Bangkok, April 5 - Just recently, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had announced he would resign in a few weeks to safeguard the unity of his nation. As per his promise, he tendered his resignation and handed over the powers to his cabinet on Wednesday informing that he was turning power over to a deputy with immediate effect.

"I have decided that if I have to rest to let the country move forward, I want to rest now," the Prime Minister said in an afternoon speech to his supporters who had assembled outside his party's headquarters.

Thaksin patted Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit, a Police General Overseeing Security Affairs, to serve as interim Prime Minister until the Parliament convenes to select the more acceptable person to take this charge.

As per Deputy Alan Sipress, Washington Post Foreign Service, Wannasathit, 59, is a longtime Thaksin loyalist who has played a central role in the government's troubled effort to put down a two-year-old Muslim insurgency in the south of the country.

He is also justice minister. But because he is not a Member of Parliament, his appointment can only be temporary, leaving open the possibility that another member of Thaksin's inner circle would ultimately take the top job.

Under Thai law, a new parliament should open by the beginning of next month with members chosen in elections last weekend. But the schedule could be delayed because Thai law requires that all seats be filled before Parliament convenes, and some are still vacant due to an opposition boycott of the polls.

Print Version

Go Back

Applelounge Network (Website Design India, Web Design India) Sites
Astrology India | Google Sitemaps | Matrimonial | Internet Marketing Company | Coaching Jobs

About Us | Advertise With Us | Write for Us | Contact Us | IR Syndicate | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
Copyright © 2008 Media International Limited. All Rights Reserved.