Fri, Feb 06, 2009
The Nation/Asia News Network
Japan has banned ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra from entering the country because he is a fugitive from justice, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.
Abhisit confirmed this was the case when asked to comment by reporters before embarking on a three-day official visit to Japan.
Under Japanese immigration law, any person with a criminal conviction will not be allowed to enter the country.
Thaksin's status in Japan had not been questioned in recent months because he had not sought to visit the country since a Thai court's decision last October to sentence him to two years in jail in relation to the Ratchadaphisek land case.
The previous year, he had maintained a high profile in Tokyo as a guest lecturer at Takushoku University.
The British government was the first to revoke his visa followed the court's ruling.
Other countries have different visa regulations regarding persons with criminal records. Neither the United States nor China has revoked Thaksin's visa.
According to an informed source, in the case of the US, Thaksin can still enter the country because the US does not have the same restrictions as the UK immigration authorities.
However, after the expiration of his US visa, Thaksin will encounter difficulties in getting it renewed, the source said.
When his diplomatic passport was revoked at the end of last year, Thaksin was unable to enter China without a visa. However, with his ordinary passport - the future of which the Foreign Ministry has yet to decide upon - he can apply to visit China, where he has vast business interests and links with influential people.
Thaksin has been on the run since October, having popped up in various countries ranging from Dubai to Hong Kong. He has kept his hiding places secret whenever he phoned in to gatherings of his supporters in Bangkok.
So long as Thaksin is on the run and subject to a Thai court's ruling, he will face difficulties in renewing the visas that he currently has, according to a senior Foreign Ministry official.
Meanwhile, You Ay, the Cambodian ambassador to Thailand, yesterday issued a statement dismissing a news report that a group of Pheu Thai MPs was planning to meet Thaksin in Cambodia's Koh Kong province.
"With reference to the article titled 'Pheu Thai MPs may meet Thaksin in Koh Kong', which was published [in The Nation], I have the honour to inform you that the Royal Embassy of Cambodia has no information at all about the visit of Thaksin in Cambodia," said the ambassador.
Paijit Srivorakhan, the Pheu Thai MP for the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, said party MPs would likely meet Thaksin in Hong Kong by the end of the month to inform the former prime minister of the political situation in northestern Thailand following the defection of a major faction led by Newin Chidchob.
The Nation/Asia News Network
Japan has banned ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra from entering the country because he is a fugitive from justice, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.
Abhisit confirmed this was the case when asked to comment by reporters before embarking on a three-day official visit to Japan.
Under Japanese immigration law, any person with a criminal conviction will not be allowed to enter the country.
Thaksin's status in Japan had not been questioned in recent months because he had not sought to visit the country since a Thai court's decision last October to sentence him to two years in jail in relation to the Ratchadaphisek land case.
The previous year, he had maintained a high profile in Tokyo as a guest lecturer at Takushoku University.
The British government was the first to revoke his visa followed the court's ruling.
Other countries have different visa regulations regarding persons with criminal records. Neither the United States nor China has revoked Thaksin's visa.
According to an informed source, in the case of the US, Thaksin can still enter the country because the US does not have the same restrictions as the UK immigration authorities.
However, after the expiration of his US visa, Thaksin will encounter difficulties in getting it renewed, the source said.
When his diplomatic passport was revoked at the end of last year, Thaksin was unable to enter China without a visa. However, with his ordinary passport - the future of which the Foreign Ministry has yet to decide upon - he can apply to visit China, where he has vast business interests and links with influential people.
Thaksin has been on the run since October, having popped up in various countries ranging from Dubai to Hong Kong. He has kept his hiding places secret whenever he phoned in to gatherings of his supporters in Bangkok.
So long as Thaksin is on the run and subject to a Thai court's ruling, he will face difficulties in renewing the visas that he currently has, according to a senior Foreign Ministry official.
Meanwhile, You Ay, the Cambodian ambassador to Thailand, yesterday issued a statement dismissing a news report that a group of Pheu Thai MPs was planning to meet Thaksin in Cambodia's Koh Kong province.
"With reference to the article titled 'Pheu Thai MPs may meet Thaksin in Koh Kong', which was published [in The Nation], I have the honour to inform you that the Royal Embassy of Cambodia has no information at all about the visit of Thaksin in Cambodia," said the ambassador.
Paijit Srivorakhan, the Pheu Thai MP for the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, said party MPs would likely meet Thaksin in Hong Kong by the end of the month to inform the former prime minister of the political situation in northestern Thailand following the defection of a major faction led by Newin Chidchob.
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