Former prime minister who was removed in 2006 coup ‘enters legal process’ as supporters celebrate his return.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was swiftly arrested, taken to court and jailed after he landed back home in Thailand after 15 years in self-imposed exile.
Thaksin, who made his fortune in the telecommunications business, boarded a private plane in Singapore and landed at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport shortly after 9am (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday, according to Thailand’s Khaosod Media and Thai PBS.
Upon his arrival, Thaksin paid his respects to the monarch before being driven in a police convoy to the Supreme Court, where he was accused of abuse of power and numerous other unresolved crimes that he has characterized as politically motivated.
Daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra shared a picture of the family and the caption, “Welcome back to Thailand daddy,” along with the statement that he had “entered the legal process” on Instagram.
He was later taken to a Bangkok prison, with the Supreme Court releasing a statement saying he would serve a total of eight years in jail, the Reuters news agency reported.
Thaksin swept to power in 2001 on a populist platform that appealed to rural Thais who had long been neglected by the country’s ruling elites. He was returned in a landslide five years later but, in September 2006, when Thaksin was in New York preparing to address the United Nations, the military seized power.
In the midst of a bloody battle in the predominantly Muslim southern provinces of the country and a “drugs war” that claimed thousands of lives, Thaksin was also accused of serious human rights abuses. He was ultimately found guilty of abuse of power and fled the country in 2008, spending the majority of his time in Dubai.
Thailand has been beset by political turmoil since the 2006 coup, with pro-Thaksin and rival pro-establishment supporters taking to the streets, amid a cycle of elections and coups.
Several thousand “red shirts” – the grassroots rural movement established to defend Thaksin’s government after the 2006 coup – gathered near the VIP terminal awaiting his arrival.
In a party atmosphere, with food and a soundtrack of the mo Lam music of Isaan, the rice-bowl northeast that is the family’s stronghold, they danced and cheered as his plane touched down.
Many people carried signs that read “Welcome back, Thaksin,” and others chanted “Welcome back, Prime Minister.”
Many found it difficult to speak without crying as they expressed their love for Thaksin, especially for turning around their economic situation after years of being ignored by Bangkok’s successive governments.
Thaksin’s signature policies included a universal healthcare scheme opening virtually free treatment for basic ailments to tens of millions of poor for the first time, as well as village clinics and start-up funds.
“He has always helped making our lives better,” 63-year-old Ankana Nattakit from Nakon Ratchasima told Al Jazeera. “No other prime minister has done nearly anything as much for us. He’s the prime minister of the grassroots people.”
Vote on new PM
Pheu Thai, the latest incarnation of Thaksin’s party, came second in elections held in May.
After the progressive Move Forward Party, which won the election, was unable to form a government because military-appointed senators in the upper house refused to support it, Pheu Thai cobbled together a grouping of parties, including those backed by the military.
A vote was underway on Tuesday that could lead to the party’s Srettha Thavisin, a property tycoon, becoming prime minister.
Srettha has the backing of 314 legislators in the lower house but needs an additional 58 votes to secure the job, which requires the backing of a majority of both houses.
It is unclear how Thaksin, who continues to be a contentious political figure, may be impacted if Pheu Thai is successful.
According to Wissanu Krea-ngam, the deputy prime minister of the departing military-affiliated government, Thaksin would be qualified to apply for a pardon and might be given preferential treatment due of his advanced age.
Some of the “red shirts” said that while they did not like Pheu Thai’s decision to link up with the military-backed parties, they could understand the rationale.
“I’m okay as long as Thailand moves forward with someone from Pheu Thai as PM,” said Chawalwit Parachai, 29, who was among the crowd outside the terminal.
Thaksin was taken away by police before he could greet his supporters in person but as he was driven to court, the posters along the highway hailing his return would have been a reminder of the esteem in which he continues to be held by many despite so many years away.
With reporting from Vijitra Duangdee at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
