Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS
BANGKOK - BRITAIN'S decision to revoke the visas of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife provoked speculation in local press on Sunday over where the self-exiled leader might set up home next.
Thailand's Foreign Ministry on Saturday confirmed that Britain had slapped an entry ban on Thaksin and his wife Pojaman.
It comes after Thaksin was sentenced in absentia last month to two years' jail for conflict of interest, after helping his wife buy state-owned land when he was prime minister.
The reason for the British government's decision remains unclear, but there appears to be a number of countries willing to take in the multimillionaire, who was overthrown in a coup in September2006.
'We don't have to be concerned about Thaksin and his family,' the Thai-language Matichon newspaper quoted the ruling pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) member Pracha Prosobdee as saying. 'There are the Bahamas and several countries in Africa and around the world that will gladly welcome high-quality people like him.'
The Nation newspaper quoted an unnamed source from the PPP as saying Thaksin was building a 300 million baht (S$12million) mansion in China where he and his wife might take up residence if Britain was indeed off the cards.
The English-language paper also mentioned the Bahamas, and said the pair had been offered honorary citizenship there.
The Bangkok Post's Sunday edition quoted an unnamed source as saying that the couple were currently in China. Last week, the paper reported that Bolivia was considering offering Thaksin a post as an economic adviser.
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat - Thaksin's brother-in-law - remained tight-lipped about his relative's plans.
BANGKOK - BRITAIN'S decision to revoke the visas of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife provoked speculation in local press on Sunday over where the self-exiled leader might set up home next.
Thailand's Foreign Ministry on Saturday confirmed that Britain had slapped an entry ban on Thaksin and his wife Pojaman.
It comes after Thaksin was sentenced in absentia last month to two years' jail for conflict of interest, after helping his wife buy state-owned land when he was prime minister.
The reason for the British government's decision remains unclear, but there appears to be a number of countries willing to take in the multimillionaire, who was overthrown in a coup in September2006.
'We don't have to be concerned about Thaksin and his family,' the Thai-language Matichon newspaper quoted the ruling pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) member Pracha Prosobdee as saying. 'There are the Bahamas and several countries in Africa and around the world that will gladly welcome high-quality people like him.'
The Nation newspaper quoted an unnamed source from the PPP as saying Thaksin was building a 300 million baht (S$12million) mansion in China where he and his wife might take up residence if Britain was indeed off the cards.
The English-language paper also mentioned the Bahamas, and said the pair had been offered honorary citizenship there.
The Bangkok Post's Sunday edition quoted an unnamed source as saying that the couple were currently in China. Last week, the paper reported that Bolivia was considering offering Thaksin a post as an economic adviser.
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat - Thaksin's brother-in-law - remained tight-lipped about his relative's plans.
