I'll keep fighting till I receive justice: Thaksin

Fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday vowed to fight to the bitter end to clear his and his family's names.

"Someone has asked why I don't stop. The reason is I want justice for myself and my family," he said during his live phone-in to the DTV satellite station.

For about an hour, he covered a wide range of topics to highlight his plight on the run and mock the current government.

The programme went on air at about 10am right after the weekly address by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Three of the station's organisers, Veera Musigapong, Jatuporn Prompan and Natthawut Saikua, acted as hosts while Thaksin called in from an undisclosed location.

Thaksin started off by extending Lunar New Year greetings to his supporters, while warning them to brace for the coming hardship spawned by the global recession.

"This year more and more people might dress in red since that colour is believed to bring about good luck in light of the sluggish economy," he said.

However, the red-shirt crowds, mostly his supporters, should not assume that they were gaining in popularity, he quipped.

He went on to outline his life in exile, hopping from one country to another while being estranged from his family.

He was a victim of political bullies but would fight back to defend himself and his family until their good reputation was restored.

"I will continue to demand for justice, be it in Heaven or in Hell. Even an assassin was sent to kill me abroad. The others will rise up and fight till justice prevails," he said.

Veera asked how he would deal with the economic crisis if he were the prime minister, handing him a convenient platform to launch his critique of the Abhisit government.

Politics is a vital ingredient in tackling the economic woes, he said, making a veiled attack on a certain country for just disrupting a good political situation with reckless disregard for the economic consequences.

He drew an analogy to describe his view on the current approach to the economic meltdown.

"The way I see it, Thailand is like a house on fire and (the government) is mobilising all water resources to put out the blaze. I think our assets will burn down with the house and then we'll starve because of the water running out," he said.

The government should use caution in allocating limited resources to revitalise the economy, he said.

The authorities should keep in touch with the people and the private sector when drawing up stimulus packages.

Businessmen could open up new markets in southern Africa where many countries have attained the status of nouveau riche.

The government's attempts to restore confidence deserve scepticism since its foreign minister used to support the People's Alliance for Democracy.

And foreigners knew better than Thais about the conspiracy between the PAD and the military to close down Suvarnabhumi Airport, he said.

The Bt500 million publicity budget to improve the country's image would be a waste of money because foreigners knew who had caused the turmoil, he said.

The government's populist policies were not a threat to his own administration's record. His populist policies were designed to strengthen rural villagers and he was not a copycat trying to squander money at whim.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva should focus on his job instead of busying himself to return favours to the PAD and the military for helping him grab power, he said.

While visiting South Africa, he learned that a Constitution Court judge was attending a conference there on world courts.

"I was curious what the judge would say in the conference as there is no country in the world that would use the court to tackle political problems," he said.

But he had no chance to meet with the judge, he said.

In conclusion, he expressed his gratitude for his supporters who wanted to help him overcome his financial predicament. But he could still keep afloat by borrowing from his friends.

Abhisit gave his assurances that his government would strictly enforce the rule of law.

"The government is obliged to dispense justice and as a Thai citizen, Thaksin is entitled to justice as prescribed by the law," he said.