ASYLUM SETBACK

UK cancels visas of Thaksin, wife

The British Embassy has revoked entry visas of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman.

The cancellation, which was decided while the couple were outside England, has been notified to airlines yesterday.

The decision was made by the United Kingdom Border Agency, and the notification email was signed by Bangkok-based Immigration Liaison Manager Andy Gray.

The email read:

"Dear All,

The United Kingdom Border Agency has revoked the UK visas held by the following Thai nations:

Thaksin Shinawatra. Thai Passport Number D215863

Potjaman Shinawatra. Thai Passport Number D206635

The UK visas contained in the passports of the individuals listed above are no longer valid for travel.

Airlines are advised not to carry these passengers to the UK"

*** end *****

The embassy would not comment on the report. Contacted embassy officials said they "cannot comment on policy matters."

It was a big political blow for Thaksin, who was believed to be on his way from China to the Philippines yesterday. It was understood that the cancellation had to do with the recent court rulings that found Pojaman guilty of tax evasion and Thaksin guilty of breaking the conflict of interest law in the Ratchadapisek land purchase scandal.

Their children's British visas are still valid.

A senior People Power Party politician who has been in China this week answered The Nation's phone contact but replied to the inquiry about Thaksin's visa situation with only "I don't know. I don't know."

Thaksin has always described England as a "democratically mature" country as compared to Thailand. But he always denied having applied for asylum although he said England would be the country where he wanted to live in exile.

Last Saturday, in a controversial long-distance phone-in from Hong Kong, Thaksin accused his political opponents of breaking his family apart. In the same address, he also begged for royal pardon or a popular show of force to bring him back to Thailand.

"Nobody can bring me back to Thailand, except royal kindness of HM the King or the power of the people," Thaksin said. He also claimed that many countries have offered him "honorary citizenship", "which made me a bit sad because I could do many things for anybody else in the world, but nothing now for my country."

The statement triggered a major controversy in Thailand, with Thaksin being accused of trying to drag HM the King into politics. The UK visa move, however, gave Thaksin's statement a whole new perspective, making him sound more like someone desperate to find refuge rather than trying to provoke a political reaction.

It is not immediately known, however, whether Thaksin was aware of the impending visa cancellation before he left England the last time.

A source familiar with the UK legal and diplomatic thinking said the cancellation could have been based on "the different statuses" of Thaksin between the time he was issued the visa and now.

The Supreme Court only found Thaksin guilty in the Ratchadapisek land case late last month, weeks after he fled Thailand during the Beijing Olympics. He fled with his wife, who only days earlier had been found guilty of tax evasion.

England has been under the world community's watchful eyes when Thaksin is concerned. Diplomatic observers have said a decision whether or not to give Thaksin asylum would generate strong ramifications on England's relations with Thailand, as well as London's reputations when democracy, foreign relations and legal principles are concerned.

-- The Nation 2008-11-08

I'm sure he's still welcome in Bolivia.

som nam na Taksin

With the forces of the old elite squaring up to the PAD, this decision by the UK authorities is likely to bring the current stand off to a head, sooner rather than later but with consequences that no one can really foresee.

For the average Thai (whoever she may be) it must be hard to take sides, as the country tears itself apart.

Michael Backman?s piece in The Age sums it up well (written of course before the latest move by UK authorities).

Robert

"How Thailand's evolution into a stable democracy has gone into reverse By Michael Backman The Age November 5, 2008

THINGS in Thailand are a mess ? a big, intractable mess. And things will get worse before they get better.

How much worse? It's hard to say. But unless a breakthrough can be found to the current political stalemate, another military coup seems inevitable. Which means that politically, Thailand is Asia's least-prepared country to withstand the economic downturn.

Thailand's economy is more vulnerable than most to a US slowdown. It is a big exporter to the US. Foreign investment, too, will slide. Why buy an asset now in Thailand with that country's poor legal protection for investors and corruption when assets are going cheaply in the US and Europe, where investors receive excellent legal protection?

It's all a terrible pity. For a while, Thailand looked like it had finally evolved into a stable democracy. But now ? as many Thais will tell you ? the country has gone backwards 20 years.

