Wanted : Thaksin and Khunying Pojaman

The Supreme Court yesterday issued arrest warrants for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman for failing to appear for a hearing on the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case.

The arrest warrants by the court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders rendered the couple, who are now in England, "fugitives" and diplomatic hot potatoes as extradition requests from Bangkok loom.

Thaksin and his family are understood to be in the process of seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom. With Pojaman already convicted for tax fraud, and corruption trials set to start for Thaksin, the couple's claims of political persecution will become highly contentious.

Thaksin and Pojaman can challenge the competency of Thai courts in their bid to seek asylum but they will also have to prove their alleged crimes were political. With clear rules on granting asylum, Britain will find itself in an awkward position.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej refused to comment on the former premier's latest move, but the Stock Exchange of Thailand Index jumped 1.77 per cent.

Business and industry leaders welcomed the latest development with a sigh of relief, but political observers said the Samak government was unlikely to see increased stability any time soon.

Chamlong Srimuang, leader of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy, said his group would continue rallying, regardless of whether Thaksin returns or not.

Opposition chief whip Sathit Wongnongtoey, also a Democrat executive, said Thaksin's role in politics, the court's decision and the government's movements will continue to be scrutinised.

Sources in the ruling People Power Party said it was not the final chapter yet for Thaksin as the former premier had signalled he would continue to fight.

In a statement issued in London yesterday, Thaksin said that he and his wife, the defendants in the Rachadaphisek land and other cases, would stay in Britain because unnamed political enemies had conspired to deny them justice.

In response to the latest development, the court ordered the couple's bail money - Bt8 million for Thaksin and Bt5 million for Pojaman - to be seized after it became apparent they had violated the conditions for their temporary release.

Thaksin and Pojaman were scheduled to report to the court yesterday as part of their bail conditions. After attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing, they flew to Britain, where their family has a home and owns a football club.

The statement from Thaksin claimed that interference in the justice system had deprived him and his relatives of a fair hearing in the cases brought against them.

A copy of Thaksin's statement was also faxed to The Nation yesterday.

At the end of his three-page letter, the former prime minister wrote: "If I still have luck, I would like to return to die in my motherland, just like any other Thai."

The Criminal Court building was crowded with reporters, both local and foreign, yesterday morning. Several broadcast vehicles were on stand-by for live telecast in case Thaksin and Pojaman showed up. However, there were no signs of the couple turning up.

At around 11am, Thaksin's statement was read during a broadcast on the state-run NBT television.

Kamnuan Chalopatham, who leads the defence team for Thaksin and Pojaman, said yesterday he had contacted the couple through a coordinator but had no knowledge when they would return to Thailand.

The lawyer said he had informed the court in writing about his clients' failure to show up yesterday but he did not include Thaksin's statement.

He said the next hearing of defence witnesses, scheduled for Friday, would continue as planned.

Yesterday afternoon, Attorney-General Chaikasem Nitisiri sent for Sirisak Tiyaphan, director-general of the Office of the Attorney-General's Foreign Litigation Department, to discuss laws related to extraditing Thaksin and Pojaman, a source said.

No conclusion was reached on the matter yesterday, the source said.