Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has reiterated his confidence that his younger sister, fugitive former premier Yingluck Shinawatra, will return to Thailand around April next year.
In an interview with Nikkei Asia released on Monday, he said Yingluck may return before April. "I don't see any obstacles preventing her return. In fact, she might even come back a little earlier, depending on timing and opportunity," Thaksin said.
The exclusive interview was conducted in Udon Thani last week, where Thaksin helped campaign for a local election.
Yingluck served as Thailand's 28th prime minister from August 2011 to May 2014, becoming the country's first female leader. She has been living in exile since August 2017, after fleeing Thailand ahead of a verdict by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on the rice pledging scheme corruption case. She was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison.
In April, Thaksin had said during a visit to his hometown of Chiang Mai that Yingluck might return to Thailand to join the Songkran festival next year.
Meanwhile, Yingluck’s niece, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, said she was unaware of Thaksin's comments about Yingluck. She urged reporters to ask her father directly about his statements to Nikkei Asia.
The prime minister added that Yingluck has not approached her government about returning to Thailand, noting that the fugitive former leader only communicates with her children by phone.
Paetongtarn also dodged a reporter's question about Thaksin’s campaign speech in Udon Thani last week, which might constitute a violation of local election laws due to his dual Thai/Montenegro citizenship.
She stated that the media should direct such questions to Thaksin himself. Nonetheless, she defended Thaksin’s campaign speeches as normal and unlikely to cause political controversy.
The prime minister dismissed criticism of the qualifications of Kittiratt Na-Ranong, the former finance minister recently chosen as chairman of the board of the Bank of Thailand by a selection committee. She emphasized that the committee's decision should be respected.
