CHIANG MAI, 8 Nov 2008 – News reached me this morning that ousted Thai Premiere Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Potjaman have had their UK visas revoked by the British Border Security authorities.

The news had originally been communicated to airlines advising them not to allow the couple onto flights bound for the UK, and it was then likely passed from an airline to the media.  Details of the leak are sketchy, but the story has been confirmed by major media, including the BBC.

Anti-Thaksin billboard at Chiangmai University 2007

Thaksin and his wife are reported today as being in China en-route to the Philippines to meet with several key figures from the current ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) coalition government of Thailand.

PPP have regularly been accused of being a proxy for the now banned Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party, which Thaksin created and solely funded from his communications empire wealth.

The communique to airlines reported that the couple appear to be continuing to use diplomatic passports, which they are no longer entitled to use, yet the Thai government has made no attempt to revoke those passports over 2 years after Thaksin was removed from power by a military coup.

If the diplomatic passports were revoked, the couple would have to revert to regular passports and visas, and may find themselves in further trouble from that …

It has been widely reported, without firm evidence, that Thaksin and Potjaman are holders of passports from at least one additional country other than Thailand.  Under Thai law, Thai citizens are not permitted to retain Thai passports when they acquire dual-citizenship, and must surrender their home-country passport for cancellation.

If the pair’s diplomatic passports were cancelled, then their regular citizen passports also revoked due to holding passports for another country, then they would have to continue their jet-setting on those other country passports, and obtaining visas may not be as easy for them.  Additionally it could transpire that by travelling on those other country passports that they are permanently barred from gaining entry visas to Thailand, thus becoming permanently exiled from this kingdom.

The husband and wife business moguls are currently in self-imposed exile after fleeing justice in the summer on the pretext of attending the Beijing Olympics.  Two days prior to their exit from Thailand, Potjaman had been sentenced to three years imprisonment for corruption surrounding land deals.  Last month Thaksin was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for corruption related to his term as Prime Minister.

It is believed these convictions are why the UK visas were revoked, though the UK Home Office and Border Agency have not yet issued reasons for the revocation, and the British Embassy in Bangkok has refused to comment on the matter.

In the expatriate circles within Thailand, many are stating this is Thaksin’s bad karma coming back to him for the human rights and other abuses his leadership is accused of carrying out between 2001 and 2006.

Gaz