Thailand has revoked the passport of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra in connection with protests that have plunged the country
deeper into a political crisis.
A government spokesman, Panitan
Wattanayagorn, says the Foreign Ministry has revoked Mr. Thaksin's
passport for inciting his supporters to storm last week's Asian summit
in the coastal resort of Pattaya, forcing its cancellation.
Arrest
warrants have been issued for Mr. Thaksin and 14 opposition leaders on
charges of illegal assembly and inciting criminal acts. The former
prime minister, who was overthrown in a 2006 military coup, spoke to
the protesters every night via video and telephone, calling for
revolution.
Mr. Thaksin has been living in voluntary exile to
avoid a two-year jail sentence on corruption charges. He is believed
to be living mainly in Dubai.
A state of emergency imposed
after the Pattaya summit was canceled remains in effect in Thailand, as
authorities continue to search for the leaders of the three-week old
anti-government protests. Mr. Thaksin's supporters had been camped in
an area outside Government House in Bangkok, demanding the resignation
of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The siege escalated into
violence, with street clashes in Bangkok Monday that left two people
dead and more than 100 wounded.
The demonstrations ended Tuesday
after protest leaders called for a peaceful end to the demonstrations
and four of them surrendered to police.
As many as 2,000
demonstrators boarded buses to return home as authorities cleared
roadblocks and burning tires from Bangkok's streets.
Newspapers
in Bangkok denounced Mr. Thaksin and the protest leaders for inciting
unrest, but also called for national reconciliation to end the
political upheaval that has plagued Thailand since Mr. Thaksin's ouster.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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