Thai govt plans welcome for Thaksin

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be greeted at the airport by senior officials in Thailand’s new government when he returns tomorrow from 17 months in exile.

Mr Thaksin, who was lived abroad since a September 2006 coup, has so far kept quiet about his return date to Thailand.

But his website and his lawyer have said he will fly into Bangkok tomorrow, and government officials say they plan to welcome him with open arms.

“I myself will be at the airport to greet him,” Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobambrung, a longtime Thaksin ally, said.

“I will be there as the old friend … who promised voters that if they chose the People’s Power Party we would bring Thaksin back with full honours,” he said.

The People’s Power Party, which is packed with Thaksin allies, won general elections in December and now leads a six-party coalition government.

The polls were the first since military leaders ousted Thaksin in a September 2006 coup, accusing him of corruption and abuse of power.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who heads the PPP, won widespread support by campaigning as Mr Thaksin’s proxy and pledging to clear his name.

Mr Thaksin and his wife Pojaman face corruption and conflict of interest charges in connection with her purchase of prime Bangkok real estate from a state agency in 2003, while he was prime minister.

Pojaman returned to Thailand in January and was released on bail pending trial.

Mr Thaksin also faces separate charges of concealing assets. Rakkiat Wattapong, the Supreme Court secretary general, said on Monday that Mr Thaksin would be detained when he arrives in Thailand.

The chief of Mr Thaksin’s legal defense team, Pichit Chuenban, said his client will surrender to police when he arrives and will seek his release on bail.