thaksin

The death toll from Thailand’s record flooding has risen above 600, the government says.

But both the Bangkok Post and The Nation newspapers are leading with non-flooding news this Monday morning.

The government had reportedly been attempting to arrange a royal pardon for controversial former prime minister Thaksin.

But the headlines today tell us that won’t be happening.

Here’s a cell phone pic of today’s Bangkok Post front page:

And here, via @tukky_nt, is a screen capture of The Nation‘s leading story.

In its story, the Post says:

The government has withdrawn its plan to seek a royal pardon for its de facto leader and fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra following strong opposition.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok said Sunday the draft royal decree for royal pardons for convicts on the occasion of His Majesty the King’s 84th birthday anniversary on Dec 5 this year would have conventional conditions.

They include bans on convicts found guilty of drugs offences and corruption and convicts who absconded.

And The Nation reports:

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok insisted yesterday that former prime minister Thaksin Shina-watra would not benefit from the draft Royal Decree seeking pardons for inmates on the occasion of His Majesty the King’s birthday.

“Thaksin will not receive any benefit from the decree, and his name will not be included on the list of convicts eligible for a royal pardon,” Pracha said.

“Convicts on the run will not be eligible.”

Pracha told a press conference that the draft Royal Decree for 2012 used the same wording as the 2011 decree enacted under the Democrat Party’s then justice minister Piraphan Saliratwipak.

(All emphasis mine.)

More to come on the ongoing flooding. But I wanted to note that news coverage among Bangkok’s English language papers had temporarily shifted away from the floods.

Perhaps it shows that interest in the floods may be waning — and that underlying political issues (namely, Thaksin’s future) remain pressing.

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Today’s WSJ reports on what exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been up to of late.

The story touches on Thaksin’s recent travels, Yingluck, and the administration’s relationship with the military:

BANGKOK—Former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra is taking a more visible role in Thailand and across Asia, stirring renewed tensions between the country’s powerful military and a new government led by the populist tycoon’s sister.

During the run-up to July’s national elections, Mr. Thaksin, 64 years old, repeatedly said he would avoid intervening in political decisions if his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, were elected prime minister. At most, he said, he would help guide Ms. Yingluck—who took office last month—on economic policy.

Political analysts said that was a carefully scripted strategy to tamp down tension between the Shinawatra clan’s populist supporters and Thailand’s powerful armed forces, which ousted Mr. Thaksin in a bloodless coup five years ago and still retain considerable power.

Mr. Thaksin recently has taken heavily publicized trips from his base in Dubai to Japan and Cambodia while his supporters push for a new amnesty law that would enable him to return to Thailand a free man. He has been living overseas to avoid imprisonment on a 2008 corruption conviction.

(Emphasis mine.)

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Today’s Bangkok Post says:

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will begin a visit to Cambodia on Sept 16 to attend the Asian Economic Forum Conference, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported on its website.

Hun Sen said Thaksin’s visit was scheduled before the official visit of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who will make an official one-day visit to Phnom Penh on Thursday.

(Emphasis mine.)

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Here’s more info on Thaksin’s recently having received an entry visa to Japan, which I mentioned yesterday.

The NYT/IHT provides some context:

Ms. Yingluck has gone out of her way to play down any influence that her brother may exert on her administration, and she has deflected questions about amnesty for him. But Mr. Thaksin is widely believed to be playing a key role as adviser and kingmaker to the new government. He was also instrumental in the election victory of Ms. Yingluck and her party in July.

There are also these additional details:

In issuing him a visa, Japan appears to have waived a rule that restricts foreigners with criminal records from entering the country.

Surpong Tovijakchaikul, Thailand’s new foreign minister, said Mr. Thaksin had requested the visa on his own. But Reuters quoted Yukio Edano, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, as saying that the Yingluck government had “asked for our help” in issuing the visa and that Japan took the step out of consideration for “bilateral ties.”

Elsewhere, the FT has some quotes from former Thai government spokesman Panitan:

“The foreign minister is trying to create a new understanding that Thaksin is not a criminal,” said Panitan Wattanayagorn, the former administration spokesman and now a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “Puea Thai wants to send a new political message that Mr Thaksin is no longer a fugitive,” he said, referring to the ruling party.

And:

“He will get in trouble if he tries to push it too far,” Mr Panitan said.

(All emphasis mine.)

(Image: Wikipedia.)

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That’s what the Bangkok Post says today, quoting a Pheu Thai source:

The Pheu Thai Party is expected to appoint exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a government trade envoy to promote Thai exports abroad, which will enable him to freely travel the world.

But Noppadon Patama, Thaksin’s lawyer, tells the WSJ that:

“Mr. Thaksin has never thought about taking on any official role, and Ms. Yingluck has no intention of appointing him.”

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