Billionaire former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was yesterday released on parole after six months in detention, his first day of freedom in his homeland 15 years after fleeing in the wake of his overthrow in a military coup.
Thailand’s best-known and most polarizing premier, Thaksin has loomed large over politics during the years spent mostly in self-imposed exile to dodge jail for abuse of power, charges he maintained were cooked up by the country’s old guard.
The 74-year-old tycoon, whose family’s party is back in power, was granted parole despite having not spent a single night in prison for a sentence that had in August last year been commuted from eight years to one by the Thai king.
Photo: AFP
Due to health reasons, Thaksin was incarcerated in a luxury wing of a hospital, from which he made an uncharacteristically low-key departure before dawn yesterday, slipping out in a convoy of tinted-windowed vehicles that was chased by a phalanx of media that had gathered overnight.
Wearing a checked shirt, protective mask and with his arm in a sling, Thaksin was pictured in the vehicle beside youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, leader of the ruling Pheu Thai party, and arrived at his Bangkok residence 25 minutes later.
Thaksin made a dramatic return by private jet in August last year to a rapturous welcome from supporters, before being escorted away by police who saluted him as he arrived.
His homecoming coincided with ally Srettha Thavisin being elected prime minister that same day by a parliament stacked with lawmakers loyal to the military, prompting speculation Thaksin had negotiated a deal with the powerful enemies who toppled three Shinawatra governments in eight years.
His allies have denied any such pact.
Thaksin’s return and early release has been controversial, with widespread skepticism about the extent of his health problems and his relatively mild punishment.
“Very sick? Parole? What disease?” Thai Senator Somchai Swangkarn wrote on social media with pictures of Thaksin leaving hospital and the hashtag “RIP Thai justice.”
The opposition Move Forward Party said it was undeniable Thaksin had received unfair treatment in the past, but providing justice to him “should not be in a way that emphasizes double standards ... or gives certain individuals privileges above the law.”
Thaksin’s release had long been anticipated and the focus will now shift to whether the tycoon stays true to his word regarding his retirement.
“He certainly will have some influence. Now, to what extent? He’s not calling the shots the same way he used to,” political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said.
“Thaksin will be on a leash because the newly aligned centers of power, they don’t trust him,” he said. “I’m sure that the back channels will make it very clear that if he reneges on the deal, there’ll be trouble.”
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
In the week before his fatal shooting, right-wing US political activist Charlie Kirk cheered the boom of conservative young men in South Korea and warned about a “globalist menace” in Tokyo on his first speaking tour of Asia. Kirk, 31, who helped amplify US President Donald Trump’s agenda to young voters with often inflammatory rhetoric focused on issues such as gender and immigration, was shot in the neck on Wednesday at a speaking event at a Utah university. In Seoul on Friday last week, he spoke about how he “brought Trump to victory,” while addressing Build Up Korea 2025, a conservative conference
China has approved the creation of a national nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines, the government said yesterday, as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims in the contested region. A notice posted online by the Chinese State Council said that details about the area and size of the project would be released separately by the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration. “The building of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of the natural ecosystem of Huangyan Island,” the notice said. Scarborough
DEADLOCK: Putin has vowed to continue fighting unless Ukraine cedes more land, while talks have been paused with no immediate results expected, the Kremlin said Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week. The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus. Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there
RSS