Thaksin pleased to hear Prem's remarks

The Nation (Thailand)
02-12-2009

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra reiterated his wish to sit at the negotiation table during his phone-in last night, and repeated his earlier statement that he was happy to hear Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda voice a desire for national reconciliation.

Thaksin quoted Prem as saying that it was time for people to turn to one another, adding that Prem's statement was "long over due" because the country had been suffering for far too long.

The fugitive ex-premier said the situation would reach boiling point if no talks were held, citing the political conflicts in the Philippines as an example. "When I heard what Pa [Prem] said [about turning to one another], I was happy and wished it would come true,'' he said.

Critics believe that the soon-to-be-delivered verdict on Thaksin's assets is the real reason behind his desperate call for negotiations.

During the phone-in, Thaksin also accused the government of instructing jet fighters to follow his plane when he took off from Cambodia last month.

He claimed that he had obtained documents from the Air Force to prove that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government had ordered fully equipped fighters to follow him. He said 10 minutes after his private jet took off from Siem Reap on November 14 at 9.45am, a squadron of F-16 jets started following him.

"They flew over Thai territory while I flew through Cambodian skies heading for Malaysia. It seemed as if they were monitoring my plane until I was near Hat Yai, when two F-5 planes took over from the F-16s," he said.

"Nobody should allow fully loaded war jets to follow a civilian airplane. Maybe they have been watching too many movies, and somebody is not doing his administrative job well," he said.

Meanwhile Banjerd Singkanethi, a former member of the Assets Examination Committee, told the Supreme Court yesterday that the Thaksin government had abused its power by issuing an executive decree on telecom excise taxes during its tenure.

His testimony was part of the prosecution's argument that Thaksin's Bt76-billion assets should be frozen.

Banjerd said the executive decree, which benefited Advanced Info Service, a unit of Shin Corp, was issued without parliamentary approval.

In addition, he said, AIS had won approval from the state-owned TOT's board during Thaksin's tenure from 2001 to 2006 to deduct telecom-roaming charges from its revenue before they were shared with the state.

As a result, TOT's income from the AIS concession was reduced.