Newin looks in on preparations for Thaksin’s arrival without explaining why
Buri Ram’s staunch politician and football club owner Newin Chidchob reportedly showed up at the private jet terminal in Don Mueang Airport on Monday to observe preparations being made for the arrival of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
In an Instagram post last week, Thaksin’s youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced that her father would arrive on a private jet at 9am on Tuesday. The 74-year-old faces up to 10 years in prison and will be subject to judicial proceedings, the authorities have said.
Newin, who has a long-standing conflict with Thaksin, took a van to the Mjet terminal but refused to answer reporters when asked why he was at the terminal.
Airport officials also refused to tell reporters what preparations were being made for Thaksin’s arrival.
Reports say cargo terminal 4 has been prepared to accommodate the press and police, while the Royal Thai Police have put up more than 200 steel fences around the Mjets terminal.
In 2006, when Thaksin’s caretaker government was toppled by a military coup, Newin threw his support behind his party’s proxy, People Power Party (PPP), which won by an overwhelming majority in 2007.
This win put veteran politician Samak Sundaravej at the helm of the country but he was forced to step down a few months later after the Constitutional Court ruled that his role as host of a TV cooking show constituted a conflict of interest.
Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin’s brother-in-law, then took over, but his tenure was cut short after PPP was dissolved by the charter court and all its executives were banned from politics for five years.
After this upheaval, the Buri Ram politician decided to walk away from Thaksin into the arms of the Democrat Party.
There are reports that Thaksin called Newin, only to be told: “It’s over, boss!”
