Thaksin handed VIP welcome at Chiang Mai temple
Senior bureaucrats and provincial officials gave Thaksin Shinawatra a VIP welcome on Friday morning as he paid homage to the statue of a revered local monk in Chiang Mai.
On hand to greet the former prime minister at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep were Natural Resources and Environment Ministry permanent secretary Jatuporn Buruspat, National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department chief Atthaphon Charoenchansa, Chiang Mai governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn, Provincial Administrative Organisation leader Pichai Lertphong-Adisorn, and deputy national police chief Pol General Surachate Hakparn.
Also present were a group of red-shirt supporters holding placards that read, “Unshakable love for you”.
Jatuporn and Atthaphon briefed Thaksin about a development project for the Doi Suthep mountain area. The ex-premier asked questions and offered words of praise for Atthaphon.
“Mr Director-General is so good. I often follow your news,” Thaksin was heard saying to the wildlife department chief.
Thaksin and his three children – Panthongtae, Pintongta and Paetongtarn – then paid homage at the statue of Kruba Srivichai, a late Buddhist monk known as the patron saint of Lanna, or northern Thailand.
Paetongtarn, Thaksin’s youngest daughter, is the current leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
Thaksin took a private jet to his native province on Thursday morning for a three-day visit, his first since being ousted as prime minister by the military in 2006.
Kruba Srivichai (1878-1939) is famed for his efforts to restore temples and construct roads and bridges in northern Thailand. He is credited with initiating the mountain road that leads to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots in Thailand. The road was opened in April 1935, the fruit of six months' work by his followers to replace an often muddy and impassable track.
Thaksin, who was released on parole last month, is also expected to hold a merit-making ceremony for his deceased parents and other ancestors at a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai.
The ex-premier returned to Thailand on August 22 after spending 15 years in self-imposed exile. Less than 24 hours after landing, he was whisked from Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital for treatment of unidentified health issues. He remained in hospital detention until his parole release on February 18.
During his exile, Thaksin was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for corruption stemming from his 2001-2006 tenure as prime minister.
However, his sentence was reduced to one year by royal pardon soon after he returned last year. Authorities said the 74-year-old had met all the criteria for early release, namely age, illness, and minimum period of detention.
