Thousands of reds greet Thaksin

Bangkok Post, April 15, 2012

A cabinet minister, an aide to the prime minister and a senior diplomat have been accused by the Democrat Party of negligence of duty for meeting former premier Thaksin Shinawatra in Laos.

Mallika Boonmeetrakul, the party's deputy spokesman, said she has asked the party's legal advisers to study what action can be taken against them and Pheu Thai MPs who went to Laos and Cambodia to meet Thaksin.

Initially, a complaint is being planned against Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol, prime ministerial adviser Suchon Chaleekrua and the Thai ambassador to Laos Vitavas Srivihok who met Thaksin in Vientiane.

She said the three face negligence of duty charges because they failed to report to the authorities about meeting Thaksin who faces five arrest warrants.

"One is a state official and the others are political office holders. They walked on their knees when they met Thaksin and didn't try to report to authorities," she said.

Ms Mallika said she has also asked the legal advisers whether action can be taken against the Pheu Thai MPs who met Thaksin. "They are lawmakers and are on the state's payroll, so they should have known better," she said.

Ms Mallika criticised certain authorities including the Royal Thai Police and the Foreign Ministry for their indifference, saying they did not deserve to stay in their jobs.
The Democrat said she is ready to appear on a red shirt television station to clarify Thaksin's alleged wrongdoing.

According to Ms Mallika, Thaksin has five warrants out against him in connection with the two-digit and three-digit lottery, a soft loan granted by the Export-Import Bank to Myanmar, conversion of telecom concession fees to a telecom excise tax, political violence and the Ratchadapisek land deal.

Thaksin arrived at Siem Reap airport yesterday afternoon in his private plane from Laos. Cambodia provided strong security to guard him along the route from the airport to the City Angkor Hotel where he will stay during his Cambodia visit. Thaksin welcoming cardboard cutouts were displayed along the route.

A crowd of red shirts from Thailand who were waiting at the hotel flocked to surround him when he arrived.

Pheu Thai chief adviser Sanoh Thienthong who led the caravan of several thousand red shirts which left through the Aranyaprathet checkpoint in Sa Kaeo, moved to embrace Thaksin when he arrived.

Other politicians who waited to welcome Thaksin included Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri, Deputy Interior Minister Thanit Thienthong and Deputy Public Health Minister Surawit Khonsomboon. Also there were former House speaker Yongyuth Tiyaphairat, former transport minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal, Bannapot Damapong, stepbrother of Potjaman na Pombejra, Thaksin's ex-wife, and red shirt agitator Arisman Pongruangrong.

Several thousand red shirts yesterday crossed border checkpoints in Sa Kaeo and Si Sa Ket to celebrate Songkran with Thaksin.

They travelled in hundreds of buses, vans, pickup trucks and private cars.

Some state vehicles were also spotted in the caravan.

It was reported that Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen sent more than a dozen buses to transport the red shirts from a meeting point at a casino in Poi Pet to Siem Reap.

The immigration office was bustling with red shirts since early morning. The crowd thinned out after 11am. More than 7,400 people left for Cambodia via the checkpoint.

In Si Sa Ket, a caravan of red shirts left for Siem Reap 200km away via a checkpoint in Phu Sing district.

A campsite was set up for them about two kilometres outside of Siem Reap township. Thaksin was yesterday scheduled to appear at a red shirt concert at the Cultural Plaza.

A border source said some Cambodians in the border town of Poi Pet are not happy that their government is offering free admission to Angkor Wat for the red shirts during April 13-15.

A day pass to the Unesco World Heritage Site normally costs US$20 (600 baht) and it means the country may lose as much as $1 million.