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Published on December 26, 2007

 It is an almost perfect script for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Speaking from Hong Kong yesterday, Thaksin announced he would return to Thailand, possibly in mid-February next year. He pledged he would not return to politics but would be happy to confine his role to being a political adviser. The ghost of Thaksin will not lie to rest easily. There are lots of scores to settle. He has been living in exile, mostly in London, since September 19 last year when the military took over the country and booted him out of office. His assets of almost Bt60 billion have been frozen because of charges of policy corruption. Other legal charges, albeit slow in coming, are pending.

But Thaksin has put up a big fight. His gamble, at least for the time being, has paid off handsomely. The People Power Party, a reincarnation of the Thai Rak Thai Party, has won 232 seats out of the 480 in the parliament (barring any disqualifications by the Election Commission). Thaksin has been the obvious puppet master of this party, which commands huge popularity in the North and the Northeast.

With this huge victory, Samak Sundaravej, the People Power Party leader, has a very good chance of becoming the country's next prime minister. If the People Power Party can bring in other small parties to control 270-280 MP seats, it will be able to form the next coalition government, possibly by January. The ex-Thai Rak Thai members are gleefully spreading their wings. They see the poll victory as a vindication of Thaksin and a snub against the military coup.

Thaksin said yesterday he would be willing to take part in a reconciliation process. "I want to see reconciliation started and then trust and confidence will come back to Thailand at the same time as democratic development ... I urge all the parties concerned to forget about the past and look forward to the bright and prosperous future for Thailand," he said.

How should the Thai people handle any impending return of Thaksin? We believe that as a Thai citizen, Thaksin has a right to return to Thailand any time, any day. But he has chosen to stay abroad over the past 15 months because he is not certain about his safety while the military is still exerts political influence.

Recently, military leaders said they would return to the barracks and let democracy take its course. So Thaksin should feel more comfortable about boarding a flight back home. But he will wait until a PPP-led government is formed first to make sure security is properly under control.

The key issue is that if and when Thaksin returns home, he and his family will face a barrage of legal cases. Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, have been charged with abuse of power over the Ratchadaphisek land deal. This case has reached the Criminal Court. However, the court put it on hold pending a return of the defendants to Thailand.

As a member of the former Thai Rak Thai Party, Thaksin has also been barred from politics for five years, along with 110 other executives of the party. The Constitution Tribunal found that the party was involved in election fraud.

Thaksin told the reporters in Hong Kong he was ready to prove that the charges against him were unfounded. "I'm sure I can prove my innocence as all the allegations are empty."

We welcome Thaksin's return if he really wants to come back. But he should return to Thailand as a private citizen who will have to go through the normal justice system to fight the cases against him. He, or his supporters, should not try to overturn the justice system or the existing legal process by abolishing the Assets Examination Committee or by influencing Parliament to introduce legislation to grant amnesty to the 111 ex-Thai Rak Thai members banned from politics.

If this were to be the case, then confidence in Thailand would evaporate. There would be political turmoil once again. If Thaksin really believes he is innocent of all the charges against him, he should stand trial in court to prove his case. Only then may Thailand return to normalcy. Then we can all look forward to putting Thailand back on track.

The Nation