Thai junta allows deposed PM to leave country

Thailand's deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. (AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

BANGKOK: #Thailand's junta has given permission to ousted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to leave the country for the first time since a May 22 coup, a military spokesman said Thursday. Yingluck is expected to travel to Paris next week to attend the 65th birthday party of her elder brother, the fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Her request was approved because she has stayed out of politics since the military seized power, according to the junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

"The NCPO yesterday approved prime minister Yingluck's request to leave the country because since the coup she has never shown that she was against the NCPO's work," army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said. "She has kept a low profile ever since," he added.

Yingluck, Thailand's first female premier, was removed from office in a controversial court ruling shortly before the army toppled the remnants of her elected government. She was among hundreds of people summoned and temporarily detained by the junta afterwards.

Her brother Thaksin was ousted in an earlier coup in 2006 and later fled Thailand to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he insists was politically motivated. The billionaire tycoon turned populist politician, who clashed with the royalist establishment before his overthrow, lives in Dubai but remains a hugely divisive figure in his homeland.

An attempt by his political allies to push through a political amnesty that could have led to his return sparked months of opposition street protests leading up to the May coup. A military source said Yingluck must inform the Thai authorities of her whereabouts through overseas embassies while travelling.

Army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power after nearly seven months of political street rallies and related violence that left 28 people dead and paralysed Yingluck's government. The junta has ruled out holding new elections before around October 2015, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union for a return to democracy. Channel News

Thai PM Supporters Rally in Show of Force

Women Holding Thai PM's Picture in her hand

Supporters of #Thailand's embattled government streamed into western Bangkok for a show of force Saturday that follows Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's ouster and a renewed push by rival demonstrators to install an unelected premier.

The gathering of the pro-government movement took place a day after anti-government protesters — who have been campaigning for six months to remove Yingluck from office — ramped up their efforts by laying siege to television stations, surrounding state offices, and demanding lawmakers help them install a non-elected prime #minister by Monday.

Jatuporn Prompan, who heads the pro-government Red Shirts staging the rally, said that "as long as the country's democracy is not safe, we will be here."

Jatuporn warned that if there's a coup or an unelected prime minister is installed, the Red Shirts will "escalate our fight immediately." The pro-government movement has not said what action it will take, but Jatuporn said it would be peaceful and they "do not wish to see people killed or hurt along the way."

Yingluck was forced from power in a controversial ruling by the Constitutional Court that emboldened anti-government protesters. They called for a "final push" Friday to oust the entire Cabinet and set up an unelected "people's council" they say would implement still-undefined reforms to combat corruption and fight money politics. They oppose polls tentatively scheduled for July, which the current ruling party would likely win.

Police trying to control the rally

#Police fired tear gas and water cannons Friday to push back hundreds of protesters who attempted to force their way into the government's security agency. Six people were reported injured.

The competing rallies were being held several dozen kilometers (miles) apart, but still raised concerns about violence. Jatuporn said "each side should take care of their own supporters" and avoid confrontation.

The Cabinet last week named deputy premier Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan as acting prime minister. But protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told followers Friday night that the Senate should select a new premier immediately, since the lower house has been dissolved since December.

"This matter must end by Monday," Suthep warned, saying the protesters were ready to take over the offices of the prime minister themselves.

"If it's not finished by then, we'll do it ourselves."

The protesters achieved a partial victory on Wednesday when the Constitutional Court ousted Yingluck, saying she had violated the constitution by transferring a senior civil servant to benefit her politically powerful family. Nine other Cabinet members were also forced from their posts.

Thailand's long-running political crisis began in 2006 when Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was toppled by a military coup after being accused of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications billionaire, remains highly popular among the rural poor in the north and northeast, and parties controlled by him have won every national election since 2001. The protesters, aligned with the opposition Democrat Party, say they want to remove all traces of his political machine from politics. Source: ABC News