Say, Whatever happened to that Thaksin fellow from Thailand?

A military court in Bangkok ordered the arrest of ex-prime minister, convicted criminal and political exile Thaksin Shinawatra when Thaksin predictably failed to show up for trial in a criminal defamation suit filed by the army.

There was no surprise. Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008, just ahead of a guilty verdict by the Supreme Court on politically inspired charges brought after the military coup of 2006 removed him and his Thai Love Thai political party from power.

A local attorney hired for the defamation case explained to the court martial drily that, "He is in political exile, residing in a foreign country and will not be attending the trial."

The defamation charges were filed by the army after an interview given in Seoul, Korea, earlier this year, during which Thaksin mentioned that the army was at the head of a conspiracy that unseated him, and then went on to overthrow the elected government headed by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in May, 2014. He also linked the Privy Council, a group of elders who advise the Thai king, to the coups.

The army charged in its defamation suit, as it had to in order to meet legal provisions, that Thaksin's remarks damaged its reputation.

The real reason, however, was that Thaksin was invited to the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul, Korea, while the current junta leaders were not. The remarks that "hurt the army" were made at that conference.

Since Thaksin was convicted of allowing his wife to buy land at an auction while he was prime minister -- a technical breach of law never before prosecuted -- he has been on the run. But that is not like most people who are on the run.

Thaksin has a permanent and luxurious villa in Dubai, his main abode. He has passports from several countries, so it didn't really affect him when the military regime took away his Thai papers last year. And, oh, right, he has more than a billion dollars, most of it earned two and three decades ago when he brought mobile phone networks to Thailand, giving him the financial backing to be a politician in the first place.

A local newspaper columnist began referring to Thaksin as "Lord Voldemort na Dubai," ("na" means "of" in Thai) partly in sarcasm at the government's request for the media not to mention his name. The nickname was widely adopted by Thai writers and the foreign community.

And while the official stance of the government is that Thaksin is a convicted criminal fleeing Thai justice, none of the rest of the world sees it that way. There is not a country where he is barred, although Britain requested that he not live in London, in order to avoid diplomatic embarrassment. He has toured the United States, where his presence, as always, excites Thai crowds who are either on his side or virulently against him -- but who never are neutral.

To some, he is corrupt scum, to others the man who led the democratic awakening for the poor of Thailand.

He will probably be tried in absentia and convicted of hurting the tender feelings of the Royal Thai Army eventually, but that court martial conviction also will not affect his life in exile.