Thaksin as yet has no plan to petition King to return, says spokesman

BANGKOK, Nov 2 (TNA) - Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra
has no definite plan yet to seek the His Majesty the King’s pardon for his
return to Thailand, his spokesman said on Sunday.

Addressing crowds of his tens of thousands of supporters assembled at a
sports stadium in Bangkok live from an unidentified location on Saturday
night, Mr Thaksin said he could not return to Thailand because of the
two-year jail term he faced for abusing his authority while in office to
facilitate a land purchase deal from which his wife benefited.

It was Thaksin's first opportunity to address the Thai public since he
fled the country to Britain in August. The ousted premier has several
arrest warrants against him and prosecutors have said they will seek his
extradition from Britain.

Moving crowds to tears with the tale of his plight living in exile, Mr
Thaksin told his supporters that “only Royal clemency or the people’s
power” could enable him to return to Thailand. His two-year jail lterm is
from the verdict that carries a statute of limitations of ten years.

These remarks sparked speculations that he could be seeking the King’s
pardon after the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the land deal.

However, Mr Thaksin’s spokesman Pongthep Thepkanjana denied that such a
petition is in the making. As things stand, Mr Thaksin’s team of lawyers
is seeking to secure the official documentation of the verdict in order
to decide the next move, said Mr Pongthep.

In addition, the spokesman denied to discuss Mr Thaksin’s whereabouts, or
how the exiled former leader under court verdict for imprisonment could
still travel around using his diplomatic passport issued by the Thai
government. (TNA)