Thaksin seeks peaceful end | Bangkok Post: news

Thaksin Shinawatra is confident his fight for "real democracy" is about to end in peace but says there's a slim chance that a new military coup could push things back to square one.

The fugitive former prime minister made the comments in an exclusive interview with Isra News Agency on Friday evening in San Francisco.Describing current political tensions as "a tug-of-war for democracy", he said that only someone who was on ya ba (methamphetamine) would ever consider leading a new coup to topple the government.Unlike in the past, members of the public were now more actively involved in democratic activities, said Thaksin who was overthrown in the Sept 19, 2006 coup.He gave the interview while having dinner with a group Asian-American businesspeople at a Thai restaurant in North Beach in the northeast of San Francisco.Thaksin was on a trip to the US to meet with his red shirt supporters there, he said.Asked whether the Pheu Thai Party government led by his sister Yingluck should withdraw controversial reconciliation bills amid growing protests by its opponents, Thaksin said there was no need to withdraw the bills.However, there was no need to rush them either, he added.In fact, the bills should be kept in parliament so that the people protesting against them would have to wait outside day and night for fear that they would be passed, said Thaksin half-jokingly. So should the third and final reading of the constitutional amendment bill,...