Former prime minister-turned-fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra made world headlines again. This time, he has been invited to Washington by the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) to address human rights issues in Thailand, in particular the state’s brutal crackdown on red-shirt protesters during March-May this year that left 91 people dead, mostly civilians, and some 1,900 injured.
Thaksin is supposed to testify before the CSCE on Dec. 16, a move that has gravely irked his opponents in Bangkok. His visit to the United States will produce a myriad of implications both on Thailand’s domestic political situation and the relationship between Bangkok and Washington.
The anti-Thaksin faction has already protested against the CSCE’s invitation. They perceived it as absurd decision since Thaksin himself was never a human rights advocate. It is true that Thaksin formulated a number of controversial policies while serving as prime minister, including his 2003 war on drugs campaign that endorsed extra-judicial killings against over 2,500 narcotic suspects and his hard-nosed measures against Thai muslims in the deep south.
Irrawaddy
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