BANGKOK - A Thai court issued orders yesterday to arrest former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on terrorism charges in connection with riots over the past two months that were the worst in the country's modern history.
Thai prosecutors and the foreign ministry will now launch a global hunt for the fugitive telecoms tycoon, a senior government official said. Mr Thaksin was last believed to be in France for the Cannes Film Festival, but he keeps his location secret.
"The court said there was enough evidence to believe that Thaksin was the mastermind [ of the riots], having played a significant role in instructing and manipulating the incidents," said Tharit Pengdit of the department of special investigations.
Government officials say Mr Thaksin funded the 10-week, anti-government protests to the tune of about $1.5 million (€1.22 million) a day, and is believed to have organised the smuggling of arms and fighters from Cambodia. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to death.
Mr Thaksin denied the terrorism charges via Twitter.
"As a prime minister who won two landslide election victories, I was ousted in a coup," he wrote in Thai. "As I was fighting peacefully for justice for the return of my robbed assets, I was slapped with terrorism charges."
At least 85 people were killed in Bangkok and more than 1,400 were wounded in violence that began in April.
There have been no reports of violence in Bangkok since Thursday, when the so-called "red-shirt" protesters started to withdraw. But some have threatened to resume their campaign next month. - (Reuters)