Govt prevents Ying luck from traveling overseas

Thailand's military government has denied former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra permission to travel overseas, to ensure she is in the country to face criminal charges later this month, a government spokesman said on Sunday,

The military toppled the remnants of Yingluck's government in a coup in May, ending months of demonstrations on the streets of Bangkok that had paralyzed her administration.

Yingluck was banned from politics last week for five years and indicted on criminal charges over her involvement in a state rice buying scheme that cost Thailand billions of dollars.

The attorney general will submit a subpoena to the Supreme Court on Feb 19 and wants Yingluck to be present for that, government spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said on Sunday.

Yingluck had asked for permission to leave from Sunday until Feb 22, he said.

"The suspect must be present for the first process of the case, otherwise the case cannot proceed," Sunsern said.

Yingluck's lawyer, Norawit Laleng, said it was not necessary for her to appear in court while prosecutors consider the case and choose judges to oversee it.

"If the government denies her permission to travel using her court case as an excuse, then it is a violation of her basic rights," Norawit said.

Thailand has been tense since Yingluck's impeachment in January. Two bombs rattled a luxury shopping mall a week ago, and Thai media reported on Saturday that the government had confiscated banners from students ahead of an annual university football match.

Yingluck's supporters say the charges against her are an attempt to limit the political influence of her brother, ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The charges are the latest twist in 10 years of turbulent politics that have pitted Yingluck and her brother against the royalist military establishment that sees the siblings as a threat and reviles their populist policies.

(China Daily USA 02/09/2015 page11)