Government revokes ex-PM Thaksin's passport

Thai authorities are escalating a campaign against Thailand's former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, after his supporters staged massive protests in Bangkok demanding his return from exile this week.Thailand revoked the passport of Thaksin Shinawatra Wednesday, escalating a campaign against the fugitive former premier and his allies for allegedly inciting deadly anti-government protests.Police said they were also hunting the main organisers of the demonstrations that left two people dead and 123 injured this week, after a court issued arrest warrants for Thaksin and 12 top supporters.Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed to prosecute all leaders of the rallies, which broke up on Tuesday after troops threatened to use force against thousands of demonstrators camped outside his offices.Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Thaksin's passport was withdrawn for inciting protests that forced the cancellation of a summit of Asian leaders on the Thai coast on Saturday."The ministry can cancel or recall a passport if it can prove that a person has caused damage to the country," he told AFP.Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption. He has made a series of speeches to his supporters in Thailand in recent weeks calling for a "revolution".In a television interview filmed in Dubai before the passport announcement, the billionaire tycoon denied the official charges that he had incited violence.