On the day marking his 74th birthday, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a surprise announcement. His daughter, Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra, took to social media to inform the public that her father would be returning to his homeland, Thailand, on August 10th, landing at Don Mueang airport.
She wrote on Instagram with a palpable sense of anticipation mixed with disbelief: “I can’t quite believe what I am typing, my father is returning on Aug 10 at Don Mueang airport.” As the prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party, Ms. Paetongtarn has had to miss three of her father’s birthdays — including the current one — due to numerous preparations.
In her online birthday wishes for her father, Ms. Paetongtarn expressed both joy and apprehension about his return, “yet we always respect our father’s decisions.” She wished for him good health and safety and expressed her hope that he will be able to achieve his goal of taking his grandchildren to school regularly.
The former prime minister, she wrote, had accomplished a lot during his tenure, receiving recognition for many national contributions. Yet, his journey was not devoid of challenges and injustices.
Thaksin’s intentions to return home had been circling since early last year, according to Ms. Paetongtarn, who celebrated her father’s birthday in his absence.
Meanwhile, Thaksin himself was seen in a video call from overseas while his supporters held a ceremony to mark his birthday in Ubon Ratchathani. Among his supporters were locals, along with present and previous Pheu Thai MPs from the northeastern province. Thaksin reassured them that this would be his last birthday celebrated outside Thailand.
He said, “In several days I will be home and I look forward to visiting all of you in Ubon (Ratchathani)…” He expressed gratitude to the residents of Ubon for their unwavering support towards him and the Pheu Thai Party and confidently predicted a boosted economy when Pheu Thai returns to power.
Since his displacement by a military coup in September 2006, Thaksin, who chose to live in self-imposed exile except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008, received a total of 12 years’ prison sentence in absentia from Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in four separate cases.
The charges ranged from abuse of authority in facilitating his then-wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra’s purchase of state-owned land at a below-market price to malpractice in relation to a lottery case. He was also found guilty of authorising loans to Myanmar for purchasing equipment supplied by his family’s telecommunications firm through the Thai Exim Bank and of having nominees hold shares in Shin Corp, both prohibited for a political office holder.
Notably, of these rulings, only the first’s ten-year statute of limitations has expired, while the others remain effective. With his return highly anticipated, the former prime minister’s immediate future remains uncertain.
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