Thaksin rejects revenge.... Supporters will have to forgive injustices

BRUNEI: Pheu Thai Party's supporters will have to forgive their enemies if the party returns to power at the election, says its de facto head, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Challenging impressions of himself as a decisive leader who might like to seek revenge for the 2006 coup which unseated him, Thaksin said forgiveness will be difficult, but necessary if the country is to move on from the political ructions of the past.

Thaksin said the party's supporters, backed by the red shirt movement, will have to forgive and forget. The Abhisit government and the administration which supports it should have no reason to fear.

"Pheu Thai Party, and in particular our red shirt supporters, have suffered the most [from the political unrest].

"If those who have suffered the most can accept things and let things be, and not think about retribution, then achieving resolution will be easier," Thaksin said.

"After the election, after Pheu Thai wins, it has to be clear that there will be no retribution taken.

"Those who have suffered, forgive and forget and look forward together to the future."

Thaksin, speaking in an exclusive interview with Post Today editors in Dubai, insisted that he held no grudges nor was bitter over the travails he has suffered over the past several years.

He expressed confidence that Pheu Thai, formed from supporters of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party, would win the election comfortably and form the next government.

The party still enjoyed strong support across the country, while the Democrats had put in a "lacklustre" performance over the past two years.

Pheu Thai executives plan to meet today to decide on its list candidates for the election. They are likely to choose Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, as the first candidate on the list and the party's nominee for prime minister.

The prospect of a Pheu Thai victory _ and Thaksin's return to Thailand _ raises new uncertainties for the country's political stability.

Many of his supporters remain bitter about the September 2006 coup and the political shadow games that enabled the Democrats and Abhisit Vejjajiva to take power in December 2008.

But Thaksin, who entered exile in 2008 to escape criminal corruption charges, insisted that he was committed to work for social harmony and peace.

"Retribution only breeds more resentment, more enemies. Life will have no peace. If you know how to let things go, then you can have peace," Thaksin said, acknowledging that his decisive leadership style may lead some to believe that he was a vengeful person.

Those who have suffered from past turmoil, whether it be supporters of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party or its red shirt supporters, must let go of the past if reconciliation is to be achieved and Thailand return to a functional democracy where the rule of law is paramount, he said.

"If Pheu Thai Party forms the next government, both the party and the red shirts will have to swallow our pains and extend our hands to all parties to help bring peace to our country," Thaksin said.

"It's painful, but we need to forgive."

Thaksin, whose second term was interrupted by large street protests mounted by the "yellow shirts" and then by the September 2006 military coup, said an "unfinished revolution" remained underway, compromising the rule of law and justice within the country.

The celebrations this year for His Majesty the King's 84th birthday, completing his 7th cycle, should be enough motivation for all parties to cease fighting and join together as one.

Thaksin brushed off questions about the seizure of 46 billion baht in personal funds by the Supreme Court in February 2010. "That's not an issue. The real issue is justice. If my assets are returned, it can only come about through the system, not by some arbitrary law," he said.

The Supreme Court ruled that telecommunications policies enacted during the Thaksin government benefited Thaksin's own personal interests as the founder and major shareholder of telecom giant Shin Corp.

The Shinawatra family sold its holdings in Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings in January 2006 for 73 billion baht.

Thaksin also dismissed questions about his allegiance to the monarchy, noting that in June 2006 he helped organise festivities marking His Majesty's 60th anniversary of accession to the throne.

"Three months later, the military launched the coup and alleged that I was disloyal.

"How can it be that in just three months a loyal subject becomes a disloyal one, to the extent that a revolution is needed," he said.

"All this has been slander and innuendo against me, simply for political gain."

Thaksin said Pheu Thai and the red shirts should be considered separate entities.

Pheu Thai is a political party registered under the constitution, while the red shirt movement could be broadly classified as supporters of Thaksin himself and those who see the events of the past several years as a corruption of justice and democracy. "Both sides share the same goal, a return of justice and democracy," Thaksin said.

He said he was ambivalent about a possible return to politics and the premiership.

"If I had to [become prime minister] just for a short time, just to solve the country's problems, I could do so. But if you ask if I want to, I am neutral about it," he said.

"Someone who has been where I have been, has already passed the stage of ambition.

"If someone told me that it's not necessary, that others can do the job, I would be very grateful."

 Bangkok Post