Will Thaksin get visa to visit UK?

Will ousted and convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra now be given a visa if he fancies shopping at Harrods or a new football club in the UK now that his sister Yingluck Shinawatra is the prime minister?

The answers given were as tricky as the questions, which have become a near Thai media obsession.

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Jeremy Browne, who was in Bangkok yesterday on a one-day visit, faced the same questions.

"I don't think it's right to comment on individual visa applications," said Browne in an evasive reply during a meeting with local media.

British Ambassador to Bangkok Asif Ahmad was a bit clearer on the matter, however.

"Everybody is welcome to apply for a visa. The issue is how Thailand deals with Khun Thaksin and others who are barred from politics," said Ahmad. "The answer is in Bangkok, not in London."

Browne insisted that the UK doesn't take sides despite the belief that his country may be on the side of the Opposition Democrat Party, many of whom went to elite schools and universities in Britain. Browne added: "We don't take a view" on who is in power in Bangkok as much as who may be the next US president.

Regarding human rights, Browne cited the Thai immigration-detention facility as something that can be improved upon. Ambassador Ahmad added that other issues of concern included the lese majeste law, media controls, interference by the government and Thailand's treatment of refugees like the Hmong, who were deported under the then Abhisit Vejjajiva administration.

Ahmad reckoned, however, that the Pheu Thai government won't rush to reform the lese majeste law. "I can't imagine that this government will do something hasty," he said.

Thaksin was recently allowed to visit Germany and Japan, two countries which apparently banned him from entering during the previous administration under Abhisit.

Tokyo asked for Bangkok's opinion when Thaksin made a request to visit Japan last month. Japanese immigration law prohibits any foreigner who is convicted for more than one year from entering the country, but Thaksin was granted a special visit after a request from the Thai government.

The Democrat Party launched an impeachment process against Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul for facilitating Thaksin's visits to foreign countries.

Thaksin was handed a two-year jail sentence for granting permission to his wife to buy a piece of land from a state agency while he was holding a political position.