I Will Not Yet Return to Thailand, Thaksin Says

BANGKOK, Nov 11 (TNA)

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra--now staying in Beijing--has no plan to return to Thailand until the overall situation returns to normal, his legal advisor said Saturday.

Noppadol Pattama said he had talked to Mr. Thaksin by telephone and that the ex-premier told him he did not intend to sneak into the country, but would fly to Bangkok and disembark at Suvarnabhumi airport in a dignified manner if he returns.

Mr. Thaksin, toppled in a bloodless coup on September 19 while he was attending a United Nations meeting in New York, had given much attention to building the airport before its recent opening. He said he would prefer to step down at the airport rather than sneaking into the country secretly, Mr. Noppadol said.

Rumours spread earlier that Mr. Thaksin would make his way into Thailand secretly, overland via China, or crossing into Thailand from a river in Myanmar, but these rumours were unfounded, he reportedly told his legal advisor.

As a Thai citizen, Mr. Thaksin can return to this country any time he likes, but he has decided not to until the situation in the country returns to normal, Mr. Noppadol said. He asked people who had spread such rumours to stop doing so for the sake of reconciliation among people in the country.

When asked whether there is a possibility that the former prime minister would return after the end of martial law, Mr. Noppadol said he believed normalcy in the situation was the key factor.

He said Mr. Thaksin had told him that it was unnecessary to create unrest by using pressure in a democratic country and that he would quit politics as his family also wants him to spend more time with the family.

(TNA)-E111