Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, wanted at home for a graft conviction, arrived in Cambodia today to take up a government job offer that has set off a diplomatic row with Bangkok.
“Thaksin is now in Cambodia. He flew in on a special flight and just landed at the military airport,” Mr Khieu Kanharith, Cambodia’s information minister, told Reuters.
The former telecoms tycoon lives in self-imposed exile after being toppled in a 2006 coup and later found guilty on a conflict of interest charge. He spends much of his time in Dubai.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has made Mr Thaksin an economic adviser to his government and offered him a home in Cambodia. Thaksin has said he does not intend to live there. Witnesses reported heavy security for his arrival, with black-uniformed troops carrying rifles deployed on the road into the capital from the airport.
It was not clear how long he would stay. Officials said he would meet Mr Hun Sen on Tuesday.
He is scheduled to give a lecture on Thursday to 300 economists at the Finance Ministry.
Thailand’s government is outraged at the Cambodian move, not only because it sees Thaksin as a fugitive from justice but because he now has a base across the border from which to organise his campaign to force new elections and return home.
Analysts say the move could give momentum to the pro-Thaksin camp, heightening investor concerns about protracted instability. (Reuters)
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