody inept just because they are friendly with Mr.Thaksin, that actually puts your life in danger as a tourist in Thailand and that makes it very much your business.

You don't actually have a right to act on your views since you are not a citizen of this country & have no vote or "voice" but since it is your money being squandered & your health/safety being compromised you certainly have the right to have an opinion & voice it in the correct manner.

The simple fact is that, as visitors to this nation, we should behave appropriately and show respect & honour our hosts. But this is balanced by the fact that we are honoured guests & if we think the roof is leaking or indeed about to collapse we have a right to point it out.

Edited April 12, 2012 by Yunla

[Ricardo]

His actions weren't illegal until after the coup.

In point of fact, in the one case which has so far been tried to completion, the law is a long-standing one banning senior political office-holders from doing business with the state, for obvious reasons of potential conflict-of-interest.

And the PM, at the time of his conviction/sentance, was surely the former-PM's brother-in-law ?

The coup may have made officials more willing to pursue the case, perhaps, but that's a different thing.

I was under the impression that there is no democracy in Thailand and never was because the elitist establishment would not allow this and the country is run and overseen by the Privy Council and the so called elected government is just a front to keep the rest of the western world happy, and then Thaksin came to power and this threw the elitist in a proper flap, minimum wage, health service, proper housing for the poor. Quick we need a coup get him out and make sure he stays out cant upset the norm establishment..

With all these wonderful knowledgeable posts [excluding all the propaganda crap posts] Who Should govern Thailand ?

"Quick we need a coup get him out"

But wasn't the coup only after Thaksin had been PM for several years ? Not so very quick, then.

Edited April 12, 2012 by Ricardo

[rubl]

Yingluck's government pursues changes to the constitution and a reconciliation programme to strengthen democracy and heal rifts.

More drivel from theNation? Where's Tom when you need him

No, not more drivel from the Nation. The original story was written by Amy Sawitta Lefevre of Reuters,

http://www.gmanetwor...urn-to-thailand

The OP is the story as picked up by Yahoo News, nice try though....................

Seldomly or maybe even never I qualify articles as 'drivel', I reserve that for certain posts.

I'm still wondering about the 'to strenghen democracy and heal rifts'. With a government trying to push through some laws, changes and saying 'no further dialogue necessary', the Lady journalist seems somewhat biased. Must have been her time as News Anchor at Thai-Asean News Network

[luckyman]

Taksin - the world has not see a hero like this in a long time. They should roll out the red carpet in Nong Khai. Of course he was not without faults but these faults are largely tolerated in Thailand. Again and again the majority North East and North majority of Thailand were granted election victories through democracy only for these votes to mean nothing due to coups supported by the Yellow Brigade dictatorship supporters. The only way to get these voting rights enforced was to protest. And in doing this they were attacked by the army. The army perpetrated the violence, not the reds, the army were the thugs for the elite yellow brigade. Tell it like it is. It astounds me how Westerners have lost the capacity to think. There is no need to be deluded. In many countries in the world the army is paid to kill the poor by the rich (think of Chile) when the peasants demand better standards of living through the electoral systems. This is what is known as dictatorship - Mussolini, Hitler and the Yellow Brigade. The Yellows resorted to a style of totaltarian dictatorship by supporting the loss of the majority's voting rights and by supporting murderous coups. <snip> Or is it just that Westerners politically correct bubble they live in no longer allows the brain to say things how they really are anymore - one must say what is palatable and nice rather than face the truth. Reconciliation? What a joke. The Yellows clearly perverted the course of voting rights through support of murderous coups for their preferred form of government - facist dictatorship. Well done heroic lion heart Reds for standing up to the Kow Tow elite, showing that your birth was equal to all, like the French did in the French revolution. Thailand is the greatest because Thai people have heart. Thailand sees injustice and does something about. They protest AND ARE ALLOWED TO PROTEST because they stood up to the army and did not move. They have the heart of lions whereas in the West we no longer have the right to protest injustices - we have chosen to live in dictatorship - to accept anything the elite finance bankers get up to - we are even giving them big bonuses again. The people of Western democracies when their morally bankrupt leaders crush them through bank collapses - the indifference of the people in Western nations is astounding. The great Red victory could never happen in Cambodia, Laos or Burma or the allegedly civilised West.

