Yingluck rules out exile

Speaking at her first news conference since Thailand's army seized power back in May, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra rejected the suggestion that she, like her brother Thaksin, could go into exile to avoid being jailed on criminal charges.

"I am travelling for personal reasons and there was a clear travel period set before the NACC announcement. I am ready to come back," Yingluck said, referring to Thursday's statement by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which said it planned to press dereliction of duty charges against the former premier.

"I am a Thai citizen who should have rights and freedoms like any other Thais. I want to reassure you that I will not abandon my fellow Thais and I'm ready to come back to Thailand," she added.

The charges against Yingluck are related to her ousted government's rice subsidy program, which incurred billions of dollars in losses.

Process questioned

At Friday's news conference, held at a Bangkok hotel owned by her family, Yingluck questioned whether she would get a fair trial.

"I tried to submit (more) evidence but the NACC refused to accept it," she said. "Blaming rice quality and the disappearance of rice on me is not right."

A court order forced Yingluck from office just days before the May 22 coup, in which the remnants of her government were also removed.

The coup followed months of mass street protests against her government, after it attempted to pass legislation that would have extended an amnesty to her older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. He fled the country two years later - and has been in self-imposed exile ever since - to avoid serving a jail sentence after being convicted on corruption charges.

Yingluck is expected to travel to Paris next week to attend Thaksin's 65th birthday party,following a decision by the country's military junta to allow her to leave the country on a private trip.

pfd/jlw (APF, Reuters , AP)