Friday, 22 January 2010 James O’toole and Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post
Fugitive Thai former prime minister heads out as tensions rise in Bangkok
Protesters from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) gather near a stage set up outside the departure hall of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, during protests in December 2008.
FUGITIVE Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra left Cambodia on Thursday after a brief visit that coincided with rising tensions in Bangkok, as Red Shirt protestors planned large-scale protests aimed at bringing down the government.
Thaksin left at 3:30pm Council of Ministers secretary of state Prak Sokhon, who organised Thaksin’s Cambodia itinerary, said Thursday.
Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said Thaksin shared dinner with Prime Minister Hun Sen after arriving in the Kingdom on Wednesday afternoon. Thaksin, who is believed to be spending most of his time in Dubai, wrote in a Wednesday post on his Web site that he was flying from Papua New Guinea to Phnom Penh, where he would stop for one night before continuing on to another destination in Asia.
Thai ministry of foreign affairs deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi declined to comment on Thaksin’s trip, though Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said last week that the former leader was timing a visit to Cambodia to coincide with planned antigovernment protests that threaten to engulf Thailand’s main airport and sites around Bangkok.
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