Thai ex-PM Thaksin to return from exile on Tuesday (Aug 22), daughter says

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand’s self-exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to return to the country on Tuesday, his daughter said on Saturday, amid prolonged political uncertainty following a May national election.

“On Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 0900, at Don Muang Airport, I will meet father Thaksin,” Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a social media post, referring to an airport in the capital Bangkok.

Thaksin, who made a fortune in the telecommunications business and was premier from 2001 until he was ousted in a 2006 coup, currently lives in self-imposed exile after fleeing Thailand to avoid a jail sentence for graft in 2008.

Thaksin was also populist prime minister and very popular especially in the rural area.

The Pheu Thai party backed by Thaksin, 74, is currently attempting to form a government in Thailand, after coming second in the May 14 general election.

Thaksin had tweeted and said in the past that he would like to come home to see his grandchildren. He said he is prepared to face justice, including several convictions on charges including abuse of power and corruption.

“I have made a decision that I’ll go home to raise my grandchildren by this July, before my birthday. Please excuse me. It’s been nearly 17 years that I have to be away from my family. I’m already old,” he said.