ID :
152454
Mon, 12/06/2010 - 14:34
Auther :

Ousted Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra to visit US

BANGKOK,Dec6 (TNA) - Thailand’s ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to travel to the US to present an explanation on the recent rallies of the anti-government group United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD).
According to Thaksin’s lawyer and close aide Noppadon Pattama, the former premier will travel to the state Washington on 16 December 2010 in response to an invitation of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Thaksin is expected to present evidence on the violation of human rights during the April-May protests of the “red-shirted” UDD that led to a crackdown resulting in injuries and deaths.
Noppadon said CSCE is focusing their attention on the insurgency in Thailand’s southern restive provinces, issues regarding press freedom and the imposition of the emergency decree in which the committee believes it limits the transparency of incident of the April-May crackdown.
He further added Thaksin has evaluated the safety of his trip, and revealed that it would be a good opportunity to shed another explanation on the incident.
Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail term for corruption. He fled Thailand in 2008 before he was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail. His whereabouts has been kept secret.
Thaksin remains an influential and controversial figure on Thailand's turbulent political scene, galvanising his "Red Shirt" supporters earlier this year to join mass protests against the current government.
Thai courts have issued a series of warrants for the ex-premier for charges including terrorism -- an accusation linked to the Red Shirt protests.
The mass demonstrations in Bangkok descended into several bouts of bloodshed in April and May that left 91 people dead -- mostly civilians -- and some 1,900 injured, in a series of clashes between armed troops and protesters.
The CSCE independent U.S. Government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act to promote human rights, democracy, environmental, economic and military cooperation in 56 countries. The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine members from the U.S. House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce.(TNA)

X