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Ousted Thai PM Thaksin vows to return
Agence France Presse - November 25, 2008
Thailand's ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra says he plans a return to politics in his homeland and can fix the turmoil wracking the country, as protests by his opponents drag on.
Thaksin, who has professed his retirement from politics since his removal in a coup in September 2006, told Arabian Business magazine that Thailand was suffering after months of anti-government protests. The demonstrators accuse the government of being a front for Thaksin.
"The country is going down deeply. The confidence is not there. The trust amongst foreign community is not there. The poor people in rural areas are in difficulty," he said in extracts from the interview published on the magazine's website on Sunday.
"With me at the helm I can bring confidence quickly back to Thailand. We have to find a mechanism under which I can go back, that is why I must tell you that I will go back into politics."
The most recent turmoil began in Thailand in late May as opponents of Thaksin took to the streets to protest against the policies of the government elected last December and its links to the former premier.
Thaksin is also the brother-in-law of Thai premier Somchai Wongsawat. Multi-millionaire Thaksin, who was twice elected, has spent most of his time since the coup in exile abroad and is currently believed to be in Dubai. He was sentenced in absentia last month to two years on corruption charges.
Thaksin in the interview also criticised the British government, which revoked his visa soon after his October conviction for helping his wife purchase government-owned land while he was in power.
Despite his previous vows to stay out of politics, analysts have said Thaksin is the guiding hand behind the ruling People Power Party, and in the past few months he has become increasingly vocal.
On November 1, he gave a telephone address to about 90,000 supporters at a Bangkok stadium, where he said that his supporters and the king could help bring him home – a pledge he repeated in the Arabian Business interview.
"I think a lot depends on the power of the people. If they feel they are in hardship and they need me to help them, I will go back," he said.
"If the king feels I can be beneficial I will go back and he may grant me a royal pardon. If they don't need me and the king feels I can make no difference, then I will stay here and do business."
The anti-government movement has steadily escalated since late May, and on Tuesday about 10,000 protesters besieged the temporary cabinet offices at an abandoned Bangkok airport.
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