Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra sports a bandaged hand as he leaves a meeting at a hotel in Singapore  in this January 27, 2014 file photo.[Photo/Agencies]

"I think democracy will prevail sooner or later, but we have to be patient, and we have to be peaceful," he said. "Don't resort to any kind of violence."

Thai junta leader and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said last week that he was not worried about Thaksin's public appearance or whatever comments he might make.

The military ousted Thaksin in 2006, exacerbating a sharp divide between his supporters in the poorer north and northeast and the traditional royalist-military establishment in the capital and the south.

More than a decade of political strife has seen at times violent street protests from both Thaksin supporters and their opponents.

With bases in Dubai and London, Thaksin travels frequently in Asia.