The problem in a nutshell is that the Thai elite has split. There is the Thaksin camp: the followers of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. And there is the anti-Thaksin camp: essentially those allied to King Bhumibol Adulyadej and his key adviser, General Prem Tinsulanonda, who heads the Privy Council.

Neither camp is prepared to give ground. There's no generosity of spirit between them, just loathing and contempt.

The present Government in its various forms has won two elections but still lacks legitimacy. It is seen as a proxy for Thaksin. Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, appointed in September, is married to Thaksin's brother. The family connection alone means his days are numbered, and it will be a miracle if he survives into next year.

Somchai will be given a little breathing space as the cremation ceremony for the King's sister (she died in January) will be held from November 14 to 19, when everything can be expected to quieten down in Bangkok out of respect for the royal family. But, come November 20, the political crisis will be back in full swing.

Last month protesters attempted to hold 320 parliamentarians and senators hostage inside the Parliament building, cutting off power. Somchai escaped by jumping a back fence.

Why does Thaksin evoke such strong emotions? As prime minister, he sought to portray himself as the "father of the nation", and as a source of power separate from the King. The King's protectors saw him as attempting to usurp the King.

Thaksin came to office as a billionaire businessman and essentially bankrolled himself to power. The nouveau riche usurper was seen as a fundamental threat to the Thai aristocracy, which, thanks to its polygamous past, is very large. Furthermore, Thaksin used his position to increase his wealth. Quite why this is so upsetting in the Thai context is a mystery. Probably the aristocrats felt they were being cut out of too many deals.

In September 2006, Thaksin was ousted in a coup d'etat. It was the first non-constitutional change of government in 15 years and it occurred after a year of political deadlock.

The military cancelled the upcoming elections, suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament and arrested cabinet members. It is widely believed that the coup was either organised or sanctioned by General Prem, thereby implying the implicit support of the King. Prem has denied any involvement.

Elections were held in 2007, but unfortunately for Prem and his supporters, the wrong party emerged victorious ? a new party but one that largely was comprised of the remnants of Thaksin's party, which had been dismantled for legal reasons.

Since then, both Thaksin and his wife have been charged and found guilty of corruption. The fact that this could have happened while a Government largely seen as a proxy for Thaksin was in office shows how split Thailand's elite has become: the anti-Thaksin forces don't have enough power to be in government but they do have enough power to have Thaksin charged and found guilty. He would now be in jail had he not fled to London.

With all this upheaval, the Democrat Party ? the safe, middle-class party ? should be making hay, but it isn't. Its voice isn't being heard in all the ruckus, and party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva is perhaps best summed up as well liked but ineffectual.

Further complicating the picture is the age of both Prem and the King. Prem is 88. The King is 81 and in poor health. Thaksin, on the other hand, is 59. The aristocrats want to control the future institutional shape of Thailand but they are running out of time.

Anti-Thaksin protesters have blockaded Government House, where the prime minister's office is located, since late August. Pro-Thaksin forces threw grenades at the protesters last week.

The Parliament is deadlocked. The military is split. And there is no single political figure able to force a breakthrough. New elections will simply see another proxy Thaksin government installed, which will please most Thais, but not the bulk of the Bangkok electorate and the royalist part of the elite.

So another coup by that part of the military allied to Prem is on the cards. When? December 24 or thereabouts seems a good date. The royal cremation ceremony will be over and the Western world and its media will be preoccupied with Christmas."

ends

Backman is always good, and I'm glad to see him refer to this as a dispute between TWO elites. The PAD is so often portrayed as representing THE ELITE. But Thaksin and his cronies are every bit as much the elite as SOME of his opponents are.

Having spoken to some of the protesters at Government House, I can tell you there are office workers and maids among them. Hardly the aristocracy.

I don't think it's such a mystery, however, why Thaksin using his position to enrich himself caused such a negative reaction.

He was already enormously wealthy and so his attempts to become even wealthier through conflicts of interest had him looking like a Marcos-to-be, and Thailand has never had that and didn't want it. It is perceived as dangerous.

