Thailand has the canceled the passports of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who fled the country last month to evade a prison sentence that she said was politically motivated.
FILE - In this July 21, 2017, file photo, former Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrives at the Supreme Court for the last day of her hearing in Bangkok Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo Sakchai Lalit, File)
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks said late Monday that Thailand's embassies would inform foreign governments that Yingluck is no longer a Thai passport holder. Yingluck had two personal and two diplomatic passports.
Yingluck, whose government was ousted in a 2014 coup, was sentenced to five years in prison in September for negligence in instituting a money-losing rice subsidy program. She fled Thailand before the verdict and is believed to be in the United Kingdom.
The foreign ministry said it's not uncommon for Thais who must travel frequently to have multiple passports because visa applications can take weeks.
FILE - In this July 21, 2017, file photo, Former Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra talks to reporters during arrives at the Supreme Court for last day of the hearing in Bangkok Thailand. (AP Photo Sakchai Lalit, File)
Thai police have said they are seeking an Interpol arrest warrant for Yingluck, but so far the international police organization has not issued any notice against her. Issuing an arrest warrant is likely to cause objections among member nations because the case against Yingluck is political in nature and some countries might be willing to offer her asylum.
Yingluck's conviction was the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle between Thailand's traditional ruling class and the powerful political machine founded by Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup.
Thaksin has lived in Dubai since fleeing a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated.
BANGKOK (AP) — About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted at a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas.
Fighters from the Karen ethnic minority last week captured the last of the Myanmar army’s outposts in and around Myawaddy, which is connected to Thailand by two bridges across the Moei River.
The latest clashes were triggered in the morning when the Karen guerillas launched an attack against Myanmar troops who were hiding near the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, a major crossing point for trade with Thailand, said police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat in Thailand's Mae Sot district. He estimated about 1,300 people fled into Thailand.
Thai officials reported people had started crossing since Friday following clashes in several areas of Myawaddy.
The fall of Myawaddy is a major setback for the military that seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Myanmar’s once-mighty armed forces have suffered a series of unprecedented defeats since last October, losing swathes of territory including border posts to both ethnic fighters, who have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades, and pro-democracy guerrilla units that took up arms after the military takeover.
The clashes, involving drone attacks from the Karen forces and airstrikes by the Myanmar military, had subsided by noon Saturday compared to the morning, but Mae Sot police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat said he could still hear sporadic gunshots. He said Thai authorities would move people fleeing into a safer area.
Footage from the Thai border showed Thai soldiers maintaining guard near the bridge with sounds of explosions and gunshots in the background. People with children waded across the river with their belongings and were received by Thai officials on the river bank. Several are seen taking shelter in buildings along the river bank on the Myanmar side.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday that he was closely monitoring the situation at the border.
“I do not desire to see any such clashes have any impact on the territorial integrity of Thailand and we are ready to protect our borders and the safety of our people. At the same time, we are also ready to provide humanitarian assistance if necessary,” he wrote.
In March, Thailand delivered its first batch of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar for about 20,000 displaced people.
Nikorndej Balangura, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Friday that Thailand is currently working to expand its aid initiative.
People cross the Moei river as they flee Myawaddy township in Myanmar to Thailand's Mae Sot town in Thailand's Tak province, Saturday, April 20, 2024. About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted near a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. (AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
A Thai military armored vehicle takes a position with sounds of explosions and gunshots along the Moei river, under the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Mae Sot in Thailand's Tak province Saturday, April 20, 2024. About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted near a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. (AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
People cross the Moei river as they flee Myawaddy township in Myanmar to Thailand's Mae Sot town in Thailand's Tak province, Saturday, April 20, 2024. More than a thousand people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand on Saturday as fresh fighting erupted near the border of the town that has recently been captured by guerillas from the Karen ethnic minority, officials said.(AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
