Thaksin appeals for privacy
LONDON - Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra appealed Thursday for privacy for his family, who he insisted were his priority after taking refuge in London following the military coup in Bangkok.
A tight-lipped Thaksin had little to say to reporters waiting outside the apartment where he has holed up since arriving on Wednesday from New York, where he was attending the UN General Assembly when the coup took place.
Asked what his plans were, he replied simply: "Stay with my daughter, that's it" -- a reference to Pinthongta, with whom he had earlier been seen near the Dorchester Hotel, haunt of the visiting rich and famous.
"I say nothing except please leave my family," he added.
Earlier Thaksin issued a statement confirming he was bowing out of politics -- to take a "deserved rest" -- and calling for early elections and "national reconciliation" in his homeland.
Thaksin flew into London Wednesday from New York, where he had been attending the UN General Assembly when military chiefs led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin staged a bloodless coup in Bangkok.
The British government, which has a history of giving refuge to political exiles, has made it clear that the Thai premier is on a private trip. "It's not in an official capacity," said a Foreign Office spokesman.
Agence France-Presse
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