PATHUM THANI — Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra once again attended an event with his supporters on Saturday after recovering from a recent bout of COVID-19 the previous week. He was accompanied by his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, to attend an event of a politician supported by the party.
The event on June 8 was the ordination ceremony of Smithiphat Leenawarat, the younger brother of a Pheu Thai Party MP and the son of Mr. Kritsada Leenawarat, the mayor of Thanyaburi Subdistrict, Pathum Thani Province.
The event was grand, with over 3,000 Chinese-style banquet tables. Most of the attendees wore red shirts to the event and flocked to greet the former Prime Minister Thaksin with tears of joy.
The presence of Thaksin and Paetongtarn at this event sends a clear signal that the Pheu Thai Party wants to regain popularity in Pathum Thani, known as a stronghold of the Red Shirts. In the 2023 election, the Move Forward Party won 6 of 7 seats, leaving Manassanan Leenawarat as the only one Pheu Thai MP in the province.
The Pheu Thai Party lost to the Move Forward Party in the 2023 election by a margin of less than 10 MP seats after being criticized for failing to prevent coups due to repeatedly yielding to elite groups.
This was particularly the case after the election in which the Pheu Thai Party led the formation of a coalition government with other political parties that had previously been part of military governments. This move was attacked as being done to allow Thaksin to return to Thailand.
Most recently, Thaksin has been facing lèse-majesté charges, while Prime Minister Settha Thavisin is being challenged by 40 senators who have petitioned the Constitutional Court to rule on whether he has lost his position as prime minister or not, due to the appointment of Mr. Pichit Chuenban as a minister despite potentially having prohibited qualifications.
This makes it appear that the Pheu Thai Party is still being pressured by the elite and old power groups. Therefore, it seems difficult for the Pheu Thai Party to make progress in reclaiming justice for the Red Shirts who were suppressed by military forces in the capital city in 2010.
Speaking on stage at the ordination ceremony, Thaksin thanked the mayor of Thanyaburi for the invitation, which allowed him to attend an ordination ceremony for the first time and meet with Red Shirt members. He was deeply touched by this, as many people would hug him and cry, not expecting him to return. Sometimes, he himself didn’t expect to be able to return.
“Today, I’m back. I want the Red Shirt brothers and sisters to come back together. This return is a matter of gratitude to many people, especially those who have never forgotten me and have never forgotten me no matter how many elections there are,” Thaksin said.
Thaksin also offered advice to Kritsada, who was being ordained, by using his own life struggles as an example. He relied on Buddhism as a refuge and a guiding principle in life.
“I lived abroad for 17 years, faced all kinds of charges and every form of attack. If I didn’t have the teachings of the Buddha, I would have been depressed or committed suicide. For one person, I don’t think anyone has faced as much as I have,” he said.
“And most recently, there are still repercussions, but I can handle it very easily because the Buddha has taught many things. The more you read, the more profound it becomes, giving you a good foundation for life and the ability to fight whatever comes your way,” he added.
Afterwards, Thaksin also gave an interview to a group of reporters again about his absence from the Attorney General’s Office to hear the lèse-majesté charges under Section 112 on May 29. He said he was genuinely ill, and although his symptoms were not severe, he didn’t want to risk infecting others. As for the arraignment scheduled for June 18, he will attend if summoned.
“This case will serve as an example of how I was charged during the coup. This case has absolutely no basis, but they try to interpret it to make it seem like it does. And once one person has ordered the prosecution, others are afraid not to prosecute, which is not a legal principle. In reality, there’s nothing to it,” he said.
When asked about rumors that he had already fled the country, Thaksin said it was too much of an imagination and that he hadn’t made a deal with anyone except the leader of the Pheu Thai Party.
Regarding observations that the political tension might be related to Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, the leader of the Palang Pracharath Party, Thaksin said he didn’t know, but he felt that it was time for the country to find peace.
He also suggested that the media should try to tone down the political game so that the country can move forward, as the country’s problems are now more difficult than when he was prime minister because things have been in disarray for a long time. He urged all parties to adhere to constructive political rules.
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