Thaksin says martial law must not ‘destroy’ Thai democracy

“The declaration of martial law is expected... however I hope no party will violate human rights and further destroy democracy,” said the self-exiled billionaire tycoon-turned-politician on Twitter.

BANGKOK // Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a hugely controversial figure at the heart of the kingdom's bitter political divide, said on Tuesday that the imposition of martial law must not "destroy" democracy.

“The declaration of martial law is expected... however I hope no party will violate human rights and further destroy democracy,” the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician said on Twitter.

Mr Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, has lived in self-imposed exile since 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated.

He is at the epicentre of the nation’s political crisis, which pits his mostly rural and working-class supporters from the north and northeast, against the Bangkok-based establishment and royalist allies from the south.

Mr Thaksin's sister Yingluck was ousted as premier by a controversial Thai court ruling on May 7.

Thaksin-led or aligned parties have won every Thai election since 2001.

A general election called by Ms Yingluck in February was annulled by the nation's Constitutional Court after opposition protesters disrupted voting.

The demonstrators want the caretaker government swept from power and a new premier appointed to oversee vaguely-defined reforms aimed at curbing Mr Thaksin’s influence.

They see the former telecoms tycoon as corrupt and a threat to the nation’s revered king.

* Agence France-Presse