TOKYO ? Fugitive former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra defended his controversial visit to disaster-stricken Japan on Tuesday, saying he wants to support the country that helped his own people recover from a massive tsunami in 2004.
"I feel like I'm attached to what's happening there," he said of northeast Japan, which he planned to visit this week to scan damage from Japan's huge March 11 tsunami.
Thailand's opposition has criticized his visit and accused the country's foreign minister of aiding a fugitive by asking Tokyo to grant a visa to Thaksin, who still has a two-year jail sentence for corruption to serve.
Thaksin was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 military coup and has been living in self-imposed exile. He has remained a highly divisive figure in his homeland, where he is adored by the poor masses but distrusted by the established elite, including the military.
His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was elected prime minister in early July, but many view Thaksin as the real power behind the new administration.
Thaksin, who arrived in Japan on Monday, told reporters that he has no plans to return to Thailand, unless there was reconciliation in the country's polarized political climate ? something he conceded was "not there."
"I don't want to fuel any more conflict," Thaksin said at a news conference. "I just want to be part of the solution, not part of the problems."
He also said he was willing to do jail time if he had actually committed crimes, but described the charges against him as "politically motivated."
Tokyo granted Thaksin a visa after receiving a request for assistance from the Thai government and out of consideration of ties between the two nations, Japanese officials said. Thai officials had explained that Thaksin's visit was to provide assistance to victims of the tsunami, said Masaru Satoh, an official at Japan Foreign Ministry.
Japanese law states that persons convicted of crimes with sentences of more than one year will be denied entry visas, but it also stipulates that exceptions can be made if there is sufficient reason, Satoh said.
Thaksin's Japanese visa has stirred up controversy in Thailand, where former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's Democrat Party is trying to impeach Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul for allegedly aiding a fugitive by asking Tokyo for help with Thaksin's visa.
Surapong has denied he made such a request, and is suing Abhisit for defamation.
For his part, Thaksin said his sister "had nothing to do" with his trip or the entry visa he was granted by Tokyo.
___
Associated Press Writers Malcolm Foster in Tokyo and Mick Elmore in Bangkok contributed to this report.
mitt romney danielle staub pga golf pga golf orca giants gwyneth paltrow
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.