I bet you admire Mao and his 'Cultural revolution' too, don't you?

[Buchholz]

It is also not unusual that people will notice and comment on the contradiction, when the "important person" travelling in a luxurious manner is the same person making the claim of being at one with the poor. Of course those blinded by adoration, may fail to see any contradiction.

Much as I dislike Taksin, he's a businessman

He says he's unemployed.

.

His investments and holdings generate revenues and with revenues come taxes. Using chartered or fractional ownership aircraft qualifies as a business expense and is deductable, allowing business people, celebrities, and professional athletes to pay for private jet usage with pretax dollars. If they don't spend money on deductable expenses they have to give that money to the government in taxes. What would you do?

I wouldn't say I was "unemployed" if I was a trillionaire.

.

[geriatrickid]

1,000 people I thought there was supposed to be in the ten's of thousands, I guess they didn't do to well with every thing he gave them,

Probably he had only small pocket money to pay for only 1000 " supporters "...or maybe were already to drunk from celebrating Songkran

and got lost on the way...555

No. Those were the number allowed iby the Laotian government to meet with Thaksin.

[geriatrickid]

I bet you admire Mao and his 'Cultural revolution' too, don't you?

The Cultural Revolution as much as I abhor it laid the foundation for China today. Unfortunately, one cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. My family lost everything after the revolution and the family patriarch was incarcerated for being a british "counter revolutionary". I am fully aware of the suffering and pain many endured. However, today, China is a super power because of that phase of the nation's development.

[rubl]

1,000 people I thought there was supposed to be in the ten's of thousands, I guess they didn't do to well with every thing he gave them,

Probably he had only small pocket money to pay for only 1000 " supporters "...or maybe were already to drunk from celebrating Songkran

and got lost on the way...555

No. Those were the number allowed iby the Laotian government to meet with Thaksin.

That must have severily peeved k. Kwanchai. At least k. Thaksin's eternal fiend HunSen is more open minded

[geriatrickid]

He also spends plenty on the Red Shirt movement and propaganda channels such as newspapers, magazines ("Voice of Taksin"), Red Shirt radio stations, and satellite TV channels ("Asia Update"). If you watch Asia Update there are often music videos showing how great and loving Thaksin is.

If you are in Thailand you will be aware of another "group" which has mastered that concept

[scorecard]

I bet you admire Mao and his 'Cultural revolution' too, don't you?

The Cultural Revolution as much as I abhor it laid the foundation for China today. Unfortunately, one cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. My family lost everything after the revolution and the family patriarch was incarcerated for being a british "counter revolutionary". I am fully aware of the suffering and pain many endured. However, today, China is a super power because of that phase of the nation's development.

Sorry, I don't buy it.

[scorecard]

He also spends plenty on the Red Shirt movement and propaganda channels such as newspapers, magazines ("Voice of Taksin"), Red Shirt radio stations, and satellite TV channels ("Asia Update"). If you watch Asia Update there are often music videos showing how great and loving Thaksin is.

If you are in Thailand you will be aware of another "group" which has mastered that concept

Please share, I'm all ears.

[geriatrickid]

That must have severily peeved k. Kwanchai. At least k. Thaksin's eternal fiend HunSen is more open minded

Perhaps, but the Thai guests had the good manners and respect not to moan and groan about the government's position, unlike farangs in Thailand that whine incessantly over minor issues such as being unable to buy alcohol on some days.

