Thaksin to Visit U.S. to Testify in Human Rights Briefing

An aide to Thaksin Shinawatra says Thailand's former prime minister will visit Washington next week to testify about the political and human rights situation in Thailand. Noppadon Pattama, the legal representative for Thaksin, said Monday that the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe has invited him to testify in the U.S. capital on Dec. 16.

Noppadon said the hearing will focus on human rights violations during the political upheaval in April and May that led to more than 90 deaths and numerous injuries, as well as the imposition of a tough security law in much of the country.

The protesters were staged by supporters of Thaksin, who has been in self-imposed exile since just before the Thai Supreme Court found him guilty of corruption in October 2006. The Thai government lists him as a fugitive.

The CSCE is an independent U.S. agency charged with monitoring compliance with the Helsinki Accords. It is made up of nine members of the U.S. Senate, nine from the House of Representatives and one member each from the departments of State, Defense and Commerce.


(2010-12-7/english.chosun.com)