Thailand’s Thaksin seen in Cambodia after delaying return from exile

FORMER Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra appeared in Cambodia on Saturday (Aug 5) to celebrate the birthday of the nation’s leader, after delaying a return to his home country amid political turmoil.

The 74-year-old, who has lived in self-imposed exile for 15 years, visited the neighbouring nation, ruled by strongman leader Hun Sen, to celebrate the premier’s 71st birthday, local news reports said.

Fresh News – an online news outlet with close links to Hun Sen – cited the premier as saying that Thaksin and his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, spent a night at the leader’s residence in the capital Phnom Penh after attending his birthday party, and posted pictures of the event. The duo left Cambodia on Sunday morning, the report said, without stating their next destination.

The visit was the same day Thaksin announced he will postpone his return to Thailand by about two weeks, from an originally planned date of Aug 10, citing the need to do a health check-up. The political party that his family backs, Pheu Thai, is meanwhile struggling to form the country’s next government after opposition from military-appointed lawmakers scuttled attempts by its former ally to do so.

Thaksin remains a popular but polarising politician in Thailand after being ousted in 2006 by a military coup. He has lived overseas since fleeing the country in 2008 to avoid corruption charges, shuttling between Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and London. Since leaving Thailand, he had been found guilty in absentia in several graft cases which he says are politically motivated. He faces a combined 10 years in prison from three cases if he returns.

Thaksin said in May that he would enter the justice process upon his return and that he did not want an amnesty from jail terms – something previously attempted by a government headed by his sister Yingluck in 2013 before that too was toppled in 2014 by a coup. His daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is one of three prime ministerial candidates in Pheu Thai.

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Thailand’s Thaksin delays return from exile by two weeks

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In contrast, Hun Sen in Cambodia has spent nearly four decades in power, with his party claiming a landslide victory in elections last month after the main opposition was barred from running. He recently said he will hand power to his son, Hun Manet, near the end of August, although he is expected to continue to retain a sizeable influence over the country’s politics. BLOOMBERG