Thaksin to defy Kouchner's call not to speak in Paris

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will appear at a conference in Paris on 31 May, despite a request by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that the appearance be cancelled.

Reuters

France's foreign ministry said it had persuaded Thaksin not to make the address, which has been organised by the Center for Political and Foreign Affairs thinktank.

But CPFA president Fabien Baussart said the speech would go ahead.

“I am perplexed by Kouchner’s attitude,” he told RFI. “I can’t understand why he is trying to limit free speech. It is useless and counterproductive.”

Baussart had dinner with the former Thai prime minister in Paris's L'Ami Louis restaurant last week.

On Tuesday, the Thai government issued a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges. The maximum penalty is death.

Thaksin’s lawyers have sent a request to the Thai government that the arrest warrant be dropped. The demand is expected to be examined on 18 June.

Thaksin returned to Montenegro, where he holds citizenship, on Wednesday after a trip to Cyprus. Montenegrin authorities have also asked the former premier to refrain from making any public comments during his stay in the country.

Thaksin is revered by many of Thailand's Red Shirt protesters, responsible for recent protests in Bangkok in which at least 88 people were killed and 1,900 injured.

In the capital, 1,000 Buddhist monks led a ceremony praying for peace on Wednesday, a week after the riots ended. Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs also participated.