NEWS Think / Getting Thaksin back is mission impossible
Written by Writer on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
NEWS Think / Getting Thaksin back is mission impossible
ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
When Gen Surayud Chulanont’s government was in power after the coup, there was talk of extraditing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to face four charges that had been bought against him. However, at the time he had not been convicted of any crime, so no action could be taken.
Now that he has been convicted, the chances of getting him back are just as slim.
The present government is made up of close friends of Thaksin - his brother-in-law is the prime minister - and apart from their lack of interest in pursuing him, the red tape involved in filing for extradition is bound to delay any efforts to bring Thaksin home to serve the two-year jail term he was sentenced to in the land case involving his wife.
Many hope Thaksin can be extradited from wherever he is, or that Thailand can ask for cooperation from countries and ask them to refuse him entry. Some hope that other European Union nations and members of the Commonwealth will follow the British government’s lead and refuse him entry. But that may be wishful thinking because in practice it depends on the policy of these countries.
China, The Bahamas and the United Arab Emirates have been mentioned as possible destinations where Thaksin could live in exile. Apart from his mansion in Surrey, England, Thaksin is also reported to have bought properties in China and Australia. In China, he also has his close friend Yan Bin, or Charnchai Ruayrungrueng, one of the richest men in China and the owner of the Pine Valley Golf Course in Beijing.
China told Thailand after the 2006 coup that the Thaksin case was a domestic issue for Thailand and that they would not get involved. However, Thaksin would be foolish to put Beijing in a difficult position in its relations with Thailand.
In the UAE, Thaksin has good connections. He took a group of UAE businessmen to Cambodia to look at lots of projects and he sold Manchester City Football Club to an Abu Dhabi consortium.
The UAE and The Bahamas have no extradition treaties with Thailand, but there has been an agreement with China since 1993.
Getting Thaksin back to Thailand will not be easy. He told the international media that what happened to him was a political issue and that he was toppled by undemocratic forces.
History also shows that extraditing people on the Thai government’s wanted list is not easy, as the case of Pin Jakkapak and Rakesh Saxena prove.
Bangkok Post
Tuesday November 11, 2008
