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| Southeast Asia |
| Thaksin gets Nicaraguan passport |
| 2009-04-17 |
| [Straits Times] THAILAND'S fugitive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra now has a Nicaraguan passport, complicating efforts to extradite him as Thai authorities pressed ahead on Thursday with a search for his supporters accused of leading violent riots in Bangkok. The Nicaraguan government announced late Wednesday it had named Thaksin a 'Nicaraguan ambassador on a special mission' to bring investment to the Central American country and issued him a passport in January. The announcement came just hours after the Thai government said it had revoked Thaksin's personal passport, accusing him of stoking the unrest that paralysed the Thai capital earlier this week. Ousted in a 2006 coup, Thaksin has been on the run since he fled Thailand ahead of a corruption conviction last year. He has been spotted in Central America, Africa, London, Dubai and Hong Kong among other places. He recently said that several countries had offered him passports but did not specify them. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said he could not confirm Thaksin's Nicaraguan passport but said authorities were trying to 'make clear which other passports he is holding.' He said he was not aware of any extradition treaty between Thailand and Nicaragua. Thailand had already revoked Thaksin's diplomatic passport. A state of emergency in Bangkok remained in place for a fifth day on Thursday, but normalcy returned after the rioting earlier this week when Thaksin's supporters clashed with soldiers and burned empty buses at major intersections. Two people were killed and 123 injuries in the violence. Police were still searching for dozens of protest leaders, only three of whom were in custody. Bangkok's Criminal Court was deciding on Thursday whether to grant the three bail or extend their detention. A total of 13 arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday against leaders of the Bangkok unrest, including one for Thaksin who addressed supporters regularly via video link and at one point called for a 'revolution.' The warrants were issued for inciting the public to break the law and causing a public disturbance, which carry prison terms of seven years and two years, respectively. |
| Posted by:Fred |