Thaksin off on holiday to Cha-am

He plans to holiday at his seaside home in Cha-am and visit his native Chiang Mai next week, allies said yesterday.

They insisted Thaksin intended to remain out of politics. "Thaksin wants privacy to spend time with his family," a family member said on condition of anonymity.

Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Thaksin had no plans to resume political life.

"If you don't believe what I am saying you can draw your own conclusions based on actions and not speculative comments on how many prime ministers there are," he said.

Thaksin will live quietly with his family ahead of his first court session on March 12. He will then apply for permission to travel abroad to attend to affairs at Manchester City Football Club, he said.

He played down speculation about a meeting between Thaksin and Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, saying the two had not made any plans to meet.

Thaksin's spokeswoman Sansanee Nakpong said there was no reason to speculate about the country having two prime ministers.

"Samak is the elected prime minister, and Thaksin has returned to fight charges in the justice system," she said.

Many ministers have paid social visits to the former prime minister to renew old ties, she said.

Another spokesman, Pongthep Thepkanchana, said Thaksin had kissed the ground upon arrival on Thursday in "genuine respect for his homeland". It was not a staged act as critics claimed, he said.

Prime Minister Samak said the local news media seemed to have put undue emphasis on his possible meeting with Thaksin.

"The issue of this illusory meeting seems an attempt to sow distrust," he said.

He said he had ways to keep in touch with Thaksin without meeting publicly.

Roi Et member of Parliament Nisit Sinthuprai said he and other members from the Northeast wanted to pay a courtesy call on Thaksin some time next week.

The meeting will be non-political in nature, he said, adding that he was making arrangements with Thaksin aides Newin Chidchob and Padung Limcharoenrat.

The Nation