Ex- PM makes initial public comments on Day 2 of Chiang Mai journey, dines with Srettha
In his first public statement since being released on parole last month, Thaksin Shinawatra said on Friday that he was glad to return with his family.
” Happiness depends on family”, the former prime minister told reporters before adding, in English,” Happiness is at home”.
He made the remarks as he and his family paid respect to his parents at a cemetery in the Mae On area of Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is likewise Thaksin’s political house, a fact underscored by a dinner gathering on Friday evening that featured three primary ministers: Thaksin ( 2001- 06 ), his brother- in- law Somchai Wongsawat, who led a quick- lived government in 2008, and Srettha Thavisin, who occupies the post at provide.
When Mr. Srettha and Mr. Thaksin arrived in Chiang Mai on Friday to discuss ways to combat the North’s toxic debris waste, they immediately exchanged some ideas.
If individuals continue burning land and forest property, he said, the issue will endure. He suggested outlawing imports from polluter-designated businesses, especially those that buy crops from farmers to intensify air pollution.
Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow from the Palang Pracharath Party and Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat from the Pheu Thai Party were among Thaksin’s brother guests at Summit Green Valley Golf Course on Friday night.
Thaksin previously claimed that he experienced depression during the six months he spent there, but that his acceptance of probation and his returning to his family helped him through.
” I am feeling better”, he told reporters, speaking in a north Thai pronunciation and wearing a neck and back brace.
Market enjoy- in
” We love Thaksin. We adore Thaksin,” chanted thousands of people before that day at the Waroros Market.
Fans waited patiently for him for his first visit to his native province in 17 years at the most common market in the northern city. On Saturday, he is expected to return to Bangkok.
As he entered the market, slogans persisted as guards opened the door for him to get up close and pose for photos with viewers.
The former police officer turned telecoms tycoon was accompanied by family members, including his youngest child, Pheu Thai Party chief Paetongtarn.
He was frequently asked to stop by their stores. ” Mr Prime Minister, this means please”, they called out.
” I am ecstatic”, said a salesman of thong muan, a Thai rolled chip, after Thaksin bought 10 boxes from her.
Following a trip to pay tribute to the Doi Suthep Stupa, a monument where he was also met by devotees who had been waiting for him at the church, the visit to the market came after he made a trip there to meet him.
Other locations on Friday’s plan included a visit to his relatives ‘ grave in Mae On area and a trip to Wat Rong Tham Samakkee in San Kamphaeng area to give respect to remains kept in a family grave.
After requesting alternative health care and pay respect to his ancestors, the 74-year-old past Manchester City landlord received the natural light from the Probation Department to travel to Chiang Mai.
He was remanded to prison in August last year to serve his sentence, but he is still on parole because of his age and reportedly having several illnesses. He did n’t spend a single day there.
When prison officers approved his move to Police General Hospital just days after his word was signed off, those health issues were raised.
Social intentions
Political observers saw the attend as having social implications, particularly since Pheu Thai was ousted out by the Move Forward Party in the general election of last year. Move Forward gained seven votes, while Pheu Thai just won two of Chiang Mai’s ten, and Palang Pracharath gained one.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch and past political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said,” I think Thaksin wants to use Chiang Mai to rebuild a clear connection with supporters in the county by bypassing the party and MPs.”
Regional red-shirt activists from Chiang Mai University gathered nearby as one group of supporters who were unable to see Thaksin. They demanded that the former prime minister assist in the prosecution of the lots of red shirts that were carried out during the 2010 pro-Thaksin demonstrations, which turned violent.
According to witnesses, police cars blocked the approach and their opposition could not be seen from the cars in Thaksin’s parade because they had arrived with a dark tomb on the backside of a pickup truck.