2008年11月2日 星期日

Thaksin Is Exiled Again

他信英國簽證被吊銷 可能來中國

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2008年11月10日11:35
亡國外的泰國前總理他信(Thaksin Shinawatra)因英國簽證被吊銷而無法回到倫敦的臨時住所﹐目前正尋求新的根據地﹐以對抗他的批評者。

泰 國政府週六宣佈﹐英國有關當局上週撤銷了他信及其妻Pojaman Shinawatra的入境簽證。這一出人意料的舉措讓他信至少喪失了一個藏身之所。上個月﹐泰國最高法院缺席宣判他信一項與腐敗有關的罪名成立﹐判處他 兩年監禁。英國的舉動也令倫敦免予可能十分漫長的引渡之爭。

記者無法聯絡到他信就此置評。知情人士稱﹐他信目前不在英國﹐有可能試圖到中國暫住﹐他2006年因軍事政變而下台後曾在中國度過了幾個月時間。

英國駐曼谷大使館官員拒絕就撤銷他信簽證的決定置評。

11月1日﹐他信通過電話向曼谷一個體育場內的逾5萬人發表了講話﹐加強了爭奪泰國政治權力的長期鬥爭的利害關係。這場集會展示出他信在許多泰國民眾中依然受到廣泛支持﹐雖然曼谷已經出現了針對目前在泰國政府中當權的他信政治盟友的長期抗議。

在大會上講話時﹐他信宣佈除非出於人民的意願或獲得泰國國王普密蓬•阿杜德(Bhumibol Adulyadej)特赦﹐否則他絕不會回到泰國﹐此話引發了新的爭議﹐一些反對他信的政治家將這番話解讀為試圖將很有影響力的泰國國王拉進政治爭端之中。

由商人、學者和狂熱的保王黨人組成的人民民主聯盟(People's Alliance for Democracy)是批判他信的主要力量﹐這些人擔心他信所標榜的民粹政治雖然受到大量泰國農民的歡迎﹐但會損害泰國官僚機構、軍隊和皇室中的傳統統治精英的利益。

身為電信行業億萬富翁、曾兩次當選總理的他信已經表示﹐針對他的腐敗指控有其政治動機﹐意在消除他回來當總理的可能性。今年8月﹐他與妻子逃離泰國﹐表示他認為自己不可能受到公正審判。

James Hookway


Thaksin Is Exiled Again As UK Denies His Visa

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2008年11月10日11:35
Deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a fugitive in Thailand and barred from returning to his temporary home in London after Britain withdrew his visa, is now looking for a new base from which to combat his critics.

British authorities revoked entry visas for Mr. Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman Shinawatra, last week, the Thai government said Saturday. The unexpected move deprives Mr. Thaksin of at least one refuge after Thailand's Supreme Court convicted him in absentia last month on a corruption-related charge. He was sentenced to two years in prison. The British move also frees London from dealing with a potentially lengthy extradition battle.

Mr. Thaksin couldn't be reached for comment. People familiar with the situation said he currently isn't in Britain, and that it is likely Mr. Thaksin will seek to stay in China, where he spent several months after the 2006 military coup that toppled him from power.

British embassy officials in Bangkok declined to comment on the decision to revoke his visa.

On Nov. 1, Mr. Thaksin raised the stakes in a long-running battle for political control of Thailand by addressing by telephone a rally of more than 50,000 people at a Bangkok sports stadium. It was an orchestrated demonstration of the popular support that Mr. Thaksin still commands among many Thais, despite long-running protests in Bangkok against his political allies, who currently lead Thailand's government.

In the rally speech, Mr. Thaksin caused fresh controversy by declaring that nothing could bring him back to Thailand except the will of the people or a royal pardon from King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- a call that some opposition politicians interpreted as an attempt to pull Thailand's influential monarchy into the country's political disputes.

Leading the criticism of Mr. Thaksin is the People's Alliance for Democracy, a group of businessmen, academics and ardent royalists who fear that his brand of populist politics -- while popular with the masses of rural Thais -- is undermining the country's traditional ruling elites among the bureaucracy, the military and the royal family.

Mr. Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire who was twice elected prime minister, has said the corruption charges filed against him were politically motivated to eliminate the possibility of his return as premier. He fled the country with his wife in August, saying he couldn't expect fair trials.

James Hookway

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