BANGKOK, Dec 16: Thailand has given its fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra his passport back, the government said Friday, despite strong opposition from the ex-tycoon´s political opponents.
Thaksin, whose sister Yingluck is now prime minister, received the document from the Thai embassy in Abu Dhabi in October, the foreign ministry said.[break]
Thaksin was stripped of his passport by the previous Thai government but received citizenship from Montenegro last year, allowing him to travel internationally.
Thaksin, who remains a hugely divisive figure, was deposed by the army in 2006 and lives in Dubai to avoid a two-year prison term on a conviction for corruption that he contends is politically motivated.
"This normal passport has nothing to do with extradition or whether he´s innocent, but only his nationality," foreign ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi told reporters.
"No government agency, including the police -- judiciary and interior ministry -- opposed the re-issue of Thaksin´s passport," he said.
Thaksin´s sister Yingluck won a resounding election victory earlier this year, in the wake of mass opposition protests in 2010 by his "Red Shirt" supporters which ended with a bloody army crackdown.
Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told reporters two weeks ago that Thailand would give Thaksin a passport "very soon". Thani said Surapong had not been aware at the time that the document had already been issued.
The announcement stoked tensions with Thaksin´s enemies, already irked by recent reports -- denied by the government -- of plans to seek a royal pardon for the ex-premier that could allow him to return without serving time.