Thaksin Not On Pardonees List
| The name Thaksin Shinawatra is nowhere on a list of pardonees attached to a royal decree, submitted to His Majesty the King by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The woman premier said on Tuesday her predecessor was not among an estimated 26,000 inmates who may be granted freedom under the royal pardon decree, which is yet to be finally approved by His Majesty on auspicious occasion of the monarch's 84th birthday on Dec 5.
Yingluck remarked she has invariably adhered to established rules of law and principles of equality, maintained public interests and avoided double-standard approaches to dealing with anything, which might otherwise lead to personal gains of her globetrotting brother.
Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, who had prepared the royal decree for Tuesday's cabinet approval and submission to His Majesty, assured Thaksin was not included on the list of pardonees as earlier alleged.
Yingluck added she considered Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung's repeated vows to bring Thaksin home someday as a ''promise'' made during his electoral campaign.
''I was elected to tend to the people's interests. Everything has to be done on basis of principles, rules of law and justice. Everybody is treated (by the government) in equal fashion and no double standards are allowed. I've always upheld and maintained those standpoints from the beginning up to now,'' said the woman leader.
Earlier rumors had it Thaksin might have been given royal pardon, among a number of convicts, only to raise vehement opposition from among his political foes, including the Democrat Party, Yellow Shirt protesters and mainstream media.
In his absentia, the Supreme Court passed a verdict on the ex-premier and sentenced him to a two-years jail term under a land-grab lawsuit which the Civil Court ruled as null and void at a later date.
Thaksin blamed his political foes for the ill fates inflicted upon him including the ''unjust'' court verdict, following 2006's coup which deposed and compelled him to take exile overseas since.
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