Second, he was using his wealth, some of it ill gotten, to corrupt the political process to a degree unseen before, to where it was basically one-man rule, sort of like Marcos. Too dangerous.

And lastly, most of his riches came from Government concessions, so when he sold his business to a foreign company, it was viewed by some as selling national assets. They felt it wasn't really his to sell, and that he could never distinguish between national interest and his own.

On top of it, paying no tax on the deal was infuriating to many middle class people, especially as the Thaksin government had a campaign on to make sure people paid their taxes. Talk about screw you, in your face double standards.

Lay this on top of an undercurrent of perceived challenge and disrespect for HM, coupled with consistent vindictiveness towards his critics and opponents, and it became quite explosive.

u can fly....but u can't hideeeeee

I don't want to gloat or anything but

oh wait. I DO want to gloat - and jump around in front of his face flipping him the bird and saying, "Yeah... **** you and ALL your criminal buddies."

But on a serious note... (!) ... do you think Samak is really sick? Do you think he's coming back from treatment in the US to face the music?

Thaksin and his wife will be allowed to enter the UK with no problems on their honorary Bahamian passports from what I hear.

Lobourt: Yeah, whats up with that? Bolivia? Why would someone of Evo Morales reach out for someone like Thaksin? I wonder what the countries that offered him citizenship and a job are up to.

hohoho.... I'm quite happy to hear this.. but we will see what's next this guy will do!

"which made me a bit sad because I could do many things for anybody else in the world, but nothing now for my country."

u had ur chance d*ck! good the UKBA cancelled his visa!

hope he won't come to knock on our door!

Interesting article too on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7716033.stm

Thai crisis exposes class struggle

By Jonathan Head

BBC News, Bangkok

For weeks the yellow-shirted protesters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have hogged the limelight in Thailand.

With the backing of powerful military and palace figures, they have helped unseat one prime minister and two members of his cabinet.

The embattled government, led by allies of controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has in vain protested that it was popularly elected less than a year ago.

Now it has started fighting back with a series of mass rallies by its own red-shirted followers.

This is a dangerous contest between two power-hungry political factions who see it as a zero-sum game, in which they either win everything, or lose everything.

But it has become much more than that.

The rift has split Thai society, along regional and especially along class lines.

'Dress in red'

It is Monday morning, in a quiet backstreet in Udon Thani, provincial capital of a north-eastern province bordering Laos and a known Thaksin stronghold.

Radio DJ Kwanchai Sarakam is taking calls. He is a firebrand Thaksin loyalist who already faces criminal charges over his involvement in a clash with PAD supporters in July. But his callers are just as fired up.

If the PAD cannot convince me their version of democracy will help grass-roots people like me, then I will fight them to my last breath

Farmer Ankham Ratanasingha (left)

The first is an old lady, with a warning for the military. "Listen to me, soldiers," she shouts down a crackly phone line, "if you dare try another coup, forget about getting roses, because I will dress myself entirely in red - red hair, red panties, red bra, red fingernails - and jump in front of your tanks. You will have to run over me, a grass-roots woman, and crush me to death."

Other calls follow in a similar, if less melodramatic, vein.

The show finishes with a rousing song, scorning "educated people" for their ignorance and lack of manners.

Kwanchai threatens to bring a red-shirted army to Bangkok to declare war on the PAD. He says there will have to be bloodshed before Thailand can get through this crisis. He almost seems to relish the prospect. But the sense of being engaged in a class war is commonplace on both sides of this struggle.

Rich-poor divide

"You see these people here - they are all educated people," one man told me at a PAD gathering in Bangkok. "But the ones who support the government party, they are all uneducated, especially from the north and north-east."

This is a typical comment from the PAD, implying that the millions of rural people who consistently vote for pro-Thaksin politicians are either bribed or do not understand what they are doing.

It is the justification the PAD gives for demanding a parliament which is part-appointed.

Such an attitude infuriates Ankham Ratanasingha, who runs a small farm with her husband just outside Udon Thani.

She had to leave school at 10 years old, but takes pride in having educated her two children to university level.

