Moments of joy were shared among red-shirt supporters of the Pheu Thai Party when they saw former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra step out of the terminal of Don Mueang Airport on Tuesday at around 9.30am.
“We love Thaksin,” chanted the crowd. “Thaksin, welcome home!” cried others.
A sea of people were eagerly awaiting his return, as the last time Thaksin set foot in the kingdom was in 2008. Most of them wore red shirts. Some held photos of Thaksin and banners expressing their messages of love and support.
Some came to the airport the night before, and many arrived in groups from upcountry, such as Chiang Mai, Udon Thani and Nakhon Ratchasima, early on Tuesday morning.
Ektananan Korat, 56, from Nakhon Ratchasima, said it was a special opportunity to be able to welcome Thaksin at the airport despite the repeatedly postponed nature of the former premier’s return.
Mr Ektananan said he had admired Thaksin since he became the leader of the now-dissolved Thai Rak Thai Party, which later became the Pheu Thai Party, because Mr Ektananan and his family benefited greatly from Thaksin’s 30-baht universal healthcare scheme. He said low-income earners no longer had to sell their farmland to cover high medical bills because of the Thaksin government’s universal healthcare policy.
“Thaksin is just a human being. He made a mistake, and his mistake is no worse than those made by others. Forgiveness is very important. This is a great opportunity for all parties to forget the past and work together for the country’s prosperity,” Mr Ektananan said.
He said he used to join street protests wearing a red shirt and fight for justice for Thaksin, but now he felt such gestures were useless as they only fuel political conflicts. He said it would be better for such disagreements should be cleared up by negotiations, not violence on the streets.
Noplada Singwong, 51, also from Nakhon Ratchasima, led a group of 240 people from her village to welcome Thaksin on his return. She said she respected him because of his efforts to help the poor, especially the healthcare scheme and a village fund project that saw his government distribute 1 million baht to each selected village.
“I want to thank him for all the efforts he made to help the people. We want him to know that we will stay by his side no matter what happens to him. We will always give our full support to him and his party,” she said.
Pornnatcha Boonkrong, 22, who works for the Airports of Thailand, said she and her friends wanted to welcome Thaksin to express their support. She said she was happy and relieved he had finally returned home.
A 60-year-old woman who declined to give her name said she came from Nonthaburi alone to lend her support, adding that many of her friends had recently switched from supporting Pheu Thai to the Move Forward Party.
However, she said she believes Pheu Thai will bring more benefits to the country, and Thailand would benefit more from Thaksin’s intellect, especially in terms of its modern development.
Many politicians were also at the airport, including Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa, who said he and his late father Banharn had both known Thaksin for a long time. He described Tuesday’s event as akin to welcoming home a senior member of his family.
Thaksin spent around three minutes outside the terminal greeting his supporters.
He came out of the terminal with his three children and paid respects to a photo of Their Majesties the King and Queen, before waving his hand and smiling to his supporters.
Thaksin also stopped to greet some key members of Pheu Thai before going back inside the terminal. He was later taken to the Supreme Court to have his sentence read out.
A man in a crab suit holds a welcome-home message. Crab, or ‘pu’ in Thai, is the nickname of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s younger sister. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)