[geriatrickid]

He also spends plenty on the Red Shirt movement and propaganda channels such as newspapers, magazines ("Voice of Taksin"), Red Shirt radio stations, and satellite TV channels ("Asia Update"). If you watch Asia Update there are often music videos showing how great and loving Thaksin is.

If you are in Thailand you will be aware of another "group" which has mastered that concept

Please share, I'm all ears.

Then listen and open your eyes. You will understand.

[gregb]

1,000 people I thought there was supposed to be in the ten's of thousands, I guess they didn't do to well with every thing he gave them,

Probably he had only small pocket money to pay for only 1000 " supporters "...or maybe were already to drunk from celebrating Songkran

and got lost on the way...555

No. Those were the number allowed iby the Laotian government to meet with Thaksin.

Ah. Of course. Soon we'll be hearing tall tales of the convey of his ardent believers who were turned back by the Laotian military in the middle of Vientiane because they would only allow 1000 lemmings to listen to his drivel. Or maybe everyone was swallowed by a time rift created because of the coup. Yeah. That's the ticket. Let's blame everything on the coup.

Face it. Nobody cares about Thaksin enough to spend actual money to go see him. He is their patron. They expect to paid for their attendance. Without incentives almost nobody shows up.

[Jingthing]

I bet you admire Mao and his 'Cultural revolution' too, don't you?

The Cultural Revolution as much as I abhor it laid the foundation for China today. Unfortunately, one cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. My family lost everything after the revolution and the family patriarch was incarcerated for being a british "counter revolutionary". I am fully aware of the suffering and pain many endured. However, today, China is a super power because of that phase of the nation's development.

Sorry not buying that cynical, absurd theory. Next you'll be saying the Khmer Rouge genocide was necessary for Cambodia to move forward.

[rubl]

I bet you admire Mao and his 'Cultural revolution' too, don't you?

The Cultural Revolution as much as I abhor it laid the foundation for China today. Unfortunately, one cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. My family lost everything after the revolution and the family patriarch was incarcerated for being a british "counter revolutionary". I am fully aware of the suffering and pain many endured. However, today, China is a super power because of that phase of the nation's development.

Only an estimated 500,000 people died between 1966 - 1969, many beaten to death, tortured. Or in other words 'just a few broken eggs'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_revolution

[animatic]

I bet you admire Mao and his 'Cultural revolution' too, don't you?

The Cultural Revolution as much as I abhor it laid the foundation for China today. Unfortunately, one cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. My family lost everything after the revolution and the family patriarch was incarcerated for being a british "counter revolutionary". I am fully aware of the suffering and pain many endured. However, today, China is a super power because of that phase of the nation's development.

Sorry, I don't buy it.

Amazing all those dead amounts to a few broken eggs for progress. Pathetic.

Seems many other places didn't need that great leap forward to be BEYOND China.

[Buchholz]

"If everything is over and I return home, I don't necessarily have to become prime minister. I can serve people," Thaksin told his supporters in televised remarks.

This is the part I don't get...

What's stopping him from doing that now?

He's free to serve people anytime, anywhere with his mega-wealth.

No one is stopping him from sending money to support hospitals, schools, farmers and the poor... He's free to donate and support any cause for the poor and needy of his choosing! But so far I haven't seen this mighty philanthropist, man of the people who loves them all, jump to cause. Instead he prefers to use his mega-billions buying & selling sport teams and developing gold mining operations to further stuff his portmanteau.

I ask his brainwashed lemmings about this every time they start babbling on about how "great" this man is. The truth is he is a man who would not spend even 1 Baht out of his own, much ill-gotten, massive wealth. Man of the People?! HAH!

Thaksin's greatest philanthropic achievement:

previous screen capture

Mission Statement: The Building a Better Future Foundation aims to contribute significantly to the quality of life in Asia by identifying and nurturing the next generation of Asia talent.

Established: 2008.

Status: Awaiting assignment of Board of Directors

Accomplishments: Zilch

http://buildingbetterfuture.org/

( website is now offline and available )