"If the PAD cannot convince me that their version of democracy will help grass-roots people like me, then I will fight them to my last breath," she said. "They should treat us with respect, not as people they can just squash under their feet."

"The problem of Thai political crisis is a class struggle", says Attajak Satayanutak, an academic from Thaksin's home town Chiang Mai.

"We have a wide gap between rich and poor. The poor did not receive anything from the state for a long time. Then, for the first time, Thaksin gave this opportunity for them."

The affection for Thaksin Shinawatra has held up remarkably well in the north-east, a poor and arid region known as Isaan.

Local people say his populist policies, like universal healthcare and the village loan scheme, brought big improvements to the quality of their lives.

But time and again they cite something else - dignity. They told me he offered them the hope of improving themselves, without making them feel small, or humble.

If the military mounts another coup, this time the country will split, and there will be civil war

Thaksin supporter

His darker sides - abuses of power, human rights violations, arrogance - were brushed aside as less important.

Isaan has long been the butt of jokes in Thailand. It has a culture and language closer to that of neighbouring Laos than the central plains around Bangkok. It supplies much of the cheap, migrant labour to the capital.

But it has one valuable asset Thaksin Shinawatra identified as he began planning his bid for power in the late 1990s - voters, around one third of the total.

He was the first politician to court them directly, with appealing policies, rather than relying on the local godfathers to deliver their support.

In doing so, he has awoken a new political self-awareness in a previously passive region. And Isaan people are furious about the comments they are hearing from the PAD in Bangkok.

"Those who think Isaan people blindly follow Thaksin Shinawatra have an outdated image of our region," I was told by Puttakarn Panthong, a local politician who is not affiliated with Mr Thaksin's party. "They have better education now, and they understand who and what they are voting for."

Stuck in exile

So at the first of the big rallies in Bangkok, the former prime minister's phone-call, from somewhere overseas, was the most eagerly awaited moment of the night.

A huge roar went up from the 60,000 red-shirted faithful as his voice came over the speakers, asking: "Have you missed me?" There were more than a few tearful faces in the crowd.

But this was also a carefully-choreographed event, intended to send out a signal to the PAD and its royalist backers, that they face formidable opposition. The crowd was far larger than any the PAD has managed to attract this year.

Aside from Mr Thaksin, the highlight of the night was a song sung by Chaturon Chaiseng, one of the most respected politicians in the Thaksin camp.

He was also once a left-wing activist who took up arms against the military during the communist insurgency of the last 1970s.

And the song he chose was written by one of his comrades-in-arms, which tells of the sadness of a young rebel unable to return home.

The reference, or course, was to Mr Thaksin, stuck in exile, facing a two-year prison sentence if he comes back.

But it also connected his poor, rural followers today, with the class conflicts of Thailand's past.

Behind Mr Chaturon they held up the words "NO MORE COUP" in bold red letters. It seemed more of a warning than a plea.

One man turned to me and said: "If the military mounts another coup, this time the country will split, and there will be civil war."

......... watch the present government **** UK visas here as a *** for tat!

He was heading the right place "Philippines" he will join all his crooked mates there and fit in well.(;-)

LOL @ PeeMarc

I wish to inform you all that it really does not matter about the visa in the two passports. Thailand had ample time to repeal their Diplomatic Passports but never chose to do so. So at this time they can go to the UK without visa's on their Diplomatic Passports. This seems to be a little smoke and mirrors in action, and I don't know why?

I've heard this article is just a piece of propaganda by the PAD. Some people on another forum had done some digging at BBC and other news affiliates and couldn't find supporting stories. Maybe that has changed by now...

The BBC and both English language newspapers here in Thailand are reporting this story as true and using sources that are not the PAD. So you are mistaken. I saw it broadcast on BBC World yesterday, so I dont' know who is telling you there are no supporting stories, but maybe you should look for yourself on the BBC website instead of another forum.

As far as the visa is concerned, the British government has informed airlines not to allow Thaksin and his wife to board any flights to Britain. So it doesn't sound like Thaksin's diplomatic passport is going to do him much good as far as the UK is concerned.

thx a lot for uk goverment

coz im Young PAD