Thaksin supporters seek royal pardon for the exiled former Thai PM
Updated
An estimated 20,000 supporters of Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have gathered, close to the Grand Palace in central Bangkok, where they submitted a petition seeking a pardon for the exiled former leader. The so-called Red Shirts have made quite a mark on Thailand's political scene, having clashed with the Thai army in the capital after disrupting the East Asia Summit in Pattaya in April.
Presenter: Zulfikar Abbany
Speaker: Karen Percy, the ABC's Southeast Asia correspondent
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PERCY: I think his clear message has been to thank his supporters and there were tens of thousands of them at the Sanam Luang park in central Bangkok today, really thanking them for their support and for this gesture, a petition of about five million signatures has been lodged with the royal household trying to get Mr Thaksin a royal pardon. Now, we've got to remember he was convicted last year of corruption, a case related to some land in Bangkok that was sold to his wife by a government agency, and that was contrary to anti-corruption [laws] and the kinds of rules that were governing senior members of government. But in fact he had fled the country before that verdict had even come out, so his real message was to thank the people but he's also been singing a song and really saying how much he misses Thailand and how much he wants to be back in Thailand and really making the point that the reason they want King Bhumibol Adulyadej to intervene to grant this royal pardon is because of the suffering, not just of Thaksin Shinawatra, but of the people, these are people who voted for him on a number of occasions, a lot of them are from out in provincial Thailand, which is much poorer than Bangkok. So, it really was a message of, I guess, reiterating why he wants to come home and why he wants this pardon.
ABBANY: Well, he says he suffered for three years. What are the chances of there being a royal pardon?
PERCY: I think they're very, very slim indeed, though I think the palace and the government here has to handle it very, very sensitively because there are so many people wanting this, though there are also allegations that a number of these signatures may not well be legitimate signatures, that's another matter. But in reality the only way a pardon happens and has happened in the past is when somebody's in fact serving a sentence. Thaksin Shinawatra has never actually admitted guilt, so it's a very odd thing that he's wanting a pardon for something that he never said he did anyway, that was a bogus case against him. But he's not serving a sentence at the moment. That's the circumstance where a pardon is usually granted. Similarly the pardon needs to come from the family or the person themselves. So, it's quite unusual that this is a third party or five million third parties, if you like. So, the circumstances don't fit the criteria for what would ordinarily happen with a royal pardon.
ABBANY: But the Red Shirts have made quite a dent on the political scene in Thailand. But how are these gatherings seen now, as a threat or a case of Mr Thaksin wanting to keep his presence alive in the public consciousness?
PERCY: Definitely a bit of both. There's a sense that Thaksin Shinawatra is getting a bit desperate here because he's calling in a lot, he's singing these sort of very nationalistic songs, and it's all a bit sort of odd in so many respects. But he remains a very forceful political figure even now almost three years since he was pushed from office from the military coup. So, the government is very wary and very concerned, and let's not forget that as you say they've made a major impact on politics in this country. In April, they disrupted the East Asia Summit, where 13 regional leaders had to be helicoptered out of a hotel, within a matter of days there was the army and some of these Red Shirted protesters clashing on the streets in some pretty violent disturbing scenes. So, we know that these Red Shirts are certainly capable of violence, they're capable of great instability. They've been very quiet since that time and I think a lot of people thought that it had gone too far, but I think there is a great wariness on the part of the government and also there needs to be some kind of reconciliation. You'll recall it was the Yellow Shirts who were out this time last year - a different government, different anti-government protesters. But there are deep divisions in this society and the government to date has done absolutely nothing about trying to heal those. So, Thaksin Shinawatra is a force but at the moment he is looking a bit desperate, but he still has a lot of supporters here.
