Thai PM denies talks on bringing "Thaksin" home

BANGKOK, March 10 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra insisted Saturday that she has not discussed with Deputy Prime Minister Police Captain Chalerm Yubumrung on bringing her elder brother and convicted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra home. Yingluck affirmed that her government immediate tasks are to find ways to prevent any repeated flooding, in the wake of Thailand's flooding crisis late last year, and to solve the country's economic problems. The Pheu Thai premier said that the government’s reconciliation process should run in accordance with its course, and that as the government leader, she has the responsibility in solving problems as a whole, not just for Thaksin. Premier Yingluck declined to answer whether the Thai government’s reconciliation plan would face any obstacle if Thaksin returned home in the near future. Deputy premier Chalerm had said several times that he would bring Thaksin home within this year and would ask him to land in the northern resort Chiang Mai Province, his hometown. Thaksin, who was ousted following Thailand's September 2006 bloodless coup, has lived in a self-imposed exile abroad ever since. (TNA)