THAILAND: Former Thai PM Jumps Bail, Surfaces in London

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is on the run from the law. So, too, is his wife, Pojaman. They have fled to London rather than face a corruption trial in this country’s Supreme Court.

And in an attempt to portray himself and his wife as victims, Thaksin issued a statement from the British capital on Monday, saying they had sought exile because their political enemies were interfering with the justice system and were out ‘’to finish myself and my family.’’

‘’What has happened to me is like a poisoned fruit that came from a poisoned tree,’’ the 59-year-old, who led the country from January 2001-September 2006, said in a hand-written statement faxed to local media organisations. ‘’These individuals see me as a political enemy. They have no consideration to judicial system, truth and legal principle.’’

‘’My family and I have been continuously treated unjustly,’’ added the man who was a billionaire telecommunication tycoon before being elected to his first term as prime minister. ‘’I ask that all my supporters remain with me a bit longer.’’

The flight of the Shinawatras, the most powerful political family in the country, marks a dramatic about-turn to the promises they made to the public after returning home barely six months ago after spending 18 months in exile. Thaksin announced that he would fight the slew of corruption cases brought against him and his wife in the courts.

All the corruption cases that the Shinawatras face were the result of investigations by a special commission appointed by a military junta that staged a coup in September 2006, driving the twice-elected Thaksin from power. These include an alleged corrupt land deal in Bangkok, for which Thaksin and Pojaman were to appear in the Supreme Court on Monday morning.

During his five years as Thailand’s leader, Thaksin was not known for respecting the truth, justice and fairness that he now wants for himself and his family. He gained notoriety for applying pressure and intimidating his critics, ignoring the law and violating human rights. Among flagrant violations was a ‘’war on drugs’’ that he launched to rid the country of its narcotics networks, where 2,500 people were killed in an orgy of death, many of them innocent civilians.

The new realities the Shinawatras faced in Thai courts was brought home on Jul. 31. That day, a criminal court convicted Pojaman, her adopted brother, Bhanapot Damapong, and her secretary, Kanchana Honghern, of tax fraud. Pojaman was sentenced to three years in jail.

Since then, there was growing speculation that the Shinawatras would flee. The permission that the Supreme Court granted to the former premier and his wife to leave the country last week to visit Japan and then attend the Beijing Olympics added to that view. The Shinawatras’ flight from justice was confirmed Sunday evening when they failed to board a Bangkok-bound plane from the Chinese capital.

‘’Their escape will not stop the case from proceeding. The court will try them in absentia. That is what happens in corruption cases,’’ says Somchai Homlaor, a human rights lawyer. ‘’Thaksin has no reasonable grounds to say that the trial will not be fair. His wife’s case proved it.’’

It is also bound to create a diplomatic issue between Thailand and Britain, because there is an extradition agreement between the two countries that still remains in effect, Somchai explained in an interview. ‘’It is now the duty of the public prosecutor to extradite Thaksin under that extradition treaty.’’

But analysts doubt that Bangkok would pursue such a measure since the current coalition government, led by the People Power Party (PPP), is closely linked to Thaksin. He only returned to the country after the PPP and its junior partners triumphed at the December elections, ending 16 months of rule by a military-backed government.
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