Former PM Hun Sen arrives at Thaksin’s house
Former Cambodian PM Hun Sen has arrived in Bangkok to visit former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra at his Chan Song La residence.
According to reports, Hun Sen arrived at Donmueang International Airport at 10 am, by his private plane.
Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra told the media on Tuesday that Hun Sen is concerned about Thaksin's health. The two former leaders will have lunch together and Hun Sen will then fly back to Cambodia, she said.
The visit comes just five days after Thaksin was released on parole having met the Department of Corrections criteria of serving one-third of a jail term along with being aged and ill.
Since arriving in August 2023, Thaksin has not spent a single day behind bars but has instead served all his jail time at the Police General Hospital.
The ruling Pheu Thai party revealed on Tuesday that the 74-year-old Thaksin is grappling with severe health issues, including cervical spondylosis, and tendonitis in his arm while suffering from long Covid, as he was found to be infected with the virus three times while living abroad.
Before the former Cambodian leader's arrival, Sitanan Satsaksit, the older sister of activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who reportedly disappeared in 2022 in Cambodia, said she would be staging a protest in front of Chan Song La residence to show her opposition to the Cambodian government's statement to the United Nations that Wanchalearm's case is not a case of enforced disappearance.
Thaksin and Hun Sen reportedly have a very close relationship.
In 2009, the former Cambodian leader appointed Thaksin as a Cambodian government adviser, three years after Thaksin’s government was ousted in a military coup.
Cambodia’s government under the helm of Hun Sen once rejected a request from then-premier Abhisit Vejjajiva to extradite Thaksin to Thailand.
In 2023, Thaksin attended a birthday party for the outgoing Cambodian premier. Joining the event was Thaksin’s younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government was also ousted by a military coup in 2014.
Hun Sen stepped down as the country’s leader and currently serves as chair of the Supreme Privy Council to the King. His oldest son Hun Manet is the new premier.
