BANGKOK, Nov 20 - Thailand is headed for choppy political waters, with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra set to announce his active return to politics next month, in an address to supporters at a stadium here.
Thaksin, who faces jail following his recent conviction over a land deal, has been pulling strings and sniping at his political foes from abroad. Now, it appears that he will come back fighting, overtly and aggressively.
Jatuporn Promphan, a legislator from the ruling pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP), was quoted by The Nation yesterday as saying: "Thaksin will no longer wait to be attacked, he will fight back by all means, particularly with an eye-for-an-eye strategy, from now on.
"Thaksin now believes that the only way for him to survive... is to fight for his name. (He) will announce... that he will return to politics to defend his name."
Thaksin, now in Dubai, indicated last week that he would make a longer speech than the one he made in a previous phone-in on Nov 1, and that this time he would start "naming names".
Like the Nov 1 event at Rajamangala stadium in Bangkok, which drew 70,000 people, the upcoming address - slated for Dec 13 or Dec 14 - will be held under the banner of the pro-government "Truth Today" TV programme.
The venue will be the 35,000-capacity National Stadium in downtown Bangkok, close to Siam Square.
The wheels for Thaksin's comeback appear to be set in motion.
The announcement this week of Thaksin's Building a Better Future Foundation - whose stated aim is to bring together Asia's brightest financial brains to help struggling poor nations - is seen as a way to rehabilitate his image, which has been battered by a string of court cases.
The new foundation is linked to the Bangkok-based Thaicom Foundation, the offices of which Thaksin had used in the past to give media interviews.
Jatuporn also reinforced the view that the former premier's divorce from his wife Pojaman last week was a tactical one, to give him greater leeway to engage in political combat and keep his family out of harm's way.
"Thaksin and his wife had decided earlier, after the coup d'etat in 2006, that they would separate if he decided to return to politics. It's a promise between them," said the MP.
In a potential curtain-raiser, a pro-government TV station will hold a gathering at Buddhist temple Wat Suan Kaew on the outskirts of Bangkok on Sunday. Thaksin may phone in and address that gathering as well.
These developments have led many Thais to worry that there is no peaceful way out of the stalemate between pro-Thaksin forces and those against him, such as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
Already, the Thai government has moved next month's Asean Summit, originally scheduled to be held in the capital, to Chiang Mai in the north - Thaksin's hometown.
It cited the potential for disruption in Bangkok as a reason for the switch.
There is also concern that the PAD - whose members have taken over government buildings and marched in massive street protests - will step up pressure to force the government to resign or the military to intervene.
Sanguan Pongmanee, a PPP Member of Parliament from Lampun province, told the daily Matichon that Thaksin's return to politics would give the PPP better direction.
But he also warned that the conflict in Thailand had the potential to escalate to the point that the kingdom could eventually break up, like the former Soviet Union.
Chulalongkorn University political science professor Panitan Wattanayagorn, however, downplayed the fears, saying the MP was being alarmist and that "the PPP will break up before Thailand does".
But he conceded that Thailand would be left debilitated by the continuing political battles. - The Straits Times
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
