PUBLISHED : 30 Jul 2023 at 04:00
Questions remain over whether fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra will keep his promise to return to Thailand on Aug 10 after massage parlour tycoon-turned-whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit claimed the homecoming plan was cancelled.
On Friday, Mr Chuvit posted on Facebook, claiming that: “The game has changed. Thaksin stepped back and cancelled the plan to return to Thailand. The situation has changed. Signs of danger are beyond expectations.”
His remarks prompted a reaction from Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s youngest daughter and one of the Pheu Thai Party’s three prime minister candidates.
“Nonsense,” she commented on Facebook page of news presenter Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda, which posted Mr Chuvit’s remarks. She stood by the Aug 10 date.
Mr Chuvit later said he had received information that Thaksin had delayed his return because the political situation in the country remained volatile.
He also said he believed a new prime minister still cannot be elected by a joint sitting of MPs and senators in the vote scheduled for Friday.
He added that Thakin would return once a deal has been struck in Bangkok. He gave no further details. In response to Ms Paetongtarn, Mr Chuvit said: “I understand that Ms Paetongtarn wants her father to return to Thailand, though she might not know all the conditions [for his return].”
However, a source who recently met Thaksin abroad said Thaksin’s homecoming plan remains unchanged. “He will return to Thailand as planned and there are no other factors that will make him cancel the plan,” the source said.
Jatuporn Prompan, former chairman of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), said he did not believe Thaksin would return that day, as he has previously announced such homecoming plans 20 times but has not come back yet.
He said Thaksin’s latest homecoming plan was announced after the Move Forward Party stepped aside and let Pheu Thai take charge of forming a government. It is making slow progress.
“Don’t believe him until he appears at Don Mueang airport on Aug 10. Thaksin actually wants to return to Thailand without having to spend a single day in jail, which cannot happen,” Mr Jatuporn said.
On Wednesday, Thaksin’s 74th birthday, Ms Paetongtarn announced her father was due to arrive at Don Mueang airport on Aug 10.
It is the first time that Thaksin — who has spent 17 years saying he will come home — has set a date for his return.
Earlier, he said he would return before his birthday, only for his daughter to say it would be pushed back slightly due to political uncertainties.