Thailand's Thaksin: "We never engage in violence"

Sydney - Thailand's exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Thursday denied bankrolling the Red Shirt rebellion in Bangkok and said the warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges would be ignored by Interpol because it was politically motivated.

"We never, we never, engage in violence," Thaksin said in what Australian public broadcaster ABC claimed was his first telephone interview since the street protests subsided last week.

"We want to see reconciliation because the government always said about reconciliation, but the way they used the iron-fist approach, they are not using velvet-glove approach, that is mean they are more confrontation than more reconciliation," Thaksin said.//DPA

The billionaire businessman predicted that Interpol would not act on the arrest warrant the Thai government has issued.

The Nation