Thaksin Shinawatra is surrounded by supporters during a visit to Chiang Mai on Aug 14, 2006, just two months before his government was overthrown in a military coup. Justice Minister Thawee Sodsong said on Tuesday that the head of the Probation Department, Ruangsak Suwaree, had informed him about the former prime minister’s request to visit Chiang Mai from Thursday to Saturday. Some expressed a wish to travel to Chiang Mai to greet the party founder but Wisut Chainarun, the government whip in Parliament, put the brakes on that idea. The trip to Chiang Mai will be Thaksin’s first in 17 years. Worachai Hema, a red-shirt leader and adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, said last week that red-shirt supporters in Chiang Mai and surrounding provinces remain loyal to and respect Thaksin.
