ID :
163820
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 18:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/163820
The shortlink copeid
Thai ex-PM Thaksin calls for national reconciliation
DUBAI, Feb. 24 Kyodo -
Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Thursday urged Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to bring about national reconciliation between the country's bitterly opposed political camps.
In an interview with Kyodo News conducted in a Middle East country, Thaksin warned that the ongoing political standoff in Thailand will continue if a general election is held without national reconciliation.
Thaksin said conditions for such national reconciliation include remedies for victims of the political standoff, amnesty for people, such as Thaksin, sentenced with political motives, and reform of an independent judicial system.
''A true democracy entails freedom of the people and respect for the rule of law. Thai politics has at present drifted from those principles, and now operates for the interest of specific people,'' he said.
Thaksin supporters held large-scale anti-government demonstrations from March to May last year, but were forcibly ended by security forces.
Thaksin said the government's crackdown on his supporters only amplified the anger of the people. ''Seeking a true democracy is a worldwide trend,'' he said, referring to the popular uprisings in Egypt and Libya.
''If I were Abhisit, I would talk to the leaders of both the Thaksin camp and the anti-Thaksin camp,'' he said.
Thaksin added that if national reconciliation is realized and free and fair elections are held, ''the result will be respected.''
Leading up to the next election, he said he is calling for the Puea Thai Party (For Thais Party), an opposition party that supports him, to block election fraud and put forward its own national reconciliation plan.
As for his return to politics, he said there is a possibility if it is sought by the people.
But Thaksin added that he is ''quite settled'' in his new business of mining for gold, platinum and coal in several countries in Africa including Uganda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
He said he also plans to take his mining firm public in the future and it will be much larger than the telecom empire he founded in Thailand.
''I am really fed up with Thai-style politics,'' he said.
Thaksin was ousted from the premiership in a 2006 bloodless coup.
He fled Thailand in August 2008 shortly before a court sentenced him to two years in jail for breaking a conflict of interest law while he was in power.
Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Thursday urged Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to bring about national reconciliation between the country's bitterly opposed political camps.
In an interview with Kyodo News conducted in a Middle East country, Thaksin warned that the ongoing political standoff in Thailand will continue if a general election is held without national reconciliation.
Thaksin said conditions for such national reconciliation include remedies for victims of the political standoff, amnesty for people, such as Thaksin, sentenced with political motives, and reform of an independent judicial system.
''A true democracy entails freedom of the people and respect for the rule of law. Thai politics has at present drifted from those principles, and now operates for the interest of specific people,'' he said.
Thaksin supporters held large-scale anti-government demonstrations from March to May last year, but were forcibly ended by security forces.
Thaksin said the government's crackdown on his supporters only amplified the anger of the people. ''Seeking a true democracy is a worldwide trend,'' he said, referring to the popular uprisings in Egypt and Libya.
''If I were Abhisit, I would talk to the leaders of both the Thaksin camp and the anti-Thaksin camp,'' he said.
Thaksin added that if national reconciliation is realized and free and fair elections are held, ''the result will be respected.''
Leading up to the next election, he said he is calling for the Puea Thai Party (For Thais Party), an opposition party that supports him, to block election fraud and put forward its own national reconciliation plan.
As for his return to politics, he said there is a possibility if it is sought by the people.
But Thaksin added that he is ''quite settled'' in his new business of mining for gold, platinum and coal in several countries in Africa including Uganda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
He said he also plans to take his mining firm public in the future and it will be much larger than the telecom empire he founded in Thailand.
''I am really fed up with Thai-style politics,'' he said.
Thaksin was ousted from the premiership in a 2006 bloodless coup.
He fled Thailand in August 2008 shortly before a court sentenced him to two years in jail for breaking a conflict of interest law while he